The Daily Telegraph
William Sitwell was another critic to sharpen his knife after a meal at a new Italian joint, in his case at a restaurant that managed to irritate him on three counts before he even sat down. It is hidden inside a hotel (The Hoxton) without saying so; the name announces it as a club when it is a standard restaurant; and the faux-Italian name is nonsense – as William pointed out, “it should be either il bambino (the boy) or i bambini (the children)”.
The menu, however, presented a “lip-smacking prospect”, so William and his companion ordered from each section “to honour a proper Italian lunch”, starting with vitello tonnato and zucchini fritti. Sadly, the veal was “as dry as a bone” and the zucchini were “deep-fried roundels” as opposed to the crisp, matchstick-type straws he was looking forward to.
Everything else arrived at once, so they ate the king prawns first and the pasta was cold by the time they reached it, “like last night’s leftovers but less forgiving”.
“What kind of Wagamama, every-dish-comes-the-moment-it’s-ready horror show was this?” William asked. “Il Bambini needs to calm the hell down, reset its service in line with the rich, calm décor, and sort out that flaccid fritti.”
William Sitwell - 2025-11-09
