Come here many times and each time I have been impressed…read more Food is always up to par and the staff is very welcoming and happy to explain any part of the menu. Pizzas are cooked very well as well as pastas. Highly recommend!

We live right down the street and we were so excited to finally try Valentina. We buy some things…read morein the shop downstairs and have always been happy. The olives are amazing and the panettone for Christmas was delicious. To begin with, the service was very slow. From the beginning, even just getting wine and water seemed to take too long. Then we had to wait 30 minutes to order food and then another 30 minutes to receive our appetizers. By this time we had been at the restaurant for over an hour. The main course took about 30 minutes to arrive, as well, which would have been okay if we weren't already a bit annoyed with the slow service. I'm not sure if they were understaffed (it was fairly busy, especially for a Wednesday night) but the staff just seemed to disappear sometimes. The food itself was also subpar and a disappointment. Italian food is wonderful and full of great flavors - all the food we had was bland. We had fried calamari that was chewy and, although the calamari seemed fresh, the batter didn't taste of anything. It seemed like neither the calamari nor the batter had been seasoned. My partner's fish was okay but again, seemed under-seasoned, and my pasta was also just bland. Everything lacked any sort of distinction and, considering how good the items in the store are, this was a real disappointment. I think if we hadn't been there with a 50% promotion we would have been really upset. We were hoping to find a new neighborhood spot but this, sadly, won't be it.

This place is brilliant. Used to go here all the time with my flatmate. We would get a pizza and a…read morepasta and split it. Great service and amazing food. Pleasant environment especially the back garden during summertime. Oooh, and get the ice cream after, soooo good! Definitely recommend. Miss this place!

Favourite of mine! V. Good food, and the staff are always…read morefriendly and helpful. I have been there many times, and each time I have had amazing food! The pizza is well made, and tasty, and the pasta is a creamy delight! Being next to Pizza Express, it's not as popular as i feel it could be, as people seem to prefer chains they've eat at before to independent restaurants. However, I have had both, and I would say that Bellinis is a better place! So, break your habit and pick it!

It was a long tube ride from Southwark to Kew Gardens, and we didn't pay for the breakfast buffet…read moreat the hotel. When we arrived at the station, we weren't that clear which direction we were supposed to walk, but we were clear that we needed something to nosh before facing all that flora at the gardens. The Tyrollean-looking A-frame looked inviting, especially when we walked in and saw all the pre-made sandwiches and baked goods in the display case (photo: https://bit.ly/3xwtImL). It was a tiny spot with all the seating outside. Jamie W. and I shared a £2.50 Croissant (photo: https://bit.ly/3B8qg2H) and a toasted £4.50 Turkey & Cheese sandwich on a crusty baguette (photo: https://bit.ly/3L61qVT). To wash them down, we ordered piping hot £3 Flat Whites (photo: https://bit.ly/3Dk7A2W). Funny thing was that we were on the opposite side of the station, so we crossed over and discovered a whole area of cafes and shops which we could've perused before heading to Kew. But no matter as Caffe Torelli hit the spot. FOOD - 4 stars...freshly made and filling for breakfast AMBIANCE - 4 stars...enjoyed the outdoor space before the heat wave rolled in SERVICE - 4 stars...efficient and cordial TOTAL - 4 stars...grab a bite before the Kew RELATED - Exploring London? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3zFACrx

Delicious quiche with chorizo, lovely fresh salad with a balsamic glaze (always a winner) and a…read morecreamy portion of coleslaw. I was very happy with my lunch, and the staff are so friendly and helpful. It is a little on the pricey side, but nice for a treat. They do great coffee too, and now I've spotted they have salted caramel syrup I am sure I will be popping in for a latte or two in the not too distant future!

Why oh why hasn't Pizza Express opened in Australia…read more As a child I used to pester my parents to try and open one here. Their pizza is so perfect, the margarita my favourite. The food is so good I dined by myself there once. Garlic dough balls - need I say more?

Sunday at 2pm. No problem getting a table for 3. Crowded with families as it has been for 20 years…read moreat this hour. Friendly waitress. Great Romana American: hot, nice and crispy. I remember when it opened serving classic menu and doing it well. Huge, reliable, clean, modern space.

I went in to this shop trying to track down a hard to find Mexican cheese, well hard to find here…read morein the UK, you can't escape it in Mexico! The lovely lady in the shop couldn't help me but she did come up with some suggestions for alternative cheeses and we had fun sampling a few different ones. I walked away with an aged Italian cheese, nothing like what I went in to the shop looking for but it was so luscious I couldn't say no. I also found in the shop, (a HUGE surprise!) two Spanish sauces that I had discovered on holiday and have been searching in England for ever since. So I wasn't able to find my Mexican cheese, but I was happily reunited with two wonderful sauces. Happy days!

