Carluccio's

foodbymark

Good value Italian eating 29th September 2008

2 found this helpful

After a craving for pasta at work my girlfriend and I decided to meet up in Canary Wharf for dinner. Carluccio's being the simplest choice in the area. This Carluccio's like all the others we have visited is both a caffé and a foodshop where you can have breakfast, lunch, coffee, dinner and pick up foodstuffs from their larders and prepared foods counters.

The menus across all Carluccio's are the same, with around 5-6 choices for each Italian course. Our choices of mains were the Pasta Con Funghi and Spaghetti Alle Vongole In Bianco. My Pasta Con Funghi comprised of a great selection of fresh mushrooms in a well balanced sauce with al dente egg pappardelle. The spaghetti with clams in a chilli, garlic sauce which is light and not over seasoned.

The tables needed another wipe and all the menus we were brought over were sticky. Our waitress was on her first night and clearly didn't know the menu but that was ok! The food is predictable but good and we continue to return.

(the original review with photos is on my blog)

CPaskell

The best Carluccios outlet 5th September 2008

0 found this helpful

I really love the food at carluccios but for me, this one is the best of the many carluccios outlets in London. The service is always impeccable here, the staff are friendly, fast and very knowledgeable about the food and its ingredients, even making substitutions to the meals where they can (for example, letting me have 2 meat rice balls - the second rice ball should be filled with mozarella - because I can't eat too much cheese). My favourite meal is the pasta con vongole (clams with garlic and chilli in spaghetti). The pasta is fresh and good value for money, the menu has a great range of salads and main dishes too with a nice range of affordable and more expensive wines. The menu does change seasonally - so my clams aren't available in winter - but then they have other food on offer such as wild boar raviolis. In summer, sitting outside in this venue is lovely although it does get busy with office workers. Weekends are pretty quiet and a good time to come as Canary Wharf is pretty much deserted and it's right next to the Jubilee Line Canary Wharf station.