Osteria dell’ Opera

Dining here was a disappointing experience in most respects. The oil was off, the olives were rancid. What infuriated me the most was that the ‘optional service charge of 12.5%’ was added directly to our bill and when asked if we could pay it separately, we were informed by our waitress that the service was compulsory and for the ‘boss’. We asked her whether she received any of the tips, and she replied no. We complained to the manager who was extremely unhelpful, kept shouting ‘what is the problem’, despite having been told several times, and refused to repay our service charge. The only redeeming feature of this restaurant was the good staff. Be aware though that they are not receiving your tips!

My wife and I had pretty dissappointing experience on 26th July. On the positive side, my wife’s pasta dish was fine and the waitresses were cheerful and attentive.
On the negative side, the ladies lavatory lacked lavatory paper. My lamb dish was of very poor quality, entirely gristle and effectively inedible. In cooked form it looked Ok, but it was only on eating that the quality became clear. It is almost certain that the quality would have been apparent to the chef at the time of cooking. The manager was very unpleasant and criticised me for attempting to eat it rather that complaining when it was untouched. I expect the manager of any such organistion to take responsibility for all aspects of the customer experience, be it the state of the lavatories or the quality of food leaving the kithen