Bancone
Italian restaurant Bancone, 39 William IV St, London WC2N 4DD, United Kingdom:
220 reviews
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Address: 39 William IV St, London WC2N 4DD, United Kingdom
Website: bancone.co.uk
Phone number: +44 20 7240 8786
GPS coordinates
Latitude: 51.5095558Longitude: -0.1264024
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reviews
Martin Andrade
Excellent service (fast and attentive)! Modern, hip place - but we had to book in advance a seat at the counter. Food very good, appealing to diferent tastes and quite reasonably priced. We had what the waitress said were the two bestsellers: the silk handkerchief and the pappardelle with chicken liver (we liked the latter the most).
2 months ago
Wendy Meyers
Undescribable pasta experience, walnut pasta was amazing and kindda new taste for me, Voilà! ????????
2 months ago
lacey mcconomy
amazing dinner. great pasta (cacio pepe +gnocchi + earl grey panna cotta) covent garden's next padella? ;)
3 weeks ago
David Lowry
Food was delicious. No complaints on that front.
But pasta portions were a bit bigger than anticipated, so my friend & I over-ordered... and I asked to take home the leftovers for my husband, and was told no.
Now I understand that taking home leftovers is uncommon here, fine, but why is this very popular restaurant so comfortable with excess food waste? I asked and there is no program or plan in place at all. When there are so many people going hungry and homeless right outside the restaurants doors, why do they get to decide what happens to the pasta I don’t eat? My husband had really been looking forward to my leftovers. Instead, they were thrown away. Why not just have a few boxes for the rare odd person who would prefer not to waste the food that they purchased?
It’s disheartening to see such a popular restaurant, that is so good, with a natural platform in this space and potential for impact, be just totally apathetic to the problems of hunger & food waste.
3 weeks ago
Nicholas Steiner
What an amazing Monday evening at Bancone! It was quite busy, but it didn't disturb us. Very kind and attentive staff, amazing wine and delicious freshly made pasta. Thank you!
3 weeks ago
Claudete Matos
Really recommended pasta bar, well designed, fresh ingredients, and not pricey at all.
6 months ago
Nhan Ngo
Delicious cabbage starter and artichoke spaghetti (all vegan !) and amazing service. 10/10 would recommend
8 months ago
Mac Xtc
Excellent quality food, fantastic to see your food being cooked right in front of you, would thoroughly recommend for all occasions. Reasonably priced as well.
3 weeks ago
Laura Usme
Pasta specialists in Covent Garden headed up by ex Locanda Locatelli chef. Open kitchen with counter seating in addition to tables. Excellent pasta (cacio e pepe and silk handkerchiefs with walnut butter a must!) at really reasonable prices. Loved it. All my favourite restaurants on Insta at @hello_hedonaut.
4 months ago
Molly Barbian
We order three different pastas and all of them are very nice. My favourite is squid ink tagliolini - a must try!
3 months ago
Leeann Kelly
Incredible food and amazing atmosphere being able to watch the chefs in action and the pasta being made at either end of the restaurant. Highly recommended and very affordable!
6 months ago
Florin Cimpean
Bancone is my single biggest recommendation for everyone in London looking for a true epicurean experience, that satisfies the gourmands and excites foodies. Going to Bancone makes me feel proud to be a chef because they delivered the perfect dining experience that everyone, in the industry or not, will love, appreciate and respect.
I went to Bancone with my partner on a very busy Friday night without a reservation. When we arrived, we were welcomed by the outstandingly tentative front of house staff and the manager, Fulvio. They made us feel so welcomed and had us seated within 20 minutes, which I should add is the perfect amount of time to enjoy one of their cocktails.
For dinner we started with the burrata after which, we then dove into their signature Silk handkerchiefs with walnut butter & confit egg yolk dish, the Cavolo nero mafalde with taleggio and toasted buckwheat and Ravioli. To be concise, each dish was perfect and exactly how it should be. I still think of how beautifully the cavolo nero clung to the mafalde and the perfect match that their walnut butter was to confit yolks.
