Don Pietro

One of the worst «Italian» restaurant I have ever been to. I had bruschetta and gnocchi, my husband had spaghetti napoli and his brother pizza ai 4 formaggi. All tasteless, especially the pasta and gnocchi. I am Italian and I know what those dishes should taste like… and I can tell you that they were nothing like what you eat in Italy. I left all my food in the plate, my husband too, and when I told the waiter that I was very disappointed he didn’t look concerned at all and he didn’t even offer any sort of compensation or an apology. The food took 1 hour and a half to arrive, even if the restaurant was quiet. Terrible food and bad customer service. AVOID THIS RESTAURANT.
ITALIANI: STATE ALLA LARGA DA QUESTO POSTO!

I really like this Italian! It is a short walk from our house so I wouldn’t have a clue about parking but I know it’s pretty hard to park on Cranbrook Road.
As soon as you walk in you get a welcome reception and then shown to your table, you are given ample time to look at the menu and all the staff are very friendly. The food was really nice and we didn’t have to wait that long for it. The desserts in here are a must — they always have different desserts and they are kept in full view of everyone (instead of being on the menu) so you can pick which one you want.
The prices are a little higher than other restaurants in the area but it’s worth it for an occasion. Last time we went was for my sister’s birthday and we were given a free drink of our choice at the end of the meal after we had paid.

Pros I took my better half for an anniversary meal one evening a few weeks ago being avid Italian food lovers. We had to park in a car park from where we had a minute or two walk to the restaurant. First impressions were good. The interior was fairly pleasant and had an Italian flare about it. The service was also good; the owner also came over and chatted with us for a while. We ordered the food and turnover time was also good. The service was also very good but what do you do in a restaurant that has everything except good food?
Cons The food itself was a tad disappointing. There was nothing spectacular about it and the food was very bland. It lacked the normal flavours that are apparent in Italian food.

Don Pietro kind of annoys me. The main guy there acts like he’s your best friend. «Hello-​eh, how ya doing?. Take a seat. Let me pulla the seat out for you». This is great when you arrive, you feel like the Queen, except less wrinkly. But then ten seconds later he’s back «I have the menu for you you want a menu? I recommend the soup. I recommend the chicken». I recommend he leaves me alone or the only tip he’s getting is tips on how not to annoy customers.
I’m not the only one to feel this, I’ve spoke to many people about it. I LOVE having an authentic, family-​run type feel to a food joint, I like that. That’s why I love ‘Ciao Bella’ in Holborn (see my review) — but here it just seems a bit too much, a bit annoying.
The food is fine, you’ll get a good meal. Nothing to write home about though, so I’ll just write to Unilocal.I am all for getting to know the managers and waiters in a restaurant, but also; sometimes you just want to be able to talk to your friends, or family, or dog; whoever you take to meals with you.
Gants Hill-​wise, it’s a decent restaurant, but nothing special.

In some roundabout way, I know of the Don. Well a friend of a friend of a friend’s Dad’s friend is Pietro. He wasn’t there when I went but I was told he sends his best.
So seeing this was a real Italian place, I was hoping for a lot better. It wasn’t so great. The waiter really fussed over us and our cutlery but too bad the food didn’t taste all that good. Bread wasn’t a fresh and crusty, wasn’t a lot of flavour in the soup and I didn’t finish my main.
Really disappointed, I was hoping for a nice trad Italian, I got a half hearted one and since when were Italians ever half hearted?

If your a fan of Italian food or have never tried it before and fancy something different your reading the right review. If your celebrating something and planing a large group meal don’t take your eyes of this page! Serve well prepared Italian food with a very good selection to choose from. Whether your vegetarian or love your meat you can’t go wrong with this venue. They do have a selection of pizza’s to. I had the Lasagne make sure you leave space in your stomach your want to eat what you pay for with this venue. Great place to start if it’s a starter to a later evening cocktail bar/​party or any where where its going to be a few drinks and good conversation/​networking. Staff are friendly and they have a regular singer to add atmosphere. You can go as a group of mates, family or as a couple.