Olivelli

Overpriced food and RUDE staff.
Never going back again — thoroughly disappointed.

I had high hopes when visiting this restaurant, as it always looked like a small family business that would make nice home made food. However, I was left unimpressed by my experience there.
Me and my friends decided to pick from the 2 course lunch options for £12 as the same mains on the regular menu costed more than the set menu that had 2 dishes. Two of us got the calamari starter and the other got the soup. To be honest I have had better calamari by buying it frozen from Tesco and frying it myself. It was way too thin and definitely did not taste fresh. My other friend could not even eat his soup as it was tasteless for him. The waitress offered to bring him something else but we did not have enough time to wait for an extra dish because we had to get back to work.
Coming to the mains, the pizza was good, however it does take a lot to mess up pizza. The chicken in bread crumbs with spaghetti did not look very appetising but according to my friend it was ok, and the other pasta dish was a bit heavy on the garlic but acceptable.
To be honest this place is best avoided, but if you happen to be there just order the pizza and do not bother with anything else. You can buy the same from the supermarket and have better results cooking it yourself.

Before going to the Alice’s Adventures Underground show, we had to eat something (we didn’t want to faint in the middle of the Vaults) and obviously, italian food is always a good idea, right ?
When we arrived, it was still early, so the place was not too crowded. But don’t be fooled, this place can be really noisy when it’s full, and the tables are really very close to each other. Maybe not the perfect place for a romantic night…
Otherwise, the food is good ! I ate a calzone pizza, which was HUGE and filled with ham and delicious melting cheese. Not a mind-​blowing experience, but my belly was definitely happy about this meal !
My only deception? (except from the noise) They don’t have seafood pizzas. But don’t worry, you’ll find plenty to feast about: lasagnas, margharita pizzas, veggie pizzas, carbonara pasta…

Just came to London for a wedding and had a free evening so my DH and I decided to venture out for a meal near our hotel. We had tried to get into a few pub restaurants, but couldn’t even make it past the bar crowds hanging around the doors. So we went into Olivelli. Even though we had no reservation they made a concerted effort to get us seated within minutes. Our table was near the door and we noticed they were equally polite and helpful in seating others without a reservation, though the place was pretty packed.
We ordered a salad and minestrone soup to start (it was a chilly rainy July evening in London). The starters were fantastic. We are not drinkers, and our server was very sweet about bringing tap water and keeping our glasses full without making us feel like we should be drinking wine or bottled water.
When our pasta arrived we were pleasantly surprised. My DH ordered a Penne Arrabiatta that was not listed on the menu, but that they were very gracious about providing. According to him, it was perfect — just the right amount of heat. He likes it spicy so I knew not to try it if he said it was spicy enough for him. I had the Spaghetti Carbonara — done the way I like it with egg rather than the heavy cream most Italian restaurants in the U.S. seem to prefer. It was delicious. And the portions were generous. Fortunately we have access to a fridge so we took what we couldn’t finish with us.
Our main server was very sweet with a lovely smile — made us feel welcome. In addition there were two others who swooped in from time to time if they sensed we needed anything.
Despite how busy it was they did not rush us out. We asked for our check, though, because we wanted to ensure another twosome could get seated to enjoy a fine meal. The total cost was, we thought, reasonable especially considering the quality of the meal.
We would most definitely go back. Top notch food and service.

Our experience tonight was that the food was much better than expected. So was the service. Really great evening until we met the owner when presented with bill. We complemented the food and service, and his attitude was so demeaning that it turned us off to a high degree. We are Canadians, and if an owner behaved like this, the restaurant would be out of business in no time at all. Really nice evening spoiled by the OWNER. Feel sorry for the staff!

