Carluccio's Marylebone

Carluccio's tends to be my Italian chain restaurant of choice these days. The pasta is always of a high standard and now that I've managed to wean myself away from their sublime sage ravioli (fab, but just not enough for an evening meal and a tad too piggy for a starter!) I've discovered many other delights on their menu. The only issue that let this outpost down was that it was dead as the proverbial, on a somewhat overcast Wednesday evening, so the normal hustle and bustle synonymous with its siblings, was very much missing. The staff tried to make up for that but there is only so much interaction you can have with two diners on a pre-theatre swifty meal. As it was, that evening's performance in Regent's Park got rained off, but I cannot say that the benefit of foresight would have kept us there any longer. A huge shame, but I guess the well heeled burghers of this part of town have other places to splash their cash.....

Very disappointing. We took friends from overseas and were were wanting casual and lively, not formal. Our experience left us embarrassed. There was a group of us and we ordered across the menu. Food was average to say the least – I had the fish which was edible but poorly presented, the salsa was a pile of chopped tomatoes and the potatoes were just biffed on the side. I could have done much better at home. This was pretty much the same for everyone – and there was a lot of food left on our plates. The wine list was boring. The atmosphere was ok but more like a tearooms than a restaurant, and the service was simply appalling – inattentive, forgetful, and slow, then clattering, clanking and clumsy. Things we requested, like water for the table just wouldn't come and we'd have to ask again, and again. A bottle of wine and some olives ordered soon after arrival took probably 10 minutes to come and that was after prompting. Would not recommend and will not go again.