" IL PANINO = ILL "

Value for money		Suitable for...
The food		.. a date
The service		.. business dinner
The decor		.. with friends

I stopped in for a quick sandwich and found a "regular" sandwich that sounded good for 45RMB. Ordered and found it, chips or sides were extra. OK fine. Took one bite of the sandwich and it tasted like a shaker of salt was poured inside. Asked for a big water to help compensate, was told I had to pay for water that wasn't from the tap. Gross.

Not going back

" Disappointing "

Value for money		Suitable for...
The food		.. a date
The service		.. business dinner
The decor		.. with friends

Looking for a new place to pop in for a good lunch, we stepped hopefully into Il Panino on Beijing Lu.
The menu looked good, and the lunch sets seemed to be well thought-out and at a good price.
Unfortunately the overall meal was incredibly disappointing. My partner had the tuna salad (bland) and lasagna (clearly microwaved, partly "nuked" and not evenly heated through), and I had the Carrot and Ginger soup (bland again with not even a hint of ginger) and the Spinach and Cheese Ravioli. Even ignoring the frustrating fact that my starter was cut short by the arrival of my main only four minutes after receiving the soup (the waitress wanted to leave them both on the table, leaving the pasta to go cold while I finished the soup), the soggy ravioli was water-logged and bland, in a completely uninspired and (again!) flavourless tomato sauce. The only part of the meal that stood up to a decent standard were the two cans of coke we ordered with the lunch sets. Very disappointing Il Panino.
I'm assuming there must be better things on the menu and perhaps they were just having an off day, but in this city you don't tend to go back for a second chance. Like the old saying says: "Cheat me once, shame on you; cheat me twice, shame on me".