We had quite high hopes for Orso even though it was a fall back plan as STK and Cucina Asellina were shut due to unforeseen [Gas] circumstances. We got a nice warm welcome and the authentic Italian based menu looked good.
If you look at one end of the restaurant you could be sitting in one of Russell Normans Venetian eateries with the old white tiled walls and pillars, and the mismatched crockery. But the other half of the restaurant looks like a Bella Italia.
So you get the idea; there is an underlying potential with Orso – authentic Italian food, rustically arranged on your pate in fair portions but there is no atmosphere and the food is overpriced.
The Beetroot salad and the Beef Carpaccio for our two starters racked up more than I have paid for a better meal elsewhere. Yes they’re great fresh ingredients and I like the ‘thrown together’ arrangement on the plate. But a tenner for a salad in a room quieter than the Anne Frank museum? Fuck off. The pheasant should have been a fair price at £17 but was maybe the driest pheasant I’ve ever had.
In Orso’s defence it was a Monday night so maybe, just maybe the place livens up later in the week. I hope so.
So all in all; cut the prices in half and we would have been blown away and if you take one thing away with you from this review, it’s that next time you’re in the bath you’re going to look at your wrinkly fingers and pick something up.
