Rotorino

I was very impressed with the quality of the food, they use seasonal vegetables and prepared in not the very typical way. :) example whole roster artichoke with a variety of beans, I personally would have never put those together but it was fantastic. :)
What also impressed me was they do take pride in make by your drink nice even its non alcoholic. I was driving so took the virgin Bloody Mary … Normally bars just make a simple tomatoes juice mix and charge you £4 … They made me a proper awesome looking Virgin Mary with all bells and whistles … And charged £2 :)
They are a great place for group event not just because of space but due to «tech» as well … They are an early adopter of PandaPay App, so it is real easy to split your bill with other from your phone, just ask for your table number. :)

Our waiter was awful. When I asked for the wine list I didn’t realise my girl friend was holding it and the waiter pulled it out of her hands and gave it to me leaving both of us shocked. When he brought our wine he just corked the bottle, put it on the table and walked off. He didn’t show us the bottle first, he did not say anything to us, he did not ask if we wanted to taste it and he did not pour any out. Absolutely unbelievable. As for the food, it was all pretty mediocre. I am not sure why there are some rave reviews. We started with bresaola and mozzarella. Most of the starters are like this. I.e. they involve buying something from a shop and putting it on a plate. Haute cuisine it is not. My sausage gnochetti was bland as was my girlfriend pasta dish. She lived in Turin for 6 years and was extremely underwhelmed. I holiday in Southern Italy every year and this was not what I was expecting either. Mains were OK. I had hangar steak which was seasoned and cooked OK but a bit tough. My girlfriend had a rather dried out Melanzane Parmigiana — cooking doesn’t get any simpler than that.
All in all a major disappointment and not cheap. I don’t know where all the Southern Italian specialities I love so much are. Rotorino is very much style over substance — maybe that’s why they opened in Dalston.

My friends and I went here last night for my birthday dinner. I dug the crisp flatbread the waitress laid on the table for starters to begin, seasoned with herbs and brushed with olive oil. I was just feeling peckish so got the celery caponata and the pumpkin gnudi for 5.5 and 8 pounds respectively. While the flavours were lovely, a delicate mix of capers and diced eggplant and celery for the first and a rich cheesy taste in the soft pillows of dough gnudi, the portions were MUCH smaller than I expected for the prices. (As a comparator, you get generous portions for the same prices — and phenomenal flavours– at Copita del Mercado in Aldgate East). I would recommend getting another tapa if one is really hungr or a main as I definitely wanted more food after my minuscule two portions. My husband got the three toasts with garbanzos, spinach and another topping I can’t recall. This was lovely as well, especially the garbanzo and spinach pieces: garlicky and olive oil greatly enhanced the flavours.
We had to rush out but the staff was kind enough to surprise me a tiny cannoli with a candle atop. I have never liked cannolis, even as a native NYer (I know travesty), but this was delicious! Creamy and buttery and I loved the chocolate bits.
The service was fine, nothing spectacular but not awful. Keep in mind it’s quite loud.
I don’t know if I would return just because the portions and prices are mismatched.

I heard so much about this place, I was quite excited to try it. Unfortunately it didn’t live up to its reputation.
The interior is very nicely designed, lots of space, it’s very beautiful and stylish. The staff are super friendly and attentive, definitely nothing to complain about there.
The food however left me wholly unimpressed. Even though all five of us at the table ordered at the same time, I was the only one being served a starter size portion of pasta. The server hadn’t asked whether I would like starter or full, my friend beside me was served a full size portion of pasta. So, this was very confusing and plainly bad service.
For the price of a starter pasta, it was laughably small. I was served four pieces of ravioli. Taste was okay, not impressive, just okay, but the size of the portion left me hungry.
I tried some of the chicken (well seasoned but overcooked and very dry) and steak (delicious) others had ordered and have to say, the only dishes worth ordering are the sides.
We had bread and rosmary garlic potatoes for sides. The potatoes were heavenly and addictive! And the portions of the side dishes are HUGE compared to starters and mains. I’d definitely recommend ordering the potatoes, sooo good!
Overall it was a pleasant experience but I feel the quality of the food doesn’t warrant the price tag, it’s just not good enough to be this expensive. They also charge a high service fee automatically, which I find highly annoying. I wasn’t happy enough to warrant a 15% tip but as we paid as a group, I had no choice in the matter.

