Bertorelli

I’m entitling this review ‘Third time’s the charm’, because it really, really is true.
Bertorelli is one of the those restaurants that I go to, not out of choice, but because it’s already been pre-​booked and there’s no way out, without being incredibly rude. The first two times I was here, we had such heinous, uninterested service that we (gasp!) asked for the service charge to be removed from the bill.
Apparently, that wasn’t the done thing because this provoked a ten minute back and forth — Them: «Why are you doing this to us?» Us: «We’ve been sitting here for 20 minutes with dirty dishes in front of us waiting for the bill, which we’ve asked for three times.» Them: «But service is standard.» Us: «Just take it off so we can pay and leave.» Them: *scowling* «Fine.»
Anyway, I went here on my most recent trip with a heavy heart and extremely low expectations and boy was I shocked! Granted, I was with a group of very lively people and we laughed and jollied our way through the entire meal, but still. The service was super and the food was delicious. Colour me surprised!
We started with the usual olives, bread, stuffed peppers, calamari plates, which were fine. Then for mains, three of us got the lamb and one of us got the steak. Hot diggity, that lamb was good. Tender, cooked just how I ordered it (medium rare) and served with a lovely vegetable salsa and (slightly too salty) olive tapenade.
So my last visit was worth four stars, but because I really have to add in the other two horrible experiences, it averages out to about a 2.5, which I’m making a two. Maybe the next time I go there it’ll get even better? Watch this space.

A little random fact I found out about this place: it was part of the setting in Sliding Doors!
We got starters of black and green olives, and stuffed peppers. I’m not sure what they were stuffed with exactly, but it had a little extra ‘zing!’.
On a recent goat cheese kick, I had the Cantodina pizza. It was delicious! It was smothered with the stuff, and also cherry tomatoes. It was as big as your face, so if I hadn’t already stuffed my face with Halloween candy, I probably could’ve polished it off.
It was a little bit empty for a Friday lunchtime, but the waiters were friendly enough and the place had a nice vibe to it.

I must say I love the food there, if they have enough food to serve customers that is. The waitress came back to us and said they have ran out of one of the starters we’ve ordered, and then again almost an hour later to say they have ran out of one of the mains that we have ordered! Surely it shouldn’t take them almost an hour to realise that they have run out one of their main signature dishes. The food took forever to come out with almost an hour of wait between each courses. There was a mouse in the restaurant as well, but the waitress just laughed it off when we tried to bring it to her attention. Once again, I love the food there, just not everything else.

I used to visit Bertorelli’s after work and get hammered on cheap champagne with colleagues. Yes, that’s right — cheap champagne. Sometimes they do special deals in Bertorelli’s and the champagne was quite affordable.
The waiter’s are friendly enough (I suspect that’s because they want their tips at the end of the evening), a little to flirtatious for my liking but fair enough. Food is served here too but you don’t have to eat necessarily, which is a good thing. If you wish, you can simply just sit-​in and order drinks, this place does table service which is cool.
The interior is a little clinical for my liking but it does the job enough. This isn’t the most mind blowing drinking experience but definitely a place I enjoyed going to after a long hard day at work, we were always guaranteed a seat and the cheap champagne was a bonus!