We just flew into London this morning and wanted a nearby Italian restaurant while we waited for our room to get ready. The concierge suggested Olivelli two blocks around the corner. We were pleasantly surprised as Unilocal only rates it 2.5 stars. The food was fantastic and the service was fun and efficient. I had the homemade pasta special with veal strips and mushrooms, delicious, and my wife loved her lasagne. Based on our meal today, we would definitely return. Fabio, Junior and Adrianna were more fun and were excellent in seeing to our needs.

I often find myself on The Cut, and Olivelli’s has been around a long time, so I’ve been there a few times over the years. The standard has deteriorated on every visit, and I certainly won’t be returning any more.
The menu is too big, and yet somehow still manages to miss off some key dishes that you’d expect from an Italian restaurant. It’s the same story for the desserts.
The service has never been spectacular, but when a friend and I visited a couple of nights ago, our waiter was actually just plain rude, unhelpful, and apparently couldn’t care less about his job. When asked «Would you recommend the lasagna or the risotto?» He said «I’ve never had the risotto. Try the octopus.»
The lasagna (not containing octopus) was actually very nice, but unfortunately that was the only positive of the whole experience. This is all topped off with the fact that the prices are definitely, definitely, too high.
Such a shame to have to give a local, non-​chain restaurant such a bad review, but Olivelli’s simply isn’t worth the visit.

We have been there and felt nice.
Very friendly workers there who makes you feel welcome. The prices are a little bit high London prices but the food was good.

I can’t complain about the food, but my friends and I were unimpressed by the snobbish and unfriendly attitude of the staff.

I came here with my friend near the beginning of my stay here in London. I have to say I was NOT impressed.
We were seated by the door and it was freezing! The cold air just kept blowing inside from the freezing cold OUTSIDE. Anyway the menu was pretty extensive.
I ordered the seafood pasta and my friend ordered the salmon pasta and a side of bread. The food came out in a timely manner and the portions were pretty decent. The service was okay.
Nothing too memorable. There are better restaurants out there so I’ll probably go try them before I go back.

Olivelli is not very good; .
The décor is nice, with the fresh flower center pieces, but that’s about it. I ordered the peppercorn salmon dish and my friend ordered the lamb cutlets.
My dish was basically a bland piece of salmon with whole peppercorns scattered on top in a greyish cream sauce… no idea what they were thinking. I could have just as easily eaten peppercorns from my pepper shaker at home and called it a meal.
I tried a piece of my friend’s lamb cutlet too… bland again, and a criminal way to do lamb in my opinion since its such a flavourful meat.
I was really surprised at the hoards of people who were eating away here and gave the impression that the restaurant was good… escaped me.
Overall there was nothing really that satisfying about this place aside from a space to catch up with an old friend. ‘Kevin Spacey, Graham Norton, Jack Dee, Ben Elton, Eric Clapton and Mel Brookes’ — as listed on their website for frequenting the place— must have bad or no taste if it is actually true that they come here frequently… eee; /

Sub par Italian restaurant. Great location with outdoor seating but food needs to be better

I came here today while being on day 3 of my bender and needed some hearty pasta to make me feel better. It did! I had the Penne Salmon! ’twas nice! Nothing to go crazy about but good all the same!

I went here last night in search of comfort food. It was all tasty but didn’t really fulfill my craving. We skipped starters and I got ravioli with asparagus for my main course, while my friend got carbonara. Her dish was lovely, but they put loads of mushrooms on mine which it didn’t say on the menu so if i went again I would ask for none.
The service was great, there was only two waiters but we never had to try get their attention and the food came pretty fast.
The décor is nice, really like pizza express. There is no table clothes or linen, just nice fresh flowers on each table. For desert we got a chocolate fudge cake to share which was nice but it didn’t blow my mind. It could have been richer. Our bill came to £30.00, my main was £8.65 and the carbonara was £8. A glass of red wine was £3.65 and a coke was £1.95. Our desert was a hefty £5.65, so next time I would get a starter instead, the people next to us had gorgeous starters.
It is my local Italian so I will probably end up going back, next time I’ll stick to starters and pizza though, safer options.