A fantastic find in Haggerston!
It’s a fun Italian restaurant with a modern British twist.
I had Sasso Chicken w/​Fried Potatoes (the potatoes is an extra side)
The chicken was extremely tasty and delicious. 100% recommended if you’re a fan of chicken. The fried potatoes was a meal in itself! To the degree that I shared with them with the entire table.
Expect to pay about £12 — £14 for a main (or THIRD as they call it).
Rotorino suits all type of groups. We were there having a PandaPay trial dinner with 5 others, though it’s also a wonderful environment for couples/​dates, business meetings or larger party groups.
To give a good idea of the interior, can you check a video they made at:
The staff are friendly, helpful and quick to respond to additonal drink orders.

The food is great, however my friends got only a very tiny portion of ravioli which was à bit disappointing. I recommend the fried potatoes which are delicious and you get a lot of them! Be careful as you pay for the service.

Delicious! I never would have thought chili sauce on a steak could be so good!
The baby potatoes in rosemary and garlic were addictive!
A little steep for price. The steak with baby potatoes and a coke came to 21£. Excellent service. Funny bathroom signs.
The raviolli (sp?) A friend ordered was a very small portion though. 4 which was 8.50£.
The portion of potatoes was huge though.

It’s quite good but I’m not sure I’d go back.
We were a group of people so we were forced to go for the set menu. The a la carte menu seemed much more appealing, but no matter.
The food was mostly tasty but some of the dishes were a bit odd. The staff are friendly, the décor is nice and I like the atmosphere.
They do a great Aubergine parmigiana but the rest of it didn’t feel like anything to write home about. I’d have probably rated this place way higher if they’d allowed us to choose from the a la carte menu, but they are dropping a star for not allowing it and dropping another star for the food on the set menu not being mindblowing.

Have had some great eats in Dalston recently and so was keen to continue with the experience. Unfortunately this highly recommended restaurant is probably not one I’ll go back to.
The night held a lot of promise: the restaurant has a trendy interior, attentive staff and a good drinks selection. The food however, didn’t leave my palate craving for more.
We had made a reservation and had to wait for nearly 40 minutes to get our table when lots of other customers walked in and were taken straight to one.
Lots of the food options were unavailable from the menu — of course this happens, but slightly added to the frustration.
For starters we had the veal and pork meatballs (several of which were actually raw!), buffalo mozzarella, shrimp salad and calamari. Most of the dishes lacked in flavour and were certainly nothing to write home about.
The mains were an improvement: the Pollock had been replaced by a wholesome seabass, and the hanger steak was tasty but I’ve certainly had more succulent meat.
We were all hoping that the deserts would be the saving grace: the chocolate cake is actually not a cake, but essentially a ganache. Whilst delicious, a few mouthfuls for most but the heartiest of eaters, is far too much. I went for the salted caramel ice cream and was only able to manage a few mouthfuls — coarse grains of salt had been sprinkled all over the desert! It was not the subtle palate clash that I was expecting and the salt was severely overpowering, ruining the final treat of the meal.
This is a great venue for a birthday — nice open plan restaurant with a good drinks selection and attentive waiting staff. Probably not ideal for an intimate meal, as the place was pretty loud. This venue holds a lot of promise but the quality of the food must be improved (and it should be cooked before it leaves the kitchen!).

Such a wonderful evening at Rotorino, service was great, food was fantastic and the gin was great! Great selection of Japanese whiskies too! Will definitely be a regular spot!

Most amazing place ever, gnudi are addictive and have to be tried. Amazing wine as well and perfect service

Can’t understand all the negativity for Rotorino. We came here for a spontaneous dinner, and were really impressed with the whole experience.
We didn’t have a reservation and we were seated instantly, even at prime time. Service was excellent, we were greeted politely and given free flat bread crisps with olive oil to start.
The Hanger steak was perfectly cooked and very reasonably priced (£10). Portion sizes were great.
Everything about Rotorino was brilliant, the 60s décor, cosy booths, and authentic Italian feel.
Highly recommended.

I adored my starter; goat’s curd, marjoram, honey and fresh fig. My main — meatballs — were good — soft and juicy with a delicious flavour, but I got 5 small meatballs! Very stingy indeed and I was left hungry. Rotorino is cool but expensive for what you get. We sat at the bar and received perfect service.

