Ida

JillW

A hidden gem 15th November 2009

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We love this restaurant on our estate - what a treat to pop in during the week when there is nothing in our fridge and have authentic pasta, a friendly welcome and a glass of wine. Or a Saturday outing with friends, especially if they have Italian connections. Last week we took a visiting Venezuelan (of Italian extraction) and she was delighted with the sea bass and asparagus risotto. A few months ago we took another Latino (again with roots in Italy) and he became very nostalgic when he saw the featured region of the month was his family's home province. Long may Ida continue and thanks Avi and Simonetta for creating such a great addition to our immediate neighbourhood.

Dot01

Rustic charm 10th November 2009

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I love this restaurant for it's authentic Italian charm. The food is pretty good but the atmosphere is what will make your evening. The waitresses are all very friendly and the owner (an author) is a wonderful host. Mon-Thurs 3 courses cost only £15. I think the only reason they offer that good a deal is that they are off the main road a bit because it doesn't reflect at all on the wonderful dining experience!

StephanieP

Top Italian 25th October 2009

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As a homesick ex-Londoner recently relocated to Brighton, I come to the city as often as I can. I was taken to Ida a couple of weekes ago with some friends who booked a big table for a birthday. Twenty of us chose the fantastic £15 three course set menu - and boy did we eat! Some of us had this delicious soft prosciutto tart for antipasti and my friend chose gratin tomatoes with pork cheek - it was yummy! The primi were fantastically generous spaghetti with vegetables or penne with ragu, then we had pork or veal for our mains. Everything was spanking fresh, and the portions were huge. Sometimes the service was abit slow, but the staff were really friendly, and the whole restaurant joined in in singing happy birthday to my friend!. Discovering Ida is my perfect excuse to return to London. I want to try the a la carte menu next with the hand rolled pasta which my friend says is to die for!

foodieboy

what's not to like? 25th October 2009

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Living around the corner from Ida, I have a vested interest in this little local Italian. For half the price of its Notting Hill equivalents, I get to eat hand rolled pasta and delicious regional specialities in what has to be the cutest dining room in London. Unsurprisingly, the place is always teeming with everyone from families with small children, to posh media types. Yes, the service isn't always slick, but this is part of its charm. Everyone I take here agrees it's the next best thing to being in Italy (its open kitchen means you eavesdrop on some hilarious scenes in the kitchen!) and the staff are real people, who actually chat with you when they take your order. My friends are jealous - unsurprisingly!

ThomasCripps

Bellissimo 24th October 2009

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A splendid evening at Ida.
An extensive menu. Good quality fresh foods .Good wine list though we opted for a bottle of excellent Prosecco, Hand made pasta, with a perfect classic meat ragu for me, and sea bass rissotto for my friend.. A crisp green salad , and an unusual but delicious ricotta cheese dessert. Every woman that I have taken there, from my Mother and sister to my girlfriend have loved the pretty white tablecloths and the atmosphere, the charming staff
and decor and Italian music .
Perfect for a romantic date !

dannyjedwards

no customer service whatsoever 10th August 2009

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I'm a local who loves to come down to Ida with my friends - in fact, we always rave about how good the quality of the food is, and how Ida proves that eating out in London doesn't have to be a terrible experience! The food is fresh and good, the service sparkling, and it really does feel like a proper local restaurant.

Until the last time we went.

We took some friends to ida last, and it was like a completely different place. The food, admittedly was still good (although we didn't realise the pasta on the set menu would be dried, rather than the usually fantastic fresh variety) but the service was truly abysmal.

- 4 hours to get three courses.
- Plates never cleared after each course
- Water ordered twice, forgotten twice. Glasses then forgotten. then only 2 delivered to table (there were 4 of us)
- Courses delivered to two people then a wait of 10mins, then to the remaining people (by which time the first 2 delivered were cold)
- Waiter completely ignored us on exiting the restaurant - by this point he had been sitting there doing nothing for some time while people were still waiting for attention.

Needless to say, we did not leave a tip.

Now, it was very busy, and, having had a service background myself, I understand that restaurants can be very busy and hectic, and this means food is slowed down, and sometimes things are forgotten.

However, not a single apology, or even acknowledgement of the fact things were slow, or forgotten or anything. A simple apology goes a long long way, as all restauranteurs should know. Some sort of discount off the menu would have gone further, but an apology would have been enough.

Since that evening I have tried to contact the restaurant via email on 3 occasions to explain my concerns and there has been so attempt to respond.

So, with reluctance I am posting this bad review of what is usually a good place.

decodeme72

Food Averqage, Service appauling 23rd July 2009

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decodeme72 at 23/07/09

My huge gripe with this place and I've been twice just to make sure I hadn't just caught the staff on a bad night - was how incredible rude the waitress was.

The decor is acutally quite nice in my opinion. The food is average and a little overpriced. The service is the rudest I ever experienced.

Such a shame, I would go back regularly for the overpriced average food as its so near to my house if only a got treated politely.

Other people I know have also have similar experiences to mine I hope the management read this and take note.

streisand

best italian in london by far 10th February 2009

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quite simply the most authentic charming italian restaurant in the capital

dzine

no id(e)a 3rd August 2008

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Based on a friend's recommendation my wife & I were looking forward to an evening of good, reasonably priced local food.
You couldn't deny the staff were keen to feed us, we barely had the menus in our hands for a minute when we were asked if we had made our decision. When they returned five minutes later we both opted for a pasta dish to start followed by sea bream and rabbit and to accompany a bottle of chianti.
The homemade tagliatelle and accompanying sauces were fine, but could have done with a bit more seasoning and were absolutely not worth £11 each. We had to remind our waitress about our wine as this had not arrived prior to the food. After the first taste we wished it hadn't arrived at all - it certainly put the rough into ruffino. To be fair, the waitress was happy to change the bottle and the reasonably priced house red we went for was very drinkable.
The waitress brought the fish and the side salad for my wife and when she saw my confusion asked if something was missing. Err, yes, my main course. This flakiness was consistent through all three waitresses.
My wife was happy with the sea bream but felt the chef had gone overboard with the overpowering sundried tomatoes and olives, not to mention the inch of dressing that drowned her side salad. My rabbit was well cooked, but the accompanying roast potatoes were grey once cut open.
My wife ended the evening with a dessert entitled 'black and white chocolate ice-cream' which turned out to be a bowl of vanilla topped with dark & white 'chocolate' buttons. OK, Ida's hadn't broken the trade descriptions act, but one expects something more for £4.50.
Ida's seems to have all the right intentions to deliver good, honest Italian food, but unfortunately based on our experience it falls well short. The service was beyond flakey given three women were looking after less than thirty people, the food was average, the chianti was undrinkable and the the whole thing was massively overpriced. Add to that no loo seat in the ladies, and it will be a bloody miracle if we ever go back.

TimParlett

Great Real Italian Restaurant 30th November 2007

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Very good authentic Italian food in a small family restaurant.

I spent last weekend in Milan and this was just as if I as still there.

It was packed last night so service was slow (I guess they were shortstaffed ... or maybe they weren't expecting Thursday to be completely packed - there were people waiting too), but the food was great (as it had been the 3 times I've been before) and we weren't in too much of a hurry anyway.

And the bill didn't bite back: it all seems a reasonable price.