Lucando Da Luigi in Epping Forest

Ladies meal out and what a disappointment… had to ask for cutlery and condiments.. soggy bruschetta and pizza partially burnt and extremely lacking in ingredients… added to this the chef seemed to be having a bad day at the office!!! Kept dropping pans and lids and seemed exasperated.. will not be back

Rare child free night so decided to go to a ‘grown up’ restaurant! Haven’t been here before and wanted to try it. Sat outside as weather nice and I prefer that so didn’t see the inside. We were served by 3 waiting staff during our visit and kept having someone different ask us the same thing. The sharing concept didn’t fill me with joy as husband and I rarely choose the same options when dining out. But we managed to agree on some dishes to share. One of the waitresses was quite pushy and convinced us to order nibbles as we ‘hadn’t really ordered enough’. The food was all very enjoyable especially the saltimboca chicken. This is the reason I have given 4 stars. But the service could be better - took two waitresses 15 mins to get a glass of wine! It’s on the pricey side for us but I would go back. Husband was a bit shocked they charged him £4 for a small Diet Coke! Incidentally one thing we didn’t understand is that for a restaurant where you are supposed to share they provided food in uneven numbers (5 stuffed peppers) and many dishes not easy to share. Personally I’d prefer to order my own food but can’t afford double the bill!!!

Shame this place seems to have nothing left of the previous Il bacio. The decor is uninviting when it was cosy and warm before. The menu is also quite limited for main courses and the food was not as good as I can cook myself. None of the staff seem to be Italian and I think they used to be. My food didn’t taste as if cooked fresh, sauces seemed shop bought and the pizzas were small with no real flavour other than chilli flakes. Side dishes were ok but expensive for the quality on offer . I’m not sure if they have a real chef these days or what’s going on. When it was Il bacio it was always busy , inviting, a good menu and the pasta was excellent , it felt cosy and had a neighbourhood feel. It’s lost the charm and the food very disappointing . Expensive for the quality too. It was always busy in its previous life and a shame it seems to have none of what it offered before

The food was nice but just don’t understand the concept. On arrival we were told that all plates are for sharing & told how many dishes to order from starters, mains & sides. All dishes came at different times, this was explained at the start when ordering. Although, I found it very odd to share the dishes as ordinarily they’re not typically for sharing and don’t compliment each other. I do get the feeling it’s an excuse for the kitchen staff to have less stress. Not sure if I will go back.

Really underwhelmed by this evening’s experience. The menu was very limited, found myself wanting to leave straight away because I find anything that caught my eye. When the female waiting staff came to take our orders she was very pushy and thought it appropriate to say “what can’t you order because she has to order for you” referring to my partner and then was was very pushy trying to get me to accept her recommendations, didn’t accept that there wasn’t actually anything on the limited menu that I fancied. One of the meals (cod) arrived 40 mins after all our mains arrived so that diner had to basically eat on his own. When the overpriced bill arrived there was no discount for the delay, when we requested this a male waiter came back with an adjusted total only for the female waiting staff who had been so pushy earlier to say that we shouldn’t have been given a discount while prodding me on the arm with her finger while making her point. She could not accept that the experience was underwhelming and we should have been grateful to even be there.

Unfortunately cannot recommend for above reasons. Food took too long to arrive and even then one person had to wait considerably longer than anyone else. The explanation given was unacceptable and when we asked for this late food to be taken off the bill, it was removed from the bill but ungraciously. Spoilt what otherwise would have been a pleasant evening. Won’t be returning.

Disappointing. Visited previously and enjoyed a warm welcome in cosy surroundings. It has changed considerably it lacks atmosphere now, very bright and very cramped. Food was good but choices were limited. Service was slow. We waited a long time before we could order wine or water. And then waited further to order food.

Really enjoyed our first visit to this recently opened restaurant, love the deco.The staff were friendly and knowledgeable and the food is delicious and has a amazing creative twist. Looking forward to our next visit.

4 of us dined here on Saturday evening. It used to be called Il Bacio but is under a new name. The management team used to run Bombetta in Wanstead - another very good restaurant. It has had a re-vamp and has 3 sections to it now, so you could use 2 of them for a small private dining/function. We decided against starters as so often they can be rather filling so went straight for a main course. 2 of us had the excellent Chicken Milanese and 2 had the equally good Monkfish puttanesca. We shared a portion of delicious broccoli, beans and fennel and a portions of roast potatoes with truffle and cream Parmesan. WOW. We shared 1 generous portion of lovely cheeses, including a blue goats cheese with biscuits, 2 bottles of red wine and we will be going back very soon. It's great to have a restaurant of this calibre only 8 minutes walk from home!