Carluccio's - London

Familiarity breeds contempt and as such good old Carluccio's doesn't exactly set the pulse racing as a possible short lunch stop off in an area full of

Comes to the cook. there is a bit of a problem with this chain because the delicious pasta dish I at this place tasted absolutely terrible at another carluccios (tasteless, shaken and unopened mush) that I only finished a quarter of the meal and was not charged. at least when I was at this point, the service was absolutely friendly and the cook seems to know what he did.

Steady. carluccio in smithfield is like a back-up, a reasonable alternative for me when I close to smithfield or comptoir gascon and they are full for a woken breakfast / brunch. this is a quite common hesitation, as sos cg slide the scale higher and are more desirable due to the trendy, more prosperous masses that are more frequent this part of the city. but we should not think less of the local carluccio. it has been shown to Italian cafe food of a steady quality. yes, the deli items in front of the shop are overpriced, but there is a focus on regional specialities, and it is a convenient holding point for mozzarella, ricotta, parma ham, dried porcini, risotto rice, tinted fish and saffron if they cannot find it elsewhere. the inner of this branch is light and airy, with high ceilings and a very relaxed feeling, making it ideal for a long brunch with friends and some wash papers. Coffee and baked are decent, the full breakfast is not bad for £8.50 that contains coffee juice, plus it grilled pancetta instead of fat speck. nice! it is also one of the rare places in london that makes bicerin. there are no pizzas here, but the pasta is again decent. I like the ricotta spinat ravioli served simply in sage butter. pasta here is actually cooked to al dente. I also like their thick, peasy pasta e fagioli (pasta beane) but not so sharp on their meek-watery mushroom soup. the menu changes with the season and there are daily specialties that are for a chain, is nice to see.

It is not a secret that I crushed a grandfather on antonio carluccio, so that they can imagine that I was more than happy to join my kumpels for their first meal at Carluccio’s. we ordered a tasting trio of pasta to share what was a great selection – penne giardiniera (enorme penne with zucchini, chili and fried spinat spheres,) gnocchi al gorgonzola (kartato gnocchi with gorgonzola and spinat) and pasta con funghi (papardalle with shiitaken, ampster). delizioso!

The service was a 4.0, with a friendly young woman greeting us as soon as we walked in. She recommended some products, answered our questions, and quickly served me my cappuccino as they were quite busy. She was friendly and informative. The food was a 3.0, with the coffee being the weakest aspect of the experience. I felt that it wasn't as good as what I would get at a pod or Cafe Nero, but my expectations may have been too high. The presentation of the cappuccino was nice, especially with the chocolate dusting on top, but there was too much milk and it was lukewarm.