Cantina Italia

Alex (28 December 2008)

A very average overpriced Italian restaurant. We left feeling a little hungry, and like we had paid twice as much as we should have for food we could have made better ourselves at home. We went on a very quiet night; in fact we were the only ones there. The members of staff weren’t rude or loud, they were fine, although the waitress didn’t really understand much of what we asked her. That doesn’t bother me. What I found most disappointing was the lack of imagination that went into the dishes, we stayed away from pasta and pizza as we were hoping for the sort of authentic Italian meal you can’t find at a pizza and pasta joint - and we have had many in Italy so we have an idea of what to expect.

My wife ordered the entrecote, steak with rocket and parmesan, and I ordered the lamb shank. We also ordered sides. The meats arrived alone on a plate so I’m glad we ordered sides and this wasn’t surprising as it is a traditional way of serving meat, but not only did the steak lack anything, including sauce, pepper, balsamic, rocket or parmesan, but it cost £16 for what was honestly simply a single piece of pan-fried meat with nothing else. It was a complete rip-off. I could have bought a fillet steak at a supermarket for £4 and done a better job at home. The lamb shank was just as disappointing. The sides were okay, no real complaint other than it was food I could make at home in five minutes, and I was paying expensive restaurant prices for the pleasure. We had a glass of house wine each, a bottle of sparkling water, and a coffee and it cost £60. We were shocked. The food was so marginal, bland and easy to do at home we really wished we'd eaten at one of the other many interesting, imaginative restaurants Islington has to offer and saved £20 in the process. Maybe if you want pizza or pasta its fine, but to me that’s not good Italian dining, that’s dime a dozen. We will never go back.

Chris (25 August 2008)

My brief encounter of a night out was doomed with a visit to an Italian Restaurant. Not only did I wait 30 minutes for my pizza, to add insult to injury the base was burnt. When I complained to the waiter, he didn't seem that concerned and from his dishevelled appearance I was not surprised that he wasn't interested in my burnt pizza.