Tues, 8 March 2016, 8:32 pm: My first dinner in London this year, at the Trafalgar Square outlet of the Bianco43 franchise, has become my third official write-up on Trip Advisor. Swing by this link and thumb-up my review as “helpful,” if you please.
I was invited to join friends for dinner. The two of them, husband and wife, come to this Bianco43 often. They love the food and the ambience… and she’s Italian, so if she’s a fan, the joint must be doing something right.
A good impression was made at the outset by the friendly coat check gal, who joked with me about my Florida layering (I spend half my restaurant time on these winter Europe trips undressing and getting dressed again). She escorted us to our seats.
The couple wanted to show off for me their favorites from the antipasti lineup. We all shared the eggplant parmesan and the caprese salad. Both were fine but in my estimation unremarkable.
Portion sizes and prices seemed to me comparable to most other restaurants in tourist-heavy areas of London, but check out the photo of my main and decide for yourself. It’s the “ravioli burro e salvia”: “homemade ravioli filled with spinach and ricotta cheese in butter and sage sauce (13,50 pounds).”
Where a price stunned me was in the beer department. I hesitated to order a second Peroni after learning it was seven pounds per pint. That’s the most I paid for one beer my entire week in London. I asked our server if a half pint would therefore cost half that. Yes, she replied, so I said, “that’s what I’ll do, then.” When she brought me a second full pint— for which I’d pay another seven pounds— I didn’t complain, assuming she’d misheard me. It was par for the course at that point, as her attentiveness had been spotty all evening.
The coat check gal rushed from the back of the room to assist me with re-dressing and to thank us for our patronage when she saw we were leaving. I wish I’d caught her name so I could thank her more properly in this review. Overall the restaurant was fine and the other staff were not unpleasant, but her friendliness and personality were the highlight of my visit to Bianco43 Trafalgar Square.