When you say express pizza you imply that the service is fast. It's pizza it's not hard to make we…read morewere sitting waiting nearly 40 minutes for our food absolutely outrageous we're on a time crunch. On the other hand the food was actually rlly good but with that wait nothing is worth it. They were also very understaffed. The restaurant had a nice feel.

We went for as quick Thursday evening meal, using Nectar points evouchers…read more The restaurant lacks the nice feel of lots of others in the chain. It was quite plain and lacked atmosphere. We happened to arrive when a kids party was going on, and despite the restaurant not being full, we were seated near the noisy kids party. We spent a while chatting whilst looking at menus and the waitress came over three times to take the order... Yet I thought it was obviously we were still looking at the menus. The food was the usual tasty quality you'd expect from the chain. We even treated ourselves to the sharing antipasti, which I haven't noticed on the menu before. It must be new. It had so many dough sticks, I'd only get it again if sharing between at least 3 people. We left a lot of them and I hate to waste food. When paying with Nectar evouchers they had to be asked twice to apply all three codes id brought along. All in all an okay dining experience, but I wouldn't hurry back to this particular restaurant.

I'd passed this little restaurant a few times and there was always a gorgous smell wafting through…read moreits doors so I decided to visit. The first thing to say is that it's VERY busy, so if you want a nice quiet meal, don't bother! We were seated at a tiny table for two that was practically on top of two other diners - every time I lifted my knife and fork I had to apologise for elbowing the other lady. We were also interupted every few minutes by a loud burst of music accompanied by the waiters banging on anything they could find in order to announce someone's birthday - quite a nice idea in theory and I did smile the first couple of times, but it got really annoying after a while. The food was okay - we had garlic bread and spaghetti bolognese, but the bolognese didn't seem meaty enough and I felt I could have cooked better myself. We also found that everyone else was given a gumball dispenser when paying their bill, but they didn't bother giving us one. Not a terrible restaurant, but I wouldn't go again.

Really Horrible Experience. From the offset the staff were very rude and obnoxious after we were…read moreconfused about whether the neighbouring restaurants were affiliated ( with different names and telephone numbers and different styling we were confused about whether they were the same restaurant) which they were. The menu is extremely overpriced with a single breaded chicken breast with cheese costing over £14, I was expecting veg or some sort of side to accompany it but no, a tired. flat, mcdonalds esque chicken breast arrived on a massive empty plate. My friend had a lasagna which we were assured had meat in it ( we were very hungry from a day in richmond park and were seeking a filling meal), the tiny portion of lasagna was entirely veg based with mushrooms. Which is fine if thats what you're after but we weren't. At the end of the meal, we were overcharged because we asked for the smaller portion sizes which cost less but received a bill for the larger sizes which the slimey waiter refused the change. Upon paying with my card, the slimey waiter insisted that i had cancelled the transaction instead of confirming my pin, I needed to obtain my online banking app to show him he was lying before he let us leave the restaurant, avoid at all costs. Disgusting service, bland average food. Horrible staff and extremely overpriced.

Started out as a butcher, but now they are more famous for their pies…read more I spotted this shop as soon as we exited the Kew Gardens station and crossed to the other side. I just HAD to walk in. They did not have any pies that were ready to eat, but I did try a sausage roll and the pastry was absolutely flakily and mouth meltingly amazing. Personally I'd like a bit more spice in my sausage, but I am in London after all and it was a good sausage. They had a variety of pies to take home to be baked, but I didn't want to carry them all over the gardens and unfortunately this shop closes at 6 (gardens close at 6:30) so I couldn't pick them up on my way back either. Maybe on a future trip when rains send me scurrying out of the gardens early??? Very friendly staff and service. UPDATE : On my last visit to Kew, I was accompanied by a friend and her 10 year old, who obviously got tired much before the park closes its gates, so I was able to stop here and buy some pies to take home. The Steak & kidney pie was awesome as were the sausage rolls. (They sell them frozen, you just need to pop them in the oven) I even picked up some fresh Cumberland sausages - Italian (sundried tomatoes, basil), a spicy version and a herby garlicky one. I roasted them in the oven with some potatoes and they came out lovely, the skins were perfect and the fat from the sausages crisped up the taters nicely.

Although I failed at Vegetarianism, I still strongly believe that farmed animals should be treated…read morewell, which is why I always buy free range meat, fish and eggs. I also think Butchers play an important role and its so much better to see the meat your eating like this than as the plastic, packaged, processed stuff in supermarkets. Pethers is such a wonderful butchers selling not just free range meat and poultry but also a selection of fine cheeses, pickles and hot sauce. The meat all looks such good quality and the smell is even appealing! (I've walked passed so many butchers in the city with stinking ill looking carcasses that it is so refreshing to find a quality place). More over, this year Pethers joined a green movement with other shops in Kew to become more ethically sound and has stopped using, or giving out plastic bags. So for the conscientious and fine meat loving carnivore this is a great place to go.