Re Masaniello Italian Restaurant

[sempronius]

Hi I was passign by the old Criterion Ice Cream parlour (then turkish and mexican restaurant) and I came across this new restaurant. I was intrigued and walked in to see what was like and to my great surprise I saw that they have a proper clay pizza oven and also make rustic bread as they do in italy, in the naples area. i bought a piece and must tell you that it was delicious. I can't wait to try their pizza. We shoudl support local trade and commerce before going to other venues.
I hope their prices are ok for the area. I live in FH but I am always happy to shop in sdenham where I lived previous for a long time

[G-Man]

Joined today...one post...suspicious to me.

Ha!

G-Man

[Rachael]

Similar posting on SE23.com, although that poster has been on there about a week or so and contributed to some other threads.

Anyone else tried the new Italian yet?

[sempronius]

The reason why I posted this is because I tried the bread and found it to be very nice. I have no connections whatsoever with the restaurant, except I was walking by in Sydenham and found out by chance. Walked in and saw that it is like the pizzeria they have in italy.
whether people want to try it or not, it is up to them. I only want to let everybody know. other than that I have no interest whatsoever.

[Raven Drone]

G Man, sorry but I think I find your post at best a little paranoid and at worst a touch bullying? It's fine to question, but I think we should be careful not to discredit someone just because they are new or, dare I say, just because they are not singing the praises of Raff's? This forum is becoming far too much a closed shop for my liking ( and we have enough of them in Sydenham already!)

I've been watching the 'silence' on this subject for the last couple of weeks and wondering how long it will take people to realise that the pizzas at Masaniello are much better than those at Raffs. Sorry Folks, but it needs to be said- the place is good ( and the prices) so rather than ignoring it exists why not go and support it. If we do then they will have the money to improve the decoration which I must admit is something I think could be better. Trust me on this one

[leenewham]

Yes, we went. The pizza bases are very good and the starters were well presented but the toppings felt a bit (I wish I could find another word for it) bland. The menu looks huge so perhaps we chose the wrong things but when we left I asked my (much) better half if she would go back. She frowned and said 'probably not'. It has potential but it's a tricky place to trade. We prefer Trattoria. But it's good to have a choice.

[Rachael]

Two good Italian restaurants could support each other - in many places, similar businesses cluster, so if one is too busy, you take your trade to the other. If I know there are two decent Italian restaurants close together, I would probably take a chance on popping down to the High Street of an evening to eat, assuming I can get into either one or the other.

I haven't tried the new one yet, but I will.

[leenewham]

Yes, true, ask Raph in Trattoria or Michael at the Dolphin. More than 2 could be an issue though, but 2 good businesses selling slightly different things is a good thing for both as it may get people to venture onto the high street. People like choice, go into supermarkets and you find an abundance of choice, although in reality the choice is a slight variation on a similar theme.

I know people who have lived here for over 10 years and have never been to any shop or restaurant on the high street. It doesn't appeal.

One issue as already highlighted though is that Re Masaniello doesn't have great Kerb Appeal (those blinds with the words papas crudely painted out) look terrible and the frontage is hard and uninviting (needs some greenery guys, look at the Dolphins garden) and the interior decor is lacking any personal touches…who runs this restaurant, why is it here?.

[G-Man]

Apologies sempronius, I've just worked in marketing too long and am far from a bully, I was actually hoping I'd be proved wrong.

Haven't been yet, and that's because we currently don't eat out that often and when we do it's for a reason and we like to go to Raff's as we love it there and he has been good to us.

I think Masaniello, looking in looks okay, and the pizza oven very inviting. I just wish they would get rid of those awful canapies, they must put quiet a few people off surely.

Let's hope both businesses thrive and we get some more seeing the potential and filling our empty shops.

G-Man

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[Chris Best]

I really welcome a choice when eating out in Sydenham and had a chat to Fabio about the family run restaurant on one of my visits. They can provide a choice of pizza toppings and I really liked the pizza oven taste - why not check out the web site - http://www.remasaniello.co.uk/remas.html

[Robin Orton]

Another suspicious looking posting - the style clearly shows that it was drafted by some advertising person. Who is this 'Chris Best', I wonder?

[Whiftoff]

Drove past last night on the way back from work and it was quite busy in there for a Monday night, which is good to see!

[Whiftoff]

just noticed that the time stamp is an hour slow.

[Rachael]

Whiftoff - check your user settings. You may still be on GMT instead of BST.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[sempronius]

I have not looked out at the restaurant environment and decor yet as I only passed by and was interesting to have the menu to see what was on offer. Whilst I was talking to the waitress, I noticed the bread and asked if I could buy it as it looked good and when I tasted it, I found it delicious.
I asked them where they get their ingredients, as I make my own bread and pizzas and was told they import everything from Italy, including the type of flour.
I do not go out much to restaurants as I prefer to cook my own food, but I would give a try to this restaurant on some occasion one to see how it is is. Never been at trattoria Raffaele. Will try that too.

[leenewham]

Trattoria also make their own bread and pizza bases. One of the guys behind this place used to be a supplier to Trattoria I believe. Definitely try both.

[Tim Lund]

G Man, sorry but I think I find your post at best a little paranoid and at worst a touch bullying? It's fine to question, but I think we should be careful not to discredit someone just because they are new or, dare I say, just because they are not singing the praises of Raff's? This forum is becoming far too much a closed shop for my liking ( and we have enough of them in Sydenham already!)

I've been watching the 'silence' on this subject for the last couple of weeks and wondering how long it will take people to realise that the pizzas at Masaniello are much better than those at Raffs. Sorry Folks, but it needs to be said- the place is good ( and the prices) so rather than ignoring it exists why not go and support it. If we do then they will have the money to improve the decoration which I must admit is something I think could be better. Trust me on this one

Thanks to this thread, I'll definitely be trying this out with the family. And I'm just about to post a new thread addressing some of the negativity on this thread ...

[Rachael]

It seems to me that Re Masaniello has a handicap to overcome in that there have been a succession of restaurants on that site that have failed. Some of that image rubs off on the new business - I read somewhere about how certain locations can become blighted in this way, and the more businesses fail in a particular site, the more likely the next one is to fail too, even if it is a good business.

As such it might have been prudent for them to invest even more in making the place look different. A name I can spell without having to look at the title of this thread would have helped too! However, now they are here, we need to judge them on their own merits and not on the failings of their predecessors.

People go to Crystal Palace because it has a cluster of decent restaurants. If you try a restaurant and it is good, you are more likely to think that others in the area are of a similar standard. A cluster of good restaurants in short distance of each other, as I said before, will be a Good Thing. Forest Hill is happily supporting three good independent coffee shops.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[sempronius]

I have seen another restuarant called masaniello in twickenham. does anybody know if it belongs to the same branch/people? Is it a sort of franchise somehow?

[Robin Orton]

Coincidence, I expect. Masaniello was an Italian, or rather Neapolitan, national hero - perhaps the owners of both restaurants come from Naples. There is a restaurant in Venice of the same name, serving southern Italian food.