To finish the evening we shared Boncone's Basil semifreddo with pistachio crumb & raspberry which was again, perfect.
All in all, Bancone delivered exceptional service and gorgeous food, all for a very reasonable and fair price (an unusual treat for London).
3 months ago
Stephen Martin
Busy, buzzy place. Great atmosphere and very attentive service. Beautifully decorated restaurant with a very nice cocktail menu. The food is ok, hence the 3 stars. I might have ordered the wrong dish but I found the cavolo nero pasta to be too thick and very stodgy. The garlic focaccia was fridge cold, too bad because it had a nice flavour. The ossobuco mezzelune were delicious. I also liked the gianduia creme brûlé. The rest of the food was nothing to write about, just average.
2 months ago
Igor Sidorov
Perfect pasta, nice service, happy vibe, il combacia with more friends for sure
9 months ago
Susan Llewellyn
Delicious pasta, lovely staff and great atmosphere. This was our second visit and we loved it on both occasions. I would thoroughly recommend the squid ink pasta that was cooked to perfection and just left me wanting more.
The staff were really accommodating and found us a table for 4 even though we had booked for 2 by accident - in a city thats becoming harder and harder to book in, this was really refreshing :-)
If you are in the area this is a definite must do - and have the squid pasta!!
2 months ago
Courtney N
Absolutely delicious! One of the best pasta I’ve ever had. Flavourful and rich, pasta has an amazing and silky texture, perfectly al dente(although some strands were unevenly cooked but it added to the mouthfeel). Service was very hospitable, professional and prompt and we were not kept waiting at all even though it was busy. Interior decor was modern and classy. Looking forward to go back and try the other pasta dishes.
2 months ago
Lisa Attenborough
Great pasta, OK service, bad seats. If you're sitting at the bar you are battling for space with your neighbours, your bag on the under table hook and coat in your lap. All while almost every person passing by will brush your back.
3 months ago
Latreccia Kelly
Excellent pasta restaurant in the heart of London. Reasonably priced for the quality and healthy portion sizes (1 dish each is fine depending on how hungry one is).
Book ahead as it seems to be a very popular/busy restaurant ????
3 months ago
Joe Hansen
Delicious food at very reasonable prices. Seats over looking the kitchen and very attentive service - would definitely recommend
3 weeks ago
anders nikula
My favourite restaurant! Fantastic food and service.
11 months ago
Suhail Purkar
Short menu, quick service, perfect pasta. Recommended!
5 months ago
Ksusha Koshechka
The food here is so tasty. Atmosphere is great too. It was busy on a Tuesday evening, but they managed to squeeze us in. I am vegan and there were a couple options for me. Also the chef adapted a dessert so I could eat one.
2 months ago
Oleksandr Zaikin
Delicious fresh pasta. Took our 1 year old and asked for a high chair when booking but was told on arrival they don't have them which was disappointing. The food made up for it however. Speedy service and booking recommended unless you want to wait.
2 months ago
Josephine Amos
The food is fantastic. A must return to ace. Promised the team we will go as an Easter treat if we deliver against targets.
The room upstairs excellent for a board meeting over dinner. The staff were a little hassled that we wanted to make more choices in food selection. This is a place that has their approach and rules and you either accept them or eat elsewhere.
I wish I had taken more pictures of the delicious pasta dishes. A reason to visit again!!
4 months ago
Jay Thomas
Booked the private room upstairs for a friend’s 30th. Our waiter couldn’t have been more helpful, made it a wonderful night. ❣️
3 weeks ago
Anna C
Really good homemade pasta! We sat at a booth but there is also seating at the bar where you can see everything going on. Went for our birthday and loved the food but the staff didn’t even say happy birthday when we mentioned we were celebrating which seemed kind of cold. We had:
• Spicy pork & n’duja ragù with mafalde
• Potato gnocchi with beetroot cream, goat cheese & kale crisps
• White veal ragù with campanelle & winter truffle
3 months ago
Melvin Lightfoot
Great atmosphere (if not a bit tight), nice fresh pasta.
