The restaurant itself occupies a large space on the ground floor of a modern block of residential flats and is (we understand) the sister restaurant of Wapping's better known Italian Il Bordello. The staff (in both) are all Italian and there seems an air of authenticity about the place so that you really do feel you're getting a proper Italian meal, and certainly our dinner at La Figa was better than the tourist traps of Venice we experienced last year, and even the quality restaurants that came recommended to us also give or take. It's not quite up there with London's leading Italians like Locanda Locatelli, but doesn't try to be. despite that, it's not so far off, and for our money, it was as satisfying a meal as the one we ate at well regarded L'Anima but most agreeably at half the price.
The menu at La Figa is substantial, a page turner in fact, and unless you really despise Italian food (which would be odd on many levels), it would be hard not to find something you liked; if you love Italian food, you can easily find yourself paralysed with indecision. But not only is the menu big, the portion sizes are huge: we ordered a starter each, a pasta dish to share, a main each and a dessert to share and we still found ourselves taking home a doggy bag. We have been to La Figa several times before and we know that plates piled high is the norm, influencing our decision to opt for sharing the pasta course.
Quantity however is not at the expense of quality and I guess you don't survive 10 years as an Italian restaurant if you can't do good pasta. At £18.95, we're very happy.
Second, we like the size of the bill. The food above, bottled water, a glass of wine, before service came to £90.25 for two people, so £51 a head with service included. For a meal that we really enjoyed eating, four courses, and with enough food to take home also, this is great value.
It is of course a local Italian, not a destination restaurant for West Londoners, but it's walking distance from Canary Wharf and is at least as good as anything you'll find there, so if you live or work East, why not give it a try. And make sure you arrive there hungry.
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