Pros
The training is fantastic thanks to the company trainer herself! You learn a ton about Italian food, language and culture. You also learn a lot about back of house management, PnL's, budgets, staff management, stock management. Lots of enthusiasm when you first start with the company. Great as a starter restaurant for managerial careers in London if you don't have much experience, also good if you are in for the long haul and expect to be with the company for the next 10+ years and want to progress to Op's. Fantastic training Grad Scheme. Trips to Italy if you manage to get your waiters to win wine selling comps.
Cons
General: Once trained it can go either one of 2 ways. Managers will either progress over a long period of time, learning every small detail about the company before finally becoming an ops after about 8-10 years of lots of hard work being a GM and still love working for this company, but there's too much pressure to meet budgets and deadlines and to constantly cut staff labour. This makes the offers of the bonus schemes quite un-obtainable for some sites. Staff Progression in management: Can be very slow even if you're extremely experienced, you could be AGM for at least a couple of years. Where as some inexperienced AM's are instantly made GM and do not receive much support, for example being given another capable manager or key holder to help run the site. Pay: OK: but not the best! Great if you're starting out in London and don't have much managerial experience (you will learn a hell of a lot about running a restaurant in this job!) but after that pay is very low considering the skills you have and especially for a London wage. Work/Life balance: Dependant on site shifts can be 630am-4pm/12-9/12-cls/3-cls, sometimes BACK2BACK shifts are required. 5 shifts a week, sometimes 6 if lots of staff on holiday. Contracts for 45hrs but you could work up to 60 without overtime GM usually has Sunday off although late night taxis are paid up to a certain amount for managers.