Carluccios

Busy place and clean! Wait staff was nice and food was good. They had 3 course for 12.99 which is very affordable by London standards. Would recommend to anyone in the area.

I always seem to have problems with the restaurants in the Carluccios chain. They’re never all that significant but I feel like they could always be a bit better somehow. Sadly, this visit was another example of this.
First off some good service from our waiter, who had no trouble making sure we got two n’duja and mozzarella arancini rather than one, plus a Gorgonzola one. Then it just became a bit irritating sub average afterwards. This isn’t to say anything was bad, but nothing was great.
The arancini were delicious. Garlic bread, again, good. My main? Well the pasta was cooked perfectly but the chicken was just funky and the sauce may have been pure unseasoned cream as far as I know. It was improved a lot by dumped a load of salt and pepper into it, but despite an interesting description on the menu, it just didn’t meet my expectations.
Again, not bad, just pretty meh. My only real issue is the density of the tables in here. When there are so many that a waiter has trouble getting between them then I’m sure that’s too many tables. But the restaurant is in South Ken, so I can understand that volumes are put above the customer experience due to all the tourists.

I really don’t know why we persist in going to Carluccios — I never leave especially happy, it’s pricey, and the service is hit and miss.
I know to avoid the mains — I don’t like how they cook their pasta, and the meat is more than I like to spend for not-​great quality, so I had the arancini starter (subbed the gorgonzola one for another n’duja) and some garlic bread (which I shared with Brian).
My food was fine, and Brian’s was edible, but on this occasion the service was pretty bad. Our waiter was doing that ‘I’m your new friend/aren’t I handsome’ thing that just seems sleazy and is obviously just tip begging, and then when I didn’t appear charmed enough (he wasn’t at all charming) he just shut it off and we basically didn’t see him again. The restaurant was busy but not packed, but the tables are so close together that it feels very cramped and crowded. The table next to us had to put their hand in the air and wave at the waiter to get his attention from where he stood by the bar not doing anything discernible.
I guess I just need a reminder every once in a while to avoid this chain. Thanks Carluccios, my memory is refreshed.

A chain restaurant, so it was a very pleasant surprise to find the food was so good. Beautifully cooked fresh seafood, great wine list and a full selection of Gluten free pasta dishes. It was as good as Italian restaurants that are much more expensive! I don’t know why I had avoided them until now thinking it was gonna be the UK version of Olive Garden… it isn’t …it is much better.

I went there on a Tuesday night, the place was not crowded. Me and my friend we ordered all the sharing starters, as it is 10 pounds for 3 starters, and so with 20 pounds, u can get 6 starters, and they are yummy and filling! and then we ordered a bottle of white, it was fruity. One thing that could be improved is the waitress can reduce the time for interfering people, i know i know they just want to make sure the food is okay, but man, we were chatting!!! duhhhhhh… but i guess sometimes their appearance can save some from awkward moments. LOL.

I’ve only been here for dessert, but I was surprised that they didn’t do Pizza.
An italian that doesn’t do pizza? Huh?
So the emphasis is on pasta, and the food is pretty good. It’s a little pricy if you go for the a la carte menu but I got the 3 course menu for around £15 which was pretty good.
I had the Chicken liver pâté with caramalised onion and toast. Very very good.
Italian chicken milanese. Basically a chicken schnitzel with some rocket and potatoes. The potatoes were a little salty, but the portion was perfect and chicken perfectly cooked and mouth-​watering.
Dessert was a panna cotta with rum infused orange peel. Exceedingly rich and whilst lovely I couldn’t finish it all.
In terms of service our waiter was great. My food seemed to have more problems that anyone else, since I was the only person to order from the set menu and items came our erattically. E.g. Despite asking for my food to come out with everyone else’s to prevent them having to wait for me. My starter came out before everyone’s main, but then my main seem to have been forgotten and there was a small wait. Similar situation with dessert. I’m not one to hold it against them as the place was pretty busy with lots of big tables and they did a great job in the situation ensuring we always got what we needed quickly after grabbing a member of staff’s attention and ensuring food came out mostly at the same time.
I’d come back to this chain again for sure. It’s a safe bet for good quality food that is nothing mind-​blowing but simple, safe and hearty.

We wanted Italian and we got it! Thanks to the other reviews here on Unilocal we decided to give it a try. It was loud but not too loud. The place has a charm all its own with the desserts in the window and the deli counter of meats. Having said all that it’s the food that’s the draw! We had the liver pâté which was smooth as butter and so very tasty. Betty had the Milanese de polo with a substitution of pasta for the roasted potatoes. I had the carbonara and with both had side salads. The breaded chicken was pounded thin and yet was still juicy and the coating was delicious. My carbonara was cooked perfectly and had a great taste that was only accentuated by the taste of the bacon. The salads were better than expected for a side salad. I believe we will be back.

