Pescatori Review

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Best for: drinking Prosecco, easy-to-get-a-table in Soho

Great: Service, decor

Expectations; we carry them around with us everywhere we go and whatever we do. From watching X Factor and predicting whether a girl will have the voice of an angel or an agitated cat before she takes the stage, to being surprised that evil-tasting gin and boring tonic actually combines to make a damn good drink, to discovering that there is in fact a decent restaurant in Wood Green (Mosaica, before you ask).

Having a peek on a restaurant’s website, reading reviews and hearing about experiences from friends, means that when I eat out I generally rock up with some sort of expectation. Pescatori calls itself an ‘Italian seafood restaurant’: hmm, so far, so good. On Charlotte Street? Ooh, lots of lovely restaurants round there. There’s another restaurant in Dover Street too: aha, if it’s successful enough to boast locations in Soho AND Mayfair it should be pretty good. I was catching up with my yummy mummy friend Karen and we were looking forward to some tasty fish dishes, Italian puds and a few glasses of Prosecco.

The candle-lit tables and rustic interior were a good first impression. The mains cost around £18, so we were expecting good quality fresh ingredients, a decent chef, and pretty presentation. The Prosecco was chilled, lovely. And I’m afraid that’s the end of me using the adjectives ‘lovely’ and ‘good’ for this review. Oh hold on, the conversation was pretty good too, as we chatted about her daughter Evie and me about to become an auntie for the second time.

But, the food was not good and it was not lovely. Maybe if it was about a quarter of the price I might have sat back and said ‘Well, you get what you pay for. I suppose that was OK.’ But no, this was relatively expensive fare, served in a restaurant that oozed ‘I know how to cook Italian, I know how to prepare delicious dishes that my customers will enjoy’.

Asparagus and hollandaise sauce is a simple starter to get right, but I was faced with fat watery spears with an overly vinegary sauce. The scallop risotto was OK (not bad, but I wouldn’t use the L or G word) – creamy, al dente rice although the big scallop resting on top had a bitter aftertaste.

We assured ourselves that the mains would be better. Oh dear. As soon as I clocked the waiter carrying our food I knew that our meal was about to take a turn for the worse. The steak was blue. It was not medium rare. It wasn’t even rare. It was astonishing that as the steak had already been cut into slices, the chef hadn’t realised that some of them were still pulsating and about to walk out of the restaurant. He should have tossed them back in the pan for some more browning. It was also rather cold, probably because it had only touched the pan for a few seconds. The crispy courgette was soggy and the chunky chips so-so.

But this is a fish restaurant. And so to the halibut main we must appraise Pescatori. We chewed thoughtfully and tried to think of something the chef had got right here. But the only words trickling out of our mouths were ‘overcooked’, ‘under-seasoned’, ‘dry’, ‘bland’, ‘very’ and ‘disappointing’. Karen summed it up generously when she declared that halibut was an expensive fish, and beautiful when cooked right - moist, juicy, fluffy – and wasn’t it a shame that the chef had forgotten to season it and then forgotten how long he should cook it for.

I would love to say the desserts and the atmosphere made up for the frankly awful fish and meat dishes. The desserts were alright, but not up there with the sensational sweets we expect of the Italians and definitely not special enough to make us forget the nightmares of the previous course. And the atmosphere? There was none. It was a Friday night and Charlotte Street was buzzing but Pescatori was dead. I have no doubt that people do stroll past, think ‘that looks like a good restaurant’ and ‘ooh, I can have a nice fish course and then a great tiramisu’ and wander in, but then have their expectations dashed. And then don’t return. Unfortunately, the same is true for Karen and me. I think we’ll stick to Zilli next time.
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Ruth Emery 21 Sep 2010

Pescatori Description

Family-run Italian fish and seafood restaurants in the heart of cosmopolitan London. We are committed to bringing you the freshest fish, and our own buyer can be found very early every morning at Billingsgate Fish Market. Our crab and seabass arrives directly from a family farm in Cornwall. Menus at Pescatori are seasonal, so you will always find new dishes when you return. We look forward to welcoming you!

Customer Reviews for Pescatori

Average (based on 1 votes): 1 Atmosphere: Value: Quality:

The following customer reviews are not endorsed by Fluid London and are simply those of users who wish to publish their independent experiences of Pescatori.

“If it wasn't for the service in Pescatori, and the good company, I would have been even more disappointed. The starter was average (risotto - rice good, scallop on top bad) and the dessert was really quite nice (tiramisu semifreddo) but the main was awful, made worse by the fact that it was a halibut coated with poppy seeds and sounded absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately it was utterly tasteless, dry and overcooked, and wasn't lifted by the dull side dishes - even the chips weren't great. The prosecco and wine we had with the meal were great though, and the wine was recommended by the waiter, so a good choice. It's just such a shame that a fish speciality restaurant fell down so badly on the fish courses. I probably wouldn't return, sorry.”
Atmosphere: Value: Quality:
Karen Goodchild, London (2 years 8 months ago)

Additional Information

• Cuisine Type: Seafood
• Dress Code: Not Specified
• Website: Visit the Pescatori website
• Group: Pescatori