The Prince and The Hawker

When I started The Prince and The Hawker, I knew I’d eventually write a critical review. That time has come.

On a crisp winter evening, some friends and I had finished seeing an exhibition at the Tate Modern in London. We had planned to grab dinner close by so on a whim had chosen Pulia, which is a 10-minute walk away. The restaurant and menu looked inviting and their rating on review sites was decent, if not stunning. My mistake was the proverbial “judging a book by its cover”.

The restaurant was buzzing with energy when we entered, and we were promptly greeted and seated. Now came a weird event that I only noticed with hindsight. One server came over and introduced herself, specifically highlighting her name and that she would be looking after us for the night. All fine…then she never approached our table again for the entire evening. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, but it turned out to be an indication of chaos for the rest of the evening.

The service throughout the night was spotty at best, but seemed to deteriorate as the restaurant got fuller. In reasonable time, we ordered our starters and mains, and also a bottle of wine. The wine was brought promptly in an ice bucket. After the initial pour, the servers never topped up our glasses at any point in the evening, even when they were already at the table.

Time to Eat

After our wine was served, we did have to wait about 20-25 min for our starters. Not completely unreasonable, but a bit on the long side considering we had all ordered cold starters.

I shared two starters with my partner. The Frisella Tradizionale al Pachino (Frisella Bruschetta with Pachino Tomatoes, Garlic and Basil) was rather a sad affair. The tomatoes were vaguely dressed and served on top of soggy, almost stale bread. It didn’t feel cohesive, rather just a boring tomato salad thrown on top of a piece of bread. At least the basil on top was fresh?

The other starter we ordered was the Inslata di Polpo (Grilled Octopus, Potatoes and seasonal Vegetables salad). The octopus was cooked perfectly, but the rest of the salad was a bit bland. It lacked seasoning and a bit of acidic punch. The lukewarm temperature didn’t help either. Maybe it was intentional, but I thought if it were served cold it would have been nicer. Also, I wasn’t sure where the seasonal vegetables were.

Unfortunately, the dinner nosedived sharply at this point. It took at least another 40 minutes after we finished our starters for the mains to be served. During this waiting time, we did not have a single interaction with the staff. We seemed to have been forgotten.

I had ordered the Orecchiette al Brasato di Manzo Podolico (Orecchiette Pasta with Slow Cooked “Podolic” Beef). What I was served was more an orecchiette with a simple tomato sauce. Since I knew there was indeed a dish on the menu with tomato and basil sauce, I set out to inquire. It could have been be an honest mistake and not a big deal as long as it was rectified.

Firstly, to flag down a server was a task in itself. When I finally managed to get one’s attention to ask if I had been served the right dish, the server answered before I even finished my question. She hastily said it was the dish with the beef and walked away before I had a chance to clarify. I was left doubting my own ability to taste. I could have probably asked again, but I instead ate the dish trying to taste if the beef was incorporated smoothly into the sauce. My conclusion (and my friend’s after tasting) was that it was purely a tomato sauce.

The other mains at the table were also sub-par. My partner’s sea bass was a mediocre tiny portion. My friend’s pizza looked like it came from the supermarket frozen section.

Most disastrously, my other friend’s stuffed cuttlefish tasted unfresh to the point that he couldn’t finish it. When collecting the plates, one of the hosts noticed and asked if the dish was ok. My friend answered that the cuttlefish tasted unfresh. The host rebuked that cuttlefish has a strong fishy smell that not everybody likes. When my friend said that he is very familiar with cuttlefish (he is from Taiwan), the host had the audacity to say “no no, this cuttlefish is different from where you’re from” and walked off. I thought this was extremely rude and unprofessional.

We decided to skip dessert given the problematic dishes we had experienced. However, getting the bill was yet another hoop we had to jump through. After multiple failed attempts at getting somebody’s attention (reminder: I’m Asian; I know how to flag down a server), I had to actually stand up and chase down a server to get the bill.

Final Thoughts

I like to think of myself as an easy-going diner. Beyond decent food and basic friendly service, everything is a bonus for me. However, the disastrous experience I had at Pulia cemented in my mind one of the worst restaurant experiences in recent memory.

I was disappointed in the pasta dish I ordered where I struggled to find the promised beef. The multiple sour interactions with the staff put the service very low. Our frustrations were compounded by the staff ignoring us and being basically unreacheable.

After the argumentative exchange between the host and my friend, the only redeeming thing was that they took the inedible cuttlefish item off our bill. However, nobody from the staff acknowledged, apologised for nor addressed the issue with the dish. It felt both unprofessional and petty.

Needless to say, I will not be going back to Pulia. And I’ll be more careful in the future not to judge a book (restaurant) by its cover. I would, however, like to one day visit Puglia.