3 months ago
Lepaula Lang
Delicious pasta and at a very reasonable price
6 months ago
Esi Abassah
Fabulously affordable No Frills Italian.
I really appreciated that the pasta was freshly made- that the recipes were super traditional, and that the menu is always changing and is not too large.
We ordered a cacio e pepe to share- this was honestly excellent. Most people dont know that true roman cacio e pepe recipes dont contain any cream- despite contrary belief the ingredients nor the pasta are just parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper, butter, and some starchy water from boiling the pasta( thats what ends up giving the creamy texture).
The homemade ragu tasted as if you were eating it at your italian grandmothers house on a Sunday lunch.
Flavors were excellent and fresh.
Service was great.
The prices are really affordable as well.
I would highly recommend this place
3 months ago
David F
We came to this restaurant twice while traveling to London, it was that good.
18 hours ago
chris watson
Good Italian restaurant with nice selection of delicious fresh pasta dishes for a very reasonable price
4 months ago
Don palihena
Overall was good but somewhat disappointed at how the staff first handled the issue with a piece of plastic found in our pasta.
When we showed our server what we found he took the plate, to show the chef. A little later we were told by another lady that "they use no such plastic and did not know what it was"; she then added that "she suspects that it could be from the blue cheese container". If it is from the cheese container it is something that they "use" - we would have understood if she had just said there was a mistake in the kitchen etc.. It felt like they simply found it odd that we found a piece of plastic they "did not use". If not from their kitchen where would it have come from? I think the initial handling of the issue was something that could be improved, but otherwise we did like the place!
2 months ago
T Turner
Pasta was really good, one of the best I had in London. Really liked spicy pork and nduja one.However starters were just ok, burrata was far from the best. Peach desert is a must have, really good combination of tastes and textures. As for peanut butter panna cotta - taste was good(if you are a fan of peanut butter), however texture in my opinion is one of the major parts of panna cotta, and it just was different and not what expected.
2 months ago
Petra Schweitzer
Superb, modern, pasta-focused restaurant. Pretty much always need to book as v busy, but totally worth it. Good value for money and delicious food
4 months ago
Matthew Ringuette
Tasty food and very reasonably priced. Only thing is it's quite crowded but nothing less can be expected for such a good value restaurant in central London.
3 months ago
brett threat
Had really high hopes for the restaurant but it started with bad service and that continued throughout the meal. The waiter that took our drinks apparently didn’t understand what we wanted, pretty standard stuff a bottle of wine and gin with lime, someone else had to come and retake our order. They brought out the wrong entree and dessert and got the bill wrong. The food was ok but was pretty unimpressed with their small vegetable sides selection - just one green beans dish. Pasta was ok, got the bucatini cacio. I’ve had better pasta for less in London. The dessert was probably the best part, peanut butter panna cotta and chocolate mouse. Won’t be coming back.
3 months ago
Cindy Sorensen
I cannot write anything that would accurately convey how amazing the food here is. We had a main each and then were so happy that we wanted to try more dishes so shared a third and then had a dessert each. I can't wait to come back!
2 months ago
Kristen Forbing
Great food, service was a bit poor. Waiters don’t really acknowledge you. I think I came during their lunch so that could be why
2 months ago
Matthew Loesch
Such a great place to eat. Priced well, amazing quality ingredients. Good theatre. Delicious Italian food done well. Make a trip!
6 months ago
charlotte dreamer
An absolutely amazing experience! We had the cacio e pepe, silk handkerchief and spicy pork mafalde. All were absolutely delicious! Fresh pasta is always a treat and the flavours were well balanced. Looking forward to another visit to try all the other dishes!
