Bella Italia (Croydon)

Grossly overpriced meal

Went for dinner with a foreign guest. We have been to the pub several times under two previous managements and always found the food to be good and good value. The new management (same as The Bladebone up the road) have renovated the fifteenth century building with limited modernisation internally. I was upset as soon as I saw that they had changed the fabulous old sign of the bull and replaced it with a modern logo – definitely out of character. The meal service was fair, nothing to complain about, pretty young waitresses obviously there to present a modern feel to the place in contrast to more experienced staff who were there before. This is not a complaint, merely an observation to support the modernisation concept. The food was grossly overpriced. £14.50 for a simple hamburger, and our guest and I had the 'cod fish pie' at £15 each. If this were a normal portion I would not be complaining, but it was half the size of what you could find elsewhere and not particularly tasty. It was beautifully presented in a nouvelle cuisine style with 3 beans, 1 carrot, a little kale (I think) and dabs of tasteless orange coloured sauce. I'm not complaining about the size of the portion, only the price for a half size meal compared to other pubs in the area. The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth (figuratively speaking), and we shall not be returning. There is far better value and quality in neighbouring pubs.