On our recent weekend in Dover, we were really excited to try this place. After reading great reviews (on TA), we thought we were in for a treat - unfortunately this wasn't the case.
We arrived around 7pm and the restaurant was packed with the waiters and owner/manager (guessing by the way he was acting) seeming a bit overwhelmed. They initially told us we would have to sit at the only table in the place that was like a bar table (high stools) but when we said we'd just go somewhere else then (not to be rude but we just enjoy eating dinner that way!) they let us sit at a small table at the front of the restaurant. Every table was busy and the owner had a few reservations in his book.
The staff was all very nice but as we looked around we noticed that, despite so many people, there wasn't a lot of food on the tables. Also, people (the customers) seemed a bit grumpy. As we weren't starving we figured 'how bad could it be?' and proceeded to look through the menu. After deciding on salmon with king prawn (him) and veal marsala (me) plus a started of fried calamari, we ordered and waited.
Our drinks came after about 10 minutes which was fine. Again, the staff throughout were very nice. We then waited probably around another 15 minutes for our calamari, so 25 minutes from when we ordered. Ok, that was a bit slow, we thought. We noticed some of the tables around us getting a bit more grumpy as they continued to wait for food. The calamari was ok but it lacked a bit of flavor and could have done with some more seasoning. We finished it off fairly quickly and then began the wait...
It was about another 40 minutes for our main to arrive so a total of 1 hour from when we ordered. By this time we were hungry and this was just a bit too much. There was no bread or anything given after we ordered, either, which is strange in an Italian restaurant. It seemed like a lot of time, the waiters were standing waiting for the kitchen so perhaps they were short-staffed in the kitchen that night.
Most of this would have been acceptable had the food been amazing. It wasn't and in fact, my veal wasn't even that good. The salmon with king prawn was better, owing mostly to the parsley butter sauce, but again not a standout. Though the prices are perhaps more reasonable than London, the wait was unacceptable and ended up taking away even more from the experience.
If we're in Dover again, I don't think we'll head back here. Perhaps it was just an off night (it was a Saturday) as they do have great reviews, but this was actually the lowest point of our whole weekend. read more