Essenza Ristorante italiano

Great food, great warm friendly service. Been eating here for a few years now. Never had a bad meal.
Apr 30th, 2023

Food : 5/5 | Service : 5/5 | Atmosphere : 5/5 More
Apr 28th, 2023

Food : 1/5 | Service : 1/5 | Atmosphere : 1/5 More
Apr 22nd, 2023

Recommended dishes Tiramisu More
Apr 11th, 2023

Service, service, service.... The treatment we received was efficient, & perfunctory, there was a kind of bravado about being too busy crack a smile or answer a question. Some of the food was good. The tunna carpaccio was on point, though wanting a drizzle of oil. A second course of lobster ravioli served as a main, rather than the first course requested my companion called school canteen food, tough packets of lobster flavoured gunk, more in common with packet ravioli than the lose, silky, self evidently homemade parcels of fresh crustacean I was hoping for. The butter and sage sauce was nowhere to be seen, there were chopped tomatoes instead. The veal was good, sadly not to be had with capers. The side of beans was as confronting as our server it was so al dente. A bowl of freshly grated parmisan left on our table by another server was a benediction. The bill: 82 & change - our drinks were a smallish a bottle of sparking water at nearly 5. I had worked out the costing of this meal based on the menu posted online at around 55 - 60 for actual food & drink items. Apparently the new post Brexit/covid/war prices haven't made it on line yet - the ravioli main course has gone up from 20 to 26. Even with the 15% service charge we could not have anticipated spending 82 on three plates, a side & a bottle of water. Though I specified I wanted the plates in succession making the ravioli a second course before the main as pasta should be in Italy, the two plates were brought together as two mains, not what I had hoped for - fair enough, it was after nine by the time we walked in, however it would have been nice to be asked before the chef/server took the executive role for us. With 90 in cash on the table the prevalent attitude was the balance would be a tip on top of the service charge. 25% for service? Possibly ok, if it was pleasant: that we had to ask for our change tells you about the service & put a sour note on top of an already kinda dismal meal. I rarely eat out, this was my special treat place, I live around the corner. I thought I was so clever bringing a guest here, the experience was significantly different from the last few times (incidentally, Ive always sat outside in the past and its cramped inside) I ended up feeling embarrassed & sad. I don't think Ill be back soon. Heres to cooking at home. :)
Mar 24th, 2023