Carbonara Carbonara

A classic Italian pasta dish with creamy egg sauce, pancetta, Parmesan, and a touch of black pepper.

Portobello Garden

Portobello Garden

269B Portobello Road, London, W111LR, W11 1LL, United Kingdom

Cafés • Pasta • Pizza • Italian


"Out and about on a lunchtime constitutional along Portobello Road last week something interesting caught my eye. Set back from the road, hiding behind vintage clothes in the arcade, was an alluringly attractive Italian restaurant. On my own, without reading material and in a hurry to get back to work, I had no intention of sitting down to eat but I was compelled to go in and investigate. I glanced at the menu and clientele, was charmed by the decor of hanging dried meat and flowers, and decided I would return imminently.<br/ <br/ Thankfully an opportunity arose this week. I had taken it upon myself to arrange a lunch for myself and nine colleagues, and presented them with an option of four restaurants (secretly hoping that democracy would work in my favour). At first, take-up was slow as the more adventurous-sounding alternatives were far more popular, but risk aversion gradually set in and the simple Italian became the winner; a culinary hare and tortoise situation, if you will.<br/ <br/ “What if they don’t cater for big groups? What if it’s awful and I’m forever ridiculed for my restaurant choice?” Such questions were running through my mind, distracting me from my morning tasks.<br/ <br/ An amiable Italian gentleman saw the first sub-group and exclaimed “group of ten, this way please!” so we followed orders and went inside to our long table, immediately looking above us at the conservatory style ceiling and feeling as though we had walked into a Tuscan summer.<br/ <br/ Our charismatic waitress brought over an alternative to a complementary bread basket; a plate of amuse-bouche sized pieces of courgette frittata served on a forest of rocket. I was very impressed by this. They have foreseen that I’m going to be ravenous, having not eaten since my 11:00 AM apple; that I may not wish to bloat up on bread; that I enjoy being surprised, which I most certainly was. I had only been there ten short minutes and these people already knew how to please me more than some people who have known me for decades. If that isn’t customer service, I really don’t know what is. <br/ <br/ The menu is slightly unusual in that there isn’t the usual long list of pizzas and pastas to choose from, instead there were a couple of al forno dishes (baked in the oven), several paninis (with pizza bread), and a list of specials, a few of which were mains. I took from this that a decision had been made to offer a limited number of dishes, but to do them well.<br/ <br/ I had top-notch, considerably portioned gnocchi with bolognese sauce for £11.50, served whilst the tomato sauce was still bubbling from the oven, with fresh basil scattered on top.<br/ <br/ To make the experience even more superior, they should consider investing in a second credit card machine to take two payments simultaneously since this was a bit slow.<br/ <br/ I was really fond of this restaurant and highly recommend it. Now I just need to think up another reason to go back next week.."

The Brig Fish Bar

The Brig Fish Bar

163 Linburn Road, Dunfermline, United Kingdom

Kebab • Seafood • Mexican • European


"Do not order food from this establishment. 7.56PM: I ordered food using Dunfermline Eats 9.30PM (1 Hour 30 min later): I called for an update and was advised that food was on its way. 10PM (2 hours later): I phoned for an update and was told the driver delivered it. They asked the driver who described a property with a fence. I explained it was not my property. I was told a new order would be made up and delivered. 10.20PM (2.5 hours later): A delivery driver shows up at my door with no food. He asked me Did a driver deliver here earlier? I explained the situation. He gave some explanation that sometimes there 's miscommunication between drivers. He awkwardly stood at the door saying I don 't know what to do now. Utterly confused what was actually happening, I phoned the restaurant again. At this point the driver had returned claiming that I was the person who accepted the delivery earlier in the night. I could not believe the audacity of the delivery driver to first lie to me at the door that he was not the driver who delivered to the wrong door but to then return to the shop, stating he had delivered to the property. Eventually, I asked for a full refund after effectively being called a liar by the driver. The Brig would NOT refund me but insisted on delivering a new order with a different driver. 10.55PM (THREE HOURS LATER): My order finally arrived. My thoughts on what happened; the driver could not admit that he had delivered to the wrong property because when he appeared at my door he had clearly been driven down with someone else from the establishment which is why he had to awkwardly knock on my door and have a false conversation with me. Interestingly, the food order was never set to On its way like it always does until the second order was despatched. Is it possible that the food order was never actually given to the driver and the mistake rests with the Brig itself? Either way someone working there is being knowingly untruthful. Summary: I received food THREE HOURS after I ordered it (too late to eat and enjoy any food). I was called a liar by the delivery driver used by this Brig takeaway. I will never order from the Brig again nor will I use Dunfermline Eats as customers have less protection. I will be sharing my experience through word of mouth and advising others of my experience and not to avoid this establishment. Shameful."