We had to have an early dinner (5pm) but were able to make a same day reservation for a Friday night, a rarity in central London. The counter seating was more spacious than expected and watching the kitchen working was interesting. The restaurant is beautiful and the atmosphere was warm and welcoming. The service was super friendly and attentive.
6 months ago
kipusa shiko
the silk hankerchiefs dish was great. loved the walnut crumbs especially. squid ink pasta was also pretty good.
3 weeks ago
Brian Coffin
The pasta at Bancone is a real experience, different flavours to other italian spots in the city. This place feel unique and authentic. One of my favourites!
2 months ago
Dennis Laumann
The is absolutely the best pasta in whole London! They have amazingly fresh pasta, all kinds of it. It is also seasonal, serving different types every now and then. I advise you to try it! It was so tasty that we wanted to take some for home, unfortunately they don't allow you to order for take away.
6 months ago
Pat Wilson
As a party of four on a busy Saturday night in Central London we had a really great time at Bancone. The service was fun, the food was really nice and the bill not too bad either. Would recommend to anyone for a solid pre/post show meal.
3 months ago
Michael Tardiff
Visited on Saturday night having read many good reviews. Booked in advance however our table was not ready when we arrived and we had to wait 10 minutes in a crowded doorway. No apology.
The waitress was very unwell - coughing and sneezing which was unpleasant and probably not OK in such an enclosed food serving environment.
Once seated, we had to wait awhile for menus and for our order to be taking. A different waitress this time but again cold and stand offish.
A third waitress put our wine glasses down and the 4 of us thought they were going to smash she did it so aggressively.
We had a selection of starters and pastas. Lack of actual vegetables on offer and the foccaicia was served dry with no oil or butter.
The ravioli was fine. A rather overpowering filling and the sauce was drowning in a balsamic glaze which made it very sweet.
I'd argue with the many reviews calling this place 'cheap'. For four of us we paid £17 in service charge whilst receiving little to no actual service. When my friend asked for his coat the waitress rolled her eyes and he had to go and find it himself. Bit weird to not have a coat storing system in a fairly big restaurant. The seating was cramped with nowhere to put bags or coats nearby and was hotter than the sun.
I will never be returning, there are many restaurants in London to find reasonably priced homemade pasta and this is not one of them!
Not worth the hype!!!
6 months ago
Kieran Lynch
I’ve been wanting to go to bancone for forever. Was so excited to go tonight.
All the food was delicious, service was decent.
I asked a couple times if we had ordered too much when ordering, didn’t really get an answer but think there was a language barrier between italian and my American English which is understandable.
So I (obviously) ordered too much. Asked to take the rest away but told I couldn’t. They don’t have boxes or do takeaway. There was a lot of pasta left and felt really wasteful. Bancone is also right by charring cross station , where I had got off, and saw so many rough sleepers in the station. The manager (I think) told me that I couldn’t take my pasta but not to worry because the restaurant gives the homeless leftover bread at the end of the night.
Have a hard time going to a restaurant that seemed so wasteful! Although the pasta was delicious I most likely won’t return because of this.
6 months ago
Dima Zhelnin
Delicious Italian food. Don't expect anything other than pasta dishes which are beautifully cooked. Busy place with a great buzz. Hope to go back.
3 months ago
Renee Almasri
You will remember the day you eat that handkerchief pasta. It’s like discovering a new tastebud you never knew you had. Three stars because it’s so busy now it’s impossible to get a table. Buzzing vibe, great service once you’re in!
3 months ago
Joshua Scribner
Absolutely loved this place.. The wait was annoying specially if you didn’t have a reservation I had to wait for 30mins to be seated at the bar. The ink squid pasta was stunning so is the hazelnut chocolate brûlée. Definitely going back again and booking in advance next time as the waiting time is long.
6 months ago
Steve Paulitzki
Great pasta. Good wine list. Friendly service. 1 star deducted for slow service. Lives up to expectations of a Bib Gourmand.
3 months ago
