Caldesi is a very nice and friendly place, with good food and smiling staff. The food is close to proper Italian, as our Sardinian friend corroborated. However, the price is too inflated for the quality of the food. Granted, the location is phenomenal, but the whole package combined doesn't rise high enough for a better grade.
This is a really good place for Italian food in the heart of Marylebone! Service was really friendly throughout our meal. I've ordered a fresh tomato salad and also the chicken with lemon, which was really tasty and fresh. Couldn't resist but to order the special dessert of the day "pistaccio" and it was superb!!! Fresh and delicious! Once I'm in the area I will be back for sure.
Fantastico! The best authentic home made style Italian food ever. Compares with the best of the best of Italian restaurants outside Italy such as San Francisco and NY. Grazie mille.
we had dinner at Caffe Caldesi on Saturday 14 June and had a wonderful experience. the food was excellent, as was the service. we cannot commend the manager Maurizio and his staff enough for looking after us so well. first class and we look forward to coming again.
Not as good as it should be. Given its proximity to my office, I've eaten here on many occasions. I've never been blown away but it's always been adequate. My recommendation would be to eat at the ground floor bistro as its better value and they do a reasonable set lunch. Given the fact that it is connected to a cookery school you would expect the food to be slightly better than it is but it is adequate and sometimes it can be quite good.
If you are unlucky enough to get the wrong table you can be very intimate with your neighbour without meaning to be and this isn't the place for privacy.
The Caffe’s menu reflects Giancarlo’s Tuscan roots and it tells you that he was brought up on a smallholding where his mother cooked meals using fresh seasonal ingredients in a way that maximised their flavour and retained the nutrients – Cucina Povera. This, to me, is the essence of Italian cooking and why I like it so much – that wonderful respect for the ingredients and often cooking things in a simple way but bringing out the best flavour.
This is one of the best pasta dishes I've had in London - perfectly cooked al dente linguine with simple, wholesome flavours of tomato and garlic, a touch of cream and dusting of Parmesan, which come together perfectly to become a highly satisfying plate of food. From the outside, you would never guess that Caffe Caldesi is the origin of such an amazing meal. Overshadowed by its more famous neighbour Entrecôte , Caffe Caldesi stays out of the limelight and certainly its atmosphere is quite the opposite of the bustling French steakhouse next door. Completely unpretentious, the ground floor has a cafe setting that's open pretty much the whole day and the upstairs has more formal dining space which needs reservations. What a lot of people don't know is that there is cooking school 'La Cucina Caldesi' attached at the back where you can attend classes to learn Tuscan cooking - which I've been quite keen to try out. My friend A. who discovered the restaurant and introduced
Caffe Caldesi is a traditional Italian restaurant in the heart of Marylebone, offering visitors a wine bar with light Italian meals and snacks and also a fully fledged restaurant. The whole place was buzzing on the Thursday night of our visit, with a real
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What a fantastic meal from beginning to end. First off this is proper italian, freshly made pasta, all the staff are italian and even the wine is so local to specific regions that we ordered a Primotivo wine and it was written in dialect, specific to Puglia, fantastic.
We started with Antipasti, Calamari fritto, Mozzarella, Duck, and Antipasti Misto all fantastic, the Calamari was so fresh and crispy, no sense of grease in the batter, Wow.
On to primi and secondi, we ordered a mixture of pasta and meat, i personally went for pigs cheek served with polenta and mushrooms, only the second time i have cheek, previously at a michelin star restaurant and this was even better, served as a kind of stew, incredibly tender. Others went for pasta, the smell of the Ragu was incredible and I stole a taste, sad to say that it was better than i or mama has ever cooked, the flavour was incredible, wine, herbs etc. Unfortunately i forgot to take pictures as it all smelt so good we all jumped in. \
Finally desert, we remembered to take pictures, i think the best Tiramasu i have had, served with a quirk i.e. in a Jam Jar, and the coffee was not bad.
As an Italian / Pugliese / Salentino i will certainly be back, and the price with 3 bottles of wine, many course was less than £250, great value.
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This is one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had in London – perfectly cooked al dente linguine with simple, wholesome flavours of tomato and garlic, a touch of cream and dusting of Parmesan, which come together perfectly to become a highly satisfying plate of food.
From the outside, you would never guess that Caffe Caldesi is the origin of such an amazing meal. Overshadowed by its more famous neighbour Entrecôte, Caffe Caldesi stays out of the limelight and certainly its atmosphere is quite the opposite of the bustling French steakhouse next door. Completely unpretentious, the ground floor has a cafe setting that’s open pretty much the whole day and the upstairs has more formal dining space which needs reservations. What a lot of people don’t know is that there is cooking school ‘La Cucina Caldesi' attached at the back where you can attend classes to learn Tuscan cooking - which I've been quite keen to try out.
My friend A. who discovered the restaurant and introduced me to it, has tried out many dishes on the menu and Caldesi is one her regular haunts. I, however, almost always end ordering the Caldesi linguine. I usually end up paying 15£ to 20£ for a meal.
The staff and service is lovely. I took my mother there for dinner a while ago. She is vegetarian and has a severe allergy to eggs. They went out of their way to ensure she could have a good meal and took all her dietary restrictions into account and served her pasta dish that was off the menu.
