Locale - new Restaurant and Cocktail Bar

[HonaloochieB]

Buzzard Wrote:

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> p.s. my real name is AA Gill. The above will be

> appearing in the Sunday Times next weekend but

> with fourteen other paragraphs talking about how

> fit my missus is.

I look forward to it Adrian, those are the best parts of the review. Hugs to the Blonde.

[hibbs]

I had dinner there last night and although the menu was much pretty standard we could not fault the service or the cocktails! I felt it was lacking Blackheath's opulence in its interior decor, so it felt a little 'chainy' in that respect but its definitely worth a visit.

[mikese22]

taper Wrote:

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> lunch today was grim. underportioned, overpriced,

> with laughably bad service. depressingly sub-par

> italian.

I had a lovely lunch there today - a salad with some kind of grilled cheese on it - was delicious! My mate had a huge pizza with three big pieces of parma ham and really fresh tomatoes - also good

Service was friendly and attentive

[Michael Palaeologus]

They were giving away big slices of parma ham, chunks of mozzarela and bread dipped in rather nice olive oil today at the Fair.

[geh]

Had brunch there on Saturday, frankly an unmitigated disaster. Flustered service, wrong orders, and mediocre food. Come on people, it?s not as if it?s your first venture! I suggest that you need to up your game!

geh

[SimonM]

>>They were giving away big slices of parma ham, chunks of mozzarela and bread dipped in rather nice olive oil today at the Fair.<<

Indeed! And it was all lovely. But the menu looked disappointing - lots of pizzas and pasta but just a minimum of "main" meat dishes. No osso bucco or veal escalope/scalopini etc etc

[taper]

I had that salad as a main. 9 quid for a starter sized fistful of leaves, couple of olives and an artichoke, and a slice of cheese similar in appearance and taste to the space shuttle's heat reflecting tiles.

[djw]

Went for dinner. Had Bruschetta to start, which was burnt. A nice but very expensive Seafood Luigini for my main. My Mrs had chicken and potatoes, which was disappointingly all deep fried and again expensive for what it was. Once we had finsihed eating and were drinking our wine, (in less than an hr) we were asked to move to the bar becuase they had people waiting, even though I'd booked the table. I feel it could be nice in here, but its outpriced its itself for what is basically a Pizza Express or Zizi's. I'm afraid I'd rather go to Pizza Express in the village which is a shame because the place looks great and the staff were mostly friendly.

[KateW]

Can't believe you were asked to move to the bar djw! I would have refused, particularly as you had booked a table. That's the sort of service that puts me off going there.

[8 Track Cartrige Family]

Locale is staggeringly overpriced for what it is and the people who run it clearly have not paid enough attention to either the quality of the food most people expect at these prices, the service, which from my experience this evening is embarrassingly poor even at this early stage and especially the interior design which combines an uninspiring layout with a depressingly banal choice of materials and colours. I live around the corner so I really wanted to like Locale but it suffers from a poverty of imagination at all levels. Your average Strada is 25% cheaper and 500% better designed with a vastly superior wine list to boot. I'm sure the people behind Locale are well intentioned but if you want to charge these obscene prices you need to ensure that the focaccia doesn't have a crust (it had clearly been in the oven some time rather than placed there for the order - a very telling sign of lack of culinary knowledge in the kitchen), the menu needs to be much more adventurous, the service needs to improve by a quantum of at least 10 and the overall environment needs the touch of someone who understands contemporary dining sensibilities.

[4hw]

Bang on 8 track. Glad some people share my views on this place!

[nutty]

Just had an absolutely top notch dinner there. Agreed it is a bit pricey, but tonight I was happy to pay a premium for sitting out in the evning sunshine. The service was attentive, food was well above any standard Italian as has been suggested earlier in this thread that this is.

There is nowhere else in Dulwich you can sit outside in such a nice atmosphere and if it stays as busy as it was tonight it'll do well.

Recommendations: calamario or antipasti starters, seafood lingiune or argentinian fillet mains. + a fantastic bottle of Pinot Noir.

We'll be going back.

[MadWorld74]

So would you recommend going there for a wedding anniversary, is it, you know...romantic at night?

[Phelan]

Great! Had a look in at the weekend and it's definitely tempting. Do you cater for people who have allergies as well? I love italian food but can't eat cheese!:( Would your chefs be able to knock up a cheese free pasta or pizza dish? P.s. Prossecco's a winner and it's only Green and Blue in ED that do a good one at the minute so i'll be in to try what Locale has to offer!

[dc]

Went tonight in a group of twelve. Like what they've done to improve the place - upholstery and windows at the back.

Staff friendly and attentive from the moment we walked through the door (we were first of our group to arrive). Service excellent from start to finish.