I ate my first «real» dinner in London at this Carluccio’s back in January. I got ravioli with spinach and cheese in a white wine/​oil sauce, along with a glass of pinot grigio, and it was absolutely delicious.
The waiters and waitresses here are very kind and are willing to accommodate the needs of your party without complaints. The atmosphere is very relaxed and calming, so it’s perfect for a romantic date, as well as a nice night out talking with friends over yummy food and wine.

My wife and I checked out this place our first night in London. There are several Italian places nearby and this one had the best reviews so we decided to have dinner here. The service is very professional but otherwise there was nothing special or worth mentioning. I find Italian is often all too expensive for what it is and I’d say that rang true for Carluccios as well. The food was decent but not worth a trip back.

The branch is well located opposite the tube station. We visited on a Sunday for lunch. The restaurant was busy and lively but the staff was still very friendly and efficient. We received our drinks and food promptly. Our selection of food ranged from salat to pasta everything taste great.
Over all the shop looked good and felt clean. I would visit again…

We stumbled on this place on a mid-​day walking tour break. It was packed but they seated us pretty quickly. We had some salads and pasta and they were both pretty good. I had a spinach ball and pence pasta main with a salad for an appetizer. My friends had the carbonara, rigatoni, and mushroom pasta. Everyone enjoyed it. Just giving it a 3 because I can’t do a 3.5 and I wouldn’t rank it a 4. The bread here was also great by the way. If you want a nice quick tasty lunch it’s a good place to stop. Prices were very reasonable as well.

I have been to a few Carluccios and sometimes they are hit and miss but this one was perfect! Everything seemed to be amazing. I had the carbonara — classic but done very well with a side of spinach. Bread was also freshly made and delicious! It was all great. Service was great, they even sped up our orders when we said we were on a time restriction. Def the best one i have been too. Great ambience, excellent location, great food and wine. I visited on a Saturday afternoon and it was packed, luckily we got there before 5.30 as there was a queue out the door when we left.

Pretty good place, with a lot going for it. A) in front of South Ken tube station B) Good easy internet connectivity. A bright noisy modern Italian bistro, it has a good glass wine selection, salads, pasta, and more. Fresh, tasty food at decent prices.

Had a very nice breakfest here. Egg Benedict and a Café Latte. It tasted very very good and staff was friendly.

I prefer sitting next to the window. People here are welcoming. We chose four main courses and I would say it was overall pretty good. I am more interest in their soup TBH, however they did not have it yesterday. It would be so much better for u to have a little bit cheese rather than none or too much. I drank so much water after overwhelming cheese. Trust me they use good Italian olive oil. 加一点黑胡椒或奶酪都会比什么都不加好很多，但如果你加了太多就会像我一样吃过后就要喝大量的水。他们在叶子上加入的是不错的橄榄油

This place is a delicious Italian joint that has a very friendly yet chic atmosphere. I had a mushroom soup of the day along with a goat cheese salad that was delicious. Upon walking in, you have to pass through the cabinets and rows of desserts and pastries that make your mouth water. I think that this place is pretty authentic compared to many of the other Italian restaurants I have tried. It is incredibly family friendly, as well as perfectly suitable for big groups. I would definitely want to return again with friends for brunch or lunch. This is also a great place to come and have a drink or cappuccino and do some reading or work on the computer. There is a lot of table space and a very laid back atmosphere.

I don’t know why some people say this is the McDonald’s of Italian. I disagree. The food here is delicious and well cooked. I had linguine with seafood and it was one of the best I’ve tasted. I went here with five other friends, and they all loved their choices of food as well.
At the moment they also have a two for one offer until end of January. I shall be back there for lunch tomorrow then.

Another in the sad list of busy spots in London with ok food but absolutely awful service — from the hostess who seats you — empty smile and zero cares whether the experience is good or bad — to the non present wait staff — I waited 15 minutes to get served, no apology —
Too many other good options — avoid this place

Really good italian food and great home made pasta (ravioli with spinach and ricota), the 10.95 menu definitely a good deal u can choose between app and main dish or main dish and dessert. The chef menu is also very tempting with fresh food.
the atmosphere of the place is very nice and the service was impeccable !

We ate here on a very busy bank holiday Monday. There were queues out the door and down the street. It was poring rain outside and we were very happy we had made a reservation.
The atmosphere in here is loud and lively and it was full of big groups, many with children.
The food is fine. It’s not the best Italian food I’ve ever eaten but it is edible. The service was a bit slow, probably because they were so busy.
The rest of the group I was with thought it was excellent so maybe I am just a bit fussy. I will probably eat here again at some point but it wouldn’t be my first choice.