Distinctly average
A quick lunch required with a new client, and no booking made. We were seated quickly, and looked after, so no complaints on the service. Only twice did we actually have to request attention, and one of those was for the bill.
Food is average at best. this place does straight forward Italian with a nod to the carnal side. My guest's starter plate of parma ham and shaved parmesan was on slabs of oil drizzled focaccia, not bad, but rather too big and too rustic perhaps?
My devilled lambs kidneys on garlic toast (again a huge portion) were overcooked. Kidneys require attention, and mine had been left far to long in either the pan or under the grill, so came out tired and dry. The sauce with a hint of chilli, butter and garlic was delicious, but wasn't enough to compensate for the overcooking.
Mains were lasagna for my guest and spaghetti vongole for me. The lasagna was deemed 'fine' though was left only half eaten, it had a very greasy appearance.
The vongole was disappointing; the pasta under-cooked - I love 'al dente' but not rubber. The vongole were tiny and rubbery, not fresh, but worst of all was small pieces of shell throughout the dish which made each mouthful a lottery of tooth cracking terror and dainty chewing. again the sauce was perfect, but ruined by the rest.
Never been a big fan of Appennino, as I much prefer the wonderful Enoteca da Luca next door, but this was a poor display from the kitchen by anyone's standards, it came across as half-hearted and plain lazy. I'll resist going back.