Food quality very good - even according to my wife who has certain standards having lived in Italy for a few years. Particularly taken with the rib-eye rib-in steak. A couple of useful indicators were that the fresh tuna steak and the sea bass 'en papillote' (it wasn't called that on the menu) - were excellent.

Price? In line with what is available elsewhere in East Dulwich of a similar quality (and that narrows it to two or three places at present). An entirely welcome addition.

[taper]

Interested in the mix of reviews. It was genuinely dire when I went and no sane person would have concluded otherwise. I wonder if the kitchen in the day or at weekends is poor, but improves at night.

[macroban]

Mixed, yes, but there is a common theme:

I really don't think it would be worth the money at twice what I paid last night

was happy for the price I paid, but I would have felt pissed off if I had paid twice as much

a touch overpriced

the main courses on the main menu were not particularly cheap

overpriced

very expensive ... its outpriced its itself

staggeringly overpriced

a bit pricey

[Pickle]

I went last night with Mr Pickle. We thought the staff were great, really friendly and attentive throughout the meal. Food was tasty, bill came to about ?60 for two people (three courses, only two alcoholic drinks included), so not too bad, but I guess a bit more than you'd pay for that sort of food at somewhere like Si Mangia. The pizzas are huge, and really nice - not too much cheese which is great.

I thought the restaurant itself was nice, the windows at the back make a difference. Atmosphere was good for a Wednesday night.

Still seemed to be a problem with their card machine, so it was cash only - but it was well signposted from the moment you walked in so not a hassle - handy that there's a cash machine nearby!

[nutty]

MadWorld74 Wrote:

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> So would you recommend going there for a wedding

> anniversary, is it, you know...romantic at night?

Yep - although it was a beautiful evening when we were there - sittig outside on a day like today wouldn't be so romantic :)

[nutty]

macroban Wrote:

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> Mixed, yes, but there is a common theme:

>

> I really don't think it would be worth the money

> at twice what I paid last night

>

> was happy for the price I paid, but I would have

> felt pissed off if I had paid twice as much

>

> a touch overpriced

>

> the main courses on the main menu were not

> particularly cheap

>

> overpriced

>

> very expensive ... its outpriced its itself

>

> staggeringly overpriced

>

> a bit pricey

The thing is - I'd call the Palmerston and Franklins a "bit pricey" also. But in general I think their food/service/setting is worth it.

I think there are a few posters on here who just haven't adjusted to the new "gentrified" ED restaurant prices....

No more pricey than equivalents in Clapham or in town (and not having to go into town for a good meal is a plus in my book!)

[Christopher]

I don't think its particularly over priced... but it's quite basic underneath it all isn't it? Steak, salmon fillet, chicken breast... nothing too adventurous there... house white wine disappointing (no real care seems to have gone into the wine list although the prosecco was good and a Chianti that accompanied our steaks at ?27 was very good indeed)... Blackboards everywhere advertising offers (in Weatherspoons style "chalk board text") tend to cheapen the place - Yay! Happy hour! Yay! Sunday Roasts! Yay! Brunch...!

We'll go back to try the pasta when we're in the mood for that - but I'm afraid this place as got a touch too much of the "corporate" about it to make me a regular... It kind of feels like an Italian version of Le Piaf (that is a REAL insult I know - and I don't mean to equate the food with the tripe they sell at LP, but you get the gist...)

Service - more staff than customers - we had an excellent young lady serving us who really had a bit of magic about her and was doing an excellent job - what hindered her was the interfering senior staff / managers who messed up her service! Left alone she would have been fine. With service, less is so often more!

[macroban]

I was wondering if Locale is the first "proper" restaurant to open locally following the initial surge in food prices and other input prices in 2008 and thus the first to have a completely up-to-date re-priced menu.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

I haven't been yet, but am a little put off by the pasta prices. I though an Italian meal started with anti pasto, then pasta, then meat or fish. The fact that some 'main' dishes are served with potatoes and with the pasta that expensive makes me think that it isn't terribly authentic.

[Jeremy]

I used to think the same thing, that authentic Italian = starter, pasta, main course, dessert. But whenever I've been to Italy I've tried to eat the full four courses and found it totally impossible (and I have a pretty good appetite). Then I realised that most locals were either having a pasta or a main, not both... I think maybe they only do the full four courses for big family meals and stuff.

[david_carnell]

Agreed. Miss off the ani pasto and it becomes a bit more manageable or swap the dessert for an espresso.

But back on topic, Locale certainly doesn't have that in mind. Some of the pasta dishes have two prices, however, to allow you to have it as a starter - but not all. The seafood linguine for eg is only available as a large portion at a whopping ?15. For that I'd expect it to be dripping in shell-fish and an exquisite tomoato and chilli sauce. Sadly it achieved neither.

Contrary to other opinion, I found the wine list acceptable if (yet again) overpriced. The Viognier was excellent.