Il Bacio

After having walked past this place many, many times seeing it packed to the rafters, I had high hopes for some of my favourite food.
Alas, disappointment was the only thing on the menu.
Myself and a friend ordered 2 calzones with minor alterations from the rather strict menu. however, when we received said calzones, we found that they had omitted the meat ingredients!
They agreed to my request that a free drink was appropriate for the inconvenience but alas, this was another omission when it came to the bill.
The following calzone just seemed to be rushed with cold meat in chunks rather than spread with some thought.
The tall blonde waitress who at first seemed pleasant, had now changed to a dour, so what, sort of person that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
There has to be better than this !!

Delicious — all the House Specials are worth a try. Menu is heavily weighted towards fish and after trying the main pasta fish selections I’d say this is a strength of the restaurant. Really enjoyed the ambience and service was great.

Food was average however my favourite starter was on the menu, typical Italian restaurant. Service was definitely up to scratch but a little bit pricey for what is was, would go there again but only if the other options on blackstock road were closed

Since this place changed management many things are now different.
I’m not sure I can hold anymore my old ratings and I decided to balance them a bit with a 3 stars.
Hope people in the area won’t mind, but the place is not the same as it used to be.
However there is always space for improvement and another review :-)

My husband and I went here for our anniversary the other night and had an EXCELLENT meal! I had the fish stew and it was exactly what I’d been hoping for, perfectly made and so tasty. The staff were wonderful, too, very friendly and efficient. We’ll definitely be heading back. Haven’t tried the pizza yet but might get that delivery.

Distinctly average food. Pizza not much better than supermarket range.
Friends both had Calzone which both arrived burnt, but covered in tomato sauce to disguise it. Friends are both too polite to have sent it back to the kitchen.
My pizza was adequate, but lacked flavour artichokes were tasteless.

Has this place changed hands recently’ish? Usually very reliable local has been more hit and miss recently. The usual bunch of friendly staff all seem to have changed so that;‘s my clue. Still my go-​to place for a decent meal out in this neck of the woods (huge, decently-​priced pizzas) but just not quite as tip top as it was. Hoping it will return to form.

Wasn’t impressed, over price for what it is.

Fantastic dining experience!!! We were a party of 8 people last night and absolutely enjoyed the italian experience at IL Bacio. Pizzas were huge and very tasty. The zuppa di pesce and spaghetti vongole e bottarga were amazing!!! The quality is high and prices reasonable. Definitely a place will go back over and over again.

Overloaded pancakey pizza with a big helping of hideous customer service your thing? Well get yourself down to Il Bacio for a full on experience of both We’ve both been there on a few occasions and found we could forgive the just plain horrifying service whilst the pizzas were good. Unfortunately the other night found our party abused directly and indirectly, our genuine and friendly complaints scoffed at, and very bad soggy pizza to boot. Boy oh boy has this place got a lot to learn! Do they even know that their customers are living through tough time at the moment and need incentives to spend their hard earned cash. Treat us with respect or make way for someone that will!

Great food. Try the gnocchi!

This is the best pizza I have had so far in London. Proper Italian sized pizzas. The ingredients are so fresh and full of flavour.
The base is perfect — not so thin its a poppadom and not so thick its stodgey pizza hut style.
All the staff are great and the owner/​manager was really friendly and making sure all the tables were happy. Just that magic little touch makes all the difference with me.
It had a nice family local vibe too — a little crowded on a Sunday afternoon — but what do you expect its the best pizza in town!
Good prices too and i was so excited to see they do takeaway also!

The big glass windows are really great and feels like watching a big fish bowl on match day.
The food offer is great and I really like fish and pizzas.
My wife is really enthusiast as well of their pasta selection.
Really recommended.

Let me first say I think the food is fantastic and my Husband (and he is from Italy let me add agrees) Great portions, if you like sea food this is the place it is a very traditional Sardinian food. The wait staff is nice, Food Great and I just love Church street in Stoke Newington very cute. All in All I’m giving it a great review and will be looking forward to going back.

The perfect local italian. Fantastic authentic pizza and risotto (if you get them on the right night) and friendly service. The food can be a bit variable, but on the whole it deserves to be very busy, and it usually is. Very kid friendly too!

My new local! And I’m not too upset about that either.
Great Sardinian restaurant, always bursting with people eating and chatting loudly (in a good way). Service is superb and food is better than most — lots of seafood dishes on the menu (there’s the Sardegna for you), very well cooked pasta and fresh fish. The pizzas looked awesome, I will certainly be back for one there just got to try the other three pizza places nearby to make sure first.
As we’re out of football season the giant tv screen on the wall was inexplicably showing music videos with lyrics the whole time I was there. No bother, they weren’t playing the music along with it too, but I always dislike screens in bars or restaurants. Always distracts everyone — eyes flicking backwards and forwards from the screen.
To go alongside the takeaway pizza prices il bacio does takeaway too and delivers for orders over a tenner. Including the pastas and desserts!

We ate here before the Brazil vs. Italy game played at Arsenal’s Emirates stadium just down the road. Our table for 12 had been booked well in advance, but we were virtually the only Englishmen in the place which made it all the better — it had a sense of being a ‘local’ restaurant that way, and gave a pre-​match atmosphere only usually felt at a ‘home’ venue.
We were glad of the TV in there to catch some of the build up but equally glad of the really relaxed feel that the place has. We were being pretty loud, and the Italians louder, and nobody cared. As garethdixon points out, it’s really family friendly, and the whole time we were there the staff were moving tables around and generally pandering to people coming in with their kids.
The pizza bread we had to start was nice, and not too heavy. I followed this with had a pizza and it was a huge, as were all of them that came out of the oven, and very keenly priced considering the size. Most of the other people in our party also had pizza (chosen from the pretty good selection on offer on the menu) but a couple had lasagne and said that it was delicious.
The side salads that were set down on the table were fresh, crunchy and tasty, as were the potent onions with fresh tomato slices on a large plate!
Peroni was served in large, tall, clean, new glasses and the selection of wine was adequate for such a place. We had a delicious, inexpensive red. There was no time for desert so I can’t comment on that, but if it’s anywhere near as good as their mains you won’t be disappointed.
All in all the restaurant is a great little place to eat, nestled in between the takeaways on Blackstone Road, and if I ever go to the Emirates again I would definitely go back to Il Bacio.

This is the best Italian restaurant in London. Great size portions in a great atmosphere.
There is a good selection of food from around Italy, although they specialise in Sardinian cuisine. It is definitely worth sampling.
The staff are friendly and there is usually a Seri A game being shown on the large screen!!!

Il Bacio is an incongruously smart restaurant on Blackstock road. It is part of a growing London-​based chain of Italian restaurant /​pizzerias. It has a clean modern design, with a large glass frontage. The restaurant is spread across the ground and basement floors.
The restaurant is popular amongst families, many of whom seem to live in the area, and consequently the place has a warm friendly atmosphere. The staff are well presented and the service is fast and efficient.
They serve a traditional mix of Italian foods though whenever I’ve been I’ve eaten pizza. The pizzas are, unsurprisingly, thin based Italian style and quite large. The quality of the ingredients is high and consequently they are very tasty (though I’d say La Porchetta was better). It is not cheap, though not exorbitant either, and the prices are justified by the quality of the food and general standard of the place.
Ideal for a family meal if you’re in the Highbury area.

Fantastic family restaurant vibe with bin lid size yummy pizzas. Staff are the friendliest in the area and if you have kids this place is a blessing as they’re so chilled out about family groups.