Ombra - Tower Hamlets

My partner and I were recommended this restaurant during our drip to London. The restaurant itself was cool and classy, staff were attentive and friendly enough. The food was fresh and delicious. We chose the tasting menu for £65 a person. The starters consisted of a mix of breads, focaccia, a bread stick and a fried bread all which were good but nothing to write home about. The sweet potato and cured meat was divine. Next came a dish of charred greens, croutons and blood orange, which was over charred and bitter tasting, not to our taste. After this, we had a smoked crab pasta. The fresh pasta was about as al dente as you could want. Our favourite came next, mutton with kale and anchovy sauce. Cooked to perfection, the sauce was incredible. Bellisimo. Only issue was not enough. Dolce next, panna cotta with nuts and cumquat, followed by tiramisu with sweet wine. the panna cotta was light and delectable. Tiramisu is not our favourite, but was light and fluffy. Overall a great experience.

The food was nice enough but my main issue which I have NEVER experienced at a restaurant before was that throughout the 4 hours we were there, there were large rats running back and forth across the restaurants decking right outside the main door. I was trying to enjoy my food and out of the corner of my eye would see them dash around. They clearly lived under the decking! It really put me off my food and we could see all the other tables turning around in shock as well. They either need to invest in ceiling to floor curtains or a good exterminator...

The restaurant moved my table from 8pm to 6.30pm without my consent. Their “excuse” was that their booking system was not functioning correctly. Poor treatment of a customer.

We come for a family lunch and unfortunately we had a terrible experience. Unprofessional and unfriendly service, without any care for the customer. Terrible food! Very poor quality of the ingredients, no flavor, greasy and salty ! No idea about what Italian food should be. Absolutely unacceptable.

A very enticing menu but don't be fooled by the photos, at £18 a primi half the size of a tapas, £4 or £5 for 3 slices of stale bread called focaccia, this is a very expensive restaurant you will leave hungry. Fresh,and tasty ingredients, but no seasoning of sorts, plain boiled octopus and tomato, not even a drop of olive oil, corners cut everywhere possible to the detriment of the finished dishes. Service average, not bringing all starters together, they take different times to prepare, hmmm, get a chef who knows his schedule. Not again!