I’ve been waiting to try Rotorino since it first opened a few months ago as it’s just up the road from me on Kingsland Road. Sadly I wish I’d waited even longer for the experience.
I’ll get the positives out first. The venue and dining room look incredibly stylish and someone has put a lot of thought into aesthetics. The service was incredible and our waitress was very knowledgeable about the wine, allowing us to try a few and then recommending an incredible bottle based on our feedback. The pricing was fairly reasonable as well however this falls down slightly if you don’t like the food which is where I have to move onto the negatives.
We went for starters of Pigs head terrine, bresola and the sausage cararecce. I found the terrine to be massively lacking in flavour, even when picking the meat out from the fat and most of this dish returned to the kitchen. The bresola, while nice should definitely be ordered alongside something else as there is nothing served with it. Finally the pasta dish looked great and tasted great on the first mouthful however ever mouthful after that was severely overpowered with fennel which ruined it for me.
The main of hanger steak was a slight improvement however the steak was not good enough to save the rest of the meal and the veal meat balls were far too oily to enjoy and left me with a nasty taste in my mouth. The highlight of the whole meal for me was the side of garlic and rosemary potatoes. If I’d just gone for those and the wine I’d have left a happy man!

This review disappoints me before I begin. ! I was so very much looking forward to dining at the well hyped Rotorino — finally a classy looking, stylish, simple menued joint with no queuing or secret doors melarcy! We had a reservation for Friday evening — from the get go the staff were all friendly and attentive. Highly knowledgeable and genuinely enthusiastic about the menu and the Vino. I can not fault the service or staff at all — fantastic. The complimentary flat bread drizzled in oil that adorned our table to wet the pallet however were the highlight of the meal. We chose to share all our dishes and most were removed half eaten. Unheard of with me and my partner! The Bresola was thinly sliced but too salty and the meaty taste was overwhelmed. The pigs head terrine — for my tasting was too fatty, not enough meat to balance the dish. The sausage Cararecce — pasta was sublime, small barley like pieces of fresh pasta but the only taste was of over powering fennel. The hanger steak came medium/​rare — was ok but nothing to write home about and the veal meat balls were swimming in oil. So much so it made for a rather unpleasant remained of the evening as the powerful garlic repeated itself! I sadly wont be returning for anything other than a drink at the bar.

Very disappointing. The room is beautiful, the staff are very friendly and the service could not be faulted. The food, however, was awful. SALT! Everything is salted to the point of being almost inedible (I couldn’t even finish the simple green side salad I ordered). I had to send my main course (Gnochetti Sardi) back to the kitchen — the first time I have done this in years — as it was overly salted and generally, very poor (dry, flavourless and terribly presented). My girlfriend’s Aubergene Parmigiana was solid, but similarly over-​salted and over priced at £13.50. The courgette flowers I had as an appetiser and the chocolate cake dessert salvaged things somewhat but it was ultimately too late — will not be back in a hurry.

Another nouveau chic restaurant that unfortunately can’t back up the hype. Unless it’s on trend to leave guests waiting without food for another

I’ve been back and, after sampling more of their delicious menu, I’m now recommending this place wholeheartedly.
First off, reservations are tough to come by. Book at least a week in advance. If you don’t get a table though, it’s not the end of the world. It turns out the front half of the venue is no reservations and you can just turn up, sit at a large table or the bar and order from the same menu. We turned up at 6:45pm on a Saturday night and easily got a table. You would struggle to sit more than 2 people by 7:30pm.
Secondly, the service really is great. Everyone is friendly and helpful without being over the top.
Thirdly, the food is great value for money and delicious. Beware that if you order multiple courses with wine the final bill will mount up, but just keep track of what you’re ordering. £10 for a lovely hanger steak is great and gnochetti is highly recommended. The chocolate ‘cake’ (more like a ganache) was sublime if you like rich desserts.
Finally, the wine list is large with several house wines and you can order them by the glass, bottle or carafes.
The décor is all Dalston (with flashbacks of 80s wallpaper) and the seating is comfortable.
My only moan would be that the large entrance doors allow a fair bit of smoke from the smokers to drift inside when they are open.

Went on second night and can’t believe how amazing it was. Great food, loved the service with great advice from the waitress and just a great feel. The sausage pasta and the pork chop with amazing potatoes. Can’t wait to go back