Years after visiting this restaurant I have ventured back last night! I had fond memories of yummy…read morepasta before the days of gluten free diet, but they have plenty of non-offical GF foods on the menu too. I ordered the seafood risotto (with a hint of chilli please) and hubby ordered the variation of surf n turf that way on the menu (Steak with prawns in a creamy sauce, served on lovely veggies). He had a beer and sadly, I didn't have a chinotto, because they didn't have any in stock, oh well!
Tables are covered in white paper, space is quiet small but works well with mirrors on the walls. Noise wasn't too loud, which is great. It was fairly busy for a Monday night.
So, the servings - MASSIVE! I ordered the main sized meal, not the entree sized and I literally laughed (with joy) when I saw it. The volume of fresh seafood in my risotto was excellent, scallops, big prawns, calamari and other delights were plentiful. And yes, the added chilli flakes were perfect. I ate about half and then requested a container to take the rest with me. Is this okay to do? I do it anyway, I love leftovers so much.
The service was quick, but our waitress wasn't overly friendly and tended to lethargically plonk things down heavily, including our meals. I love super friendly service, so this was a bit of a minus. My partner noticed it too and mentioned it to me, and it did change the experience a little for us. She could have just been having a bad day, and that happens!
Halfway through my meal, a caterpillar made a break out of my salady-decoration part on the side. Luckily I hate lettuce so I didn't eat him accidentally. I showed the waitress who was horrified, so I put the caterpillar in the garden outside and we paid the bill. We laughed a fair bit afterwards too - although I was surprised that the chef wasn't told about the incident, or if she was, that we weren't offered an apology/discount. Not that I needed/wanted either, but as I spent a couple of year waitressing my way through uni, I know how that situation is usually treated.
Overall: The food was excellent value and so delicious! I might return for the occasional meal or takeaway risotto, but I think I won't be a loyal customer, because the service wasn't overly great.
Three stars because value and quality of the meals was really good.