Operetta is one of those places where everybody seems to lunch. Another restaurant smack bang in the middle of Office Land, it's unsurprising that it is always heaving with business customers. If you don't call ahead to book seating, you will likely be waiting for a table a loooong while.
The last time I was there, five of us from work got a lovely big booth. Now, the nice thing about this place is you can see right into the kitchen, which means that they have nowhere to hide. It's also fun to see the occasional flames shooting up from the grill (oh no, my inner pyro is showing!). But, unfortunately, this also means that when service is slow, you can see your food sitting there while the kitchen staff maniacally ring the service bell for someone to pick it up. This is especially annoying when your growling stomach is just about ready to devour the person sitting next to you. But given that this wee place is always so crowded at lunch time, I think they can be forgiven.
The food always seems to come in monster proportions!!! When it arrives at the table, everybody eyeballs their dishes with something akin to horror mixed with awe, wondering at how exactly they're going to manage to polish off these mains! Even the risotto, which at first glance seems to be a relatively small portion, is just too much for a mere mortal such as myself - they must have TARDIS bowls or something.
To say that this restaurant is Italian would be an exaggeration, at least for the lunch menu (I've never eaten here at night). It is fairer to say that the menu seems to be a mix between a few Italian dishes and European or American dishes (steak pie and burgers are definitely not Italian). That said, no matter what gargantuan dish you order, it will be pretty damn tasty. Just be prepared to loosen your belt! read more