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David Sexton's rating
Carluccio's has lost its link with the past
By
David Sexton
18 Feb 2009
Which is the hardest restaurant in town to get into? Gordon Ramsay? The Ivy? Funnily enough, judging by my experience, it’s Carluccio’s. Almost any Carluccio’s.
Cheerily turning up on spec in Islington for dinner last week, we were made to feel naive to suppose we would get in without a booking. Ringing last Friday morning to book one in the West End for supper that evening was no good either. Only the sub-standard branch in St Pancras said yes. Even getting in for lunch at this extra-large Carluccio’s, opposite South Ken Tube station, requires queuing.
Why so popular? Certainly, many customers are currently going for the winter bargain offer — any pasta, plus salad and a coffee, for just £8.50, with a large glass of wine £3 more — while others are using a voucher for a two-course meal for two with wine for £25. But Carluccio’s appears still to enjoy genuine customer loyalty too, whether or not it’s still deserved.
For it’s just another chain, and a big one now — 41 branches so far, with another five planned for this year. And what most of the enthusiastic customers probably don’t realise is that Antonio Carluccio, the outsize ambassador of Italian cooking whose name appears all over the restaurants and delis, no longer has any working connection with the firm whatsoever.
Carluccio came to London in 1975, working as a wine supplier. In 1980, he met and married Priscilla Conran, Sir Terence’s sister, and she encouraged him as a cook. He first ran and then bought Conran’s Neal Street restaurant and opened a delicatessen next door. In 1999, Priscilla, evidently the business brain as well as the design guru, decided the combined format might work as a chain, although she never accepted that loaded word, always preferring to call Carluccio’s a “series”.
The first Carluccio’s Caffè (artfully called that, though in reality it’s more a trattoria) opened near Oxford Circus in 1999. By the time the company floated on the stock exchange in 2005 there were 23 restaurants, serving 60,000 people a week. The couple’s holding netted them around £11 million. Initially, Carluccio was retained as a consultant but that arrangement has now ended and he has run into some well-publicised problems in his private life.
So is Carluccio’s still what it was? Yes and no. It depends. The places vary. Despite the training programme vaunted by the group — eight to 18 weeks for managers, four to six weeks for chefs — it simply isn’t feasible to maintain uniform standards across 41 restaurants serving any sort of varied menu.
We had a mediocre and uncomfortable meal in St Pancras: claggy and unappealing arancini (deep-fried, marginally-stuffed riceballs), and a heavy special of “pancetta con cavolo” (£11.95), oddly named, since although the exhausted cabbage, cooked until it was brown, came with bacon bits, the main component was rolled fresh pork. There are fine potted olive trees outside on the concourse but poor service inside — the restaurant seems to have just one loo, designated handicapped to comply with regulations.
At South Kensington, it all feels much brighter. Linguini ai frutti di mare (£9.50) was dull — chewy pasta with a barely adequate topping of squid rings, mussels and prawns that did not seem to have contributed much flavour to the glutinous garlicky oil. A plate of parma ham (£5.95) was a generous portion and good quality, though it came just as that, ham and nothing but ham, with no bread offered. On the other hand, a special of risotto with chicken and spinach (£9.25) was really well cooked — perfect rice in a delicate stock, with good chunks of chicken and the leaves just melted in. Does anybody do that final dosing with extra butter when cooking at home? It had certainly been done here, making this far from a light option.
Carluccio’s still ruthlessly pushes its identity, not just as definitively Italian but as the very embodiment of the values of its celebrity creator. This appears to be almost the main use of the attached delis and flourished produce: to brand the experience and make you feel you are eating an exhibition of Italian food at its best, personally selected for you by that affable fellow off the telly. That was always a bit of a con, now it’s a con absolutely.
The chain remains a useful place, good value, with its long opening hours, natty design and friendly staff. But what you get on the plate is nothing special — no better than, say, at Strada.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Reader views (7)
I agree with David Sexton's judgement that the quality of the food served at Carluccio's varies hugely from branch to branch suggesting that it's difficult to achieve uniformity in a large organisation. I would eat at one of Carluccio's restaurants only if there was nothing else available preferring, out of the chains, Prezzo, Pizza Express or Ask, every time. Apostrophe is good, too, serving delicious soup and excellent tea.
- Roger Turner, Bounds Green, London, 28/01/2012 12:15
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Went to Carluccios Reading last night. Awful.
We ate at formica canteen tables. They are not atmospheric, they are nasty canteen tables, get some cloths on them.
My starter had grilled mozzarella which was oily and rubbery. Mussels after were nicely cooked but sauce inedible, over salted. My sister left her spaghetti because it was too salty. Husband ordered medium rare steak and got medium well. Nobody chanced a dessert. We ate on a formica table, no cloth, Zero atmosphere, the staff couldn’t even pronounce the dishes in Italian. 2 courses and house wine came to £30 per head, expensive for a canteen meal.
- Ree, Reading UK, 14/10/2010 16:53
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Had one of the worst experiences in Carluccio's yesterday. We booked a table for 6 earlier in the day, but only 4 of us turned up and we were shown to a table beside the door. Tried to negotiate getting a better seat (with sofa seatings and larger table) without much luck. The waitress kept insisting that the place was already booked and she cannot do anything about it. Minutes later, a similar table is cleared and I wondered if we were going to be allowed to sit in the better seats. Obviously not. When the meal came, one of the 3 steaks consist mainly of fat, not really our cup of tea. So, my mate asked for it to be changed. A similar piece was brought out to our disgust. The waitress insisted it was not the same piece and they were not allowed to cook the same piece of meat twice.
We finished our food in a huff and our plates were duly cleared and the bill was presented. Feeling dissatisfied I commented to the waitress the the table we could have been placed on was still empty. Further more a party of two was seated in the table vacated not long after we made our orders.
She then apologised and claimed that it was the porter's (captain?) duty in placing customers, not hers and she has no control over seating. Not very sincere as it was her who told us earlier that she checked and the table was booked. Furthermore, we originally booked for 6, so that table must have been ours in the first place. Luckily, we had some vouchers to limit the damage to our wallets
- Beng, London, 20/01/2010 16:46
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I went to Carluccios, Covent Garden branch last night- Thurs 12/03/09 and found it very nice. Service was good and staff polite. Food was pleasant too. Never been to Strada but would go back here anytime. Lovely ice cream by the way...!!!
- Rob, Bexley Kent, 20/01/2010 15:46
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Strada is miles and miles better than Carluccio's. We ate in the St Christopher's Place Carcuccio's a few years ago and had a terrible meal and were thoroughly let down by this 'authentic' Italian food. I also remember the loos being filthy. We've only been back once to the one in Brent Cross when we recently thought we should give it another chance. The meal was bland and my husband had to ask for more mozzarella in his sandwich as there was barely any in it. Will not be going back.
It has always mystified me why anyone goes there and how someone like Carluccio would associate himself with such poorly executed Italian food. It's like he is (was) having a laugh at our expense, all the way to the bank. His restaurant wouldn't last 5 minutes in Italy.
- D, London, 20/01/2010 15:46
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Strada is much better than Carluccios. I've found recently that local ones are good but ones bang in the middle of town are too busy and the quality of the food is much poorer.
- Candice, London, 20/01/2010 15:46
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The food varies a bit but is generally excellent quality and value.That is why the places are busy.
- Daniel, london, 20/01/2010 15:46
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