So if you’re looking for good Italian food in Marylebone at pretty decent prices in an unpretentious setting with warm, friendly staff and no queues or reservations needed - I suggest you try Caffe Caldesi. Even my Italian friend who very particular about his food, enjoyed his meal and says it quite authentic. So it doesn’t get much better than that :)
A spectacular find. One of our best and most authentic dining experiences in London during our recent week-long stay. Delicious Italian food. Margareta pizza with garlic, the best veal schnitzel and calamari were faultless. Lemoncello spritiz was refreshing and finally, the tiramasu was the perfect end to the meal. Lovely staff and we even met the owner and his wife who checked on us during dinner to make sure we were enjoying their food. Be sure to book though as it is very popular with locals and tourists like us.
This is a good choice if you want to eat italian. We ate twice at this restaurant during our London trip. Spaghetti dish and caprese salad were really good, I tried the pasta dish with clams and it was pretty blant for my taste, trued the veal dish it was great but salt was littlenon the meat which balances pit well witht he side of pasta they serve with this dish. The bread basket was great the 1st time. the second time it was overheated, was not so fresh. I just find this place a little overpriced given that the food is not wow.
Vanessa was great and kind to us. Everyone in this store was kind.
Nice and cosy restaurant in the heart of Marylebone. Very attentive and friendly staff. Leo the manager is great. Tasty food.
wonderful time, best wine, food delicious! and the music... wow... amazing!
Food was very nice. Service could have been a little more careful as the server had dropped food over my friend. The manager had kindly removed the cocktails from our bill without our asking
An oasis of Italy in Marylebone. Superb setting, service and food. A treat for all the senses. Set in a quiet side street you can sit outside in the sun or the fine bistro atmosphere of the restaurant itself. The tastes are all authentically Italian!
Brilliant Italian food in a great setting.
Located on a quiet backstreet in Marylebone, this little Oasis makes you feel as if you are not in busy London.
The duck Ragu was very tender and flavourful.
The linguine Caldesi with prawns was creamy and delicious.
Wine pricing was good.
The owner is a celiac so the gluten free pasta choice served with the duck was properly done and NOT the typical shape or flavour that most other restaurants choose to serve. Great surprise.
Classic Italian restaurant belonging to TV Chef Giancarlo Caldesi, who served us when we visited and joined us for a glass of wine; plus signed his cookery books that we purchased. Located off the very fashionable Marylebone High Street. The restaurant has an Italian cookery school next-door. All of the classic Tuscan choices are available to create a truly authentic Italian dining experience.
Really enjoyed this place every time we’ve been. Location is very quaint... down a little lane in Marylebone.
Service was great. We walked in (5 adults and 2 toddlers with prams) and the staff could not do enough to accommodate us... and they were busy!
Food was delicious and cannot be faulted. For those looking for no Gluten... no problem, they will provide.
Do yourself a favour... if you are looking for reasonably priced Italian in the heart of Marylebone then Caldesi will not disappoint
An absolutely delightful restaurant! I had the Riccardo's pizza, Fior di Latte di Agerola, sautéed seasonal mushroom, Gorgonzola, black truffle £5 - the flavours were so rich and intense! My sister had sea bass ravioli, and again the hit of flavours was divine; also sides of mixed grilled courgette and aubergine, with peppers in the middle, and triple-cooked Parmesan chips - lovely. Sitting outside, it became busy, yet the staff offered us complimentary Limoncello at the end rather than try to hurry us up; another touch of class I noted during our thoroughly enjoyable evening. I will be back, and soon!
Great Italian restaurant in Marylebone with an authentic feel and delicious dishes.
Had a 3 course meal and everything was fantastic. Good portions, rich flavours and great service.
Will definitely come back (that mozzarella "in carrozza" with tomato sauce is absolutely wonderful).
Delicious, authentic Italian! The staff was quite accommodating with our little one, although they didn't have a kids menu they were willing to do a small portion of rigatoni with tomato sauce which was great albeit a bit on the expensive side (£10 for a super small portion). I had no idea they did Iced Coffee and waa very pleasantly surprised with how good it was.
Really enjoy my dinner here. Food was on point and very tasty. Would definitely come back.
I went in Caffè Caldesi for my 10th anniversary.
I wanna say just 1 word:WOW.
The service is very good and all the waiter/waitress are very kind and professional, but the best of the restaurant is the food, amazing and well presented, full of flavours and well balanced, from the facaccia and bread basket to dessert.
The best italian restaurant in London no doubt.
I really recommend to try this restaurant, you'll love it.
I want to say how much I enjoyed last night. This place is top drawer and set in a great location.
The team’s recommendations on food and wine were 1st class. The team made friends with us immediatley and I felt right at home. Thank you for looking after me and my guest. I appreciate it.
Look forward to seeing you again. Kind regards. Richard.
I loved every part of my experience in this restaurant. It's beautiful in all the ways that you might imagine.
The food is delicious, and there are a great variety of choices that you can do to enjoy the complete performance and vision of chef Caldesi.
I think it's correct the relation of price and food, so you don't have to worry about little portion and ig prices eventhough it's not cheap.
Went to this fantastic restaurant to celebrate our fathers 80th birthday, what an amazing place, the food wine and service was 10/10 the staff went out of there way to make us feel special. If you like Italian food, this is a must go to place.
Absolutely loved the experience! Amazing food and fantastic service at a reasonable price. Their sea bass ravioli is outstanding. Will definitely go back.
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