Bottega Prelibato - Hackney

Really authentic Italian cuisine, not the typical pizza/pasta places you generally find! After travelling through a lot of Italy it's one of the few places in London that you can say is truly authentic and delicious. Not cheap but the ingredients they use are very good quality.

This was our first dining experience at this restaurant but certainly not the last. The food was amazing and so was everything else. Top marks

Was expecting great things from this place given the location and look of the place. It has a daily changing menu so maybe we were just unlucky but all the food seemed to lack any spark. We ordered three starters all were just mushy, not particularly well presented. Smoked duck was good but served on an unattractive bed of raw onions and bland tomatoes. I had seafood pasta main again bland. Pasta is home made and good. Sauce was thin and lacked any seasoning. Great wine. Service pretty poor, took absolutely ages for any food to arrive. Nice ambiance for a date but the food was pretty average.

I loved this little restaurant/bistro. The waitress who welcomed us was enthusiastic and friendly. She talked through the menu written up on a blackboard in great detail and with great gusto. We decided to go straight for main courses but then looked longingly at a huge platter of cold antipasti at the nearest table. Resisting the temptation to distract their attention while we reached over and tucked in we decided that it was a meal in itself unless you have a huge appetite or you haven't eaten for a week. I ate pasta with squid and squid ink which was delicious and not very easy to find in England. My partner who has to follow a gluten free diet had gluten free pasta and my only criticism of the restaurant is that it was not obvious that a gluten free pasta was available, it just came out in conversation with the waitress. This is a lovely friendly little restaurant with a great atmosphere and delicious food and wine. And it is good value too. It is small and the tables are quite close so its not the most suitable for business or romance, but for a friendly, relaxed, meal with good food and service it can't be beat. We'll be back!

We went to Prelibato on a Friday night- service was excellent- you order from a chalkboard and staff are really knowledgeable. Starters of scallops and chicken livers were gorgeous, we sadly didn't finish our lovely main courses of pasta as we'd had too much bread. Will return...highly recommend!