Avoid. Appalling service. So so food.
We arrived at Marios, an Italian restaurant in Old Town, Swindon at 7pm but didn't get our starter until 8.45pm, despite having preordered our meal as part of a large party. That alone was a bit of a dampener but the terrible service throughout the evening was so consistent it ceased to be shocking - I half expected a camera crew to come in with a Presenter telling us we were part of a televised prank ... no such luck though, the service really was bad and not faked.
The restaurant had been called that afternoon with a final count of 52 but the staff tried to split up a couple after having allotted nearby tables to other guests. This showed poor planning but the cavalier attitude of the staff prompted me to start making notes to write a review, leaving other guests to assume I was some kind of wannabe journalist. I just feel that if service is either good or bad, others should know. I often visit review sites to check places or products beforehand. A large percentage of my purchase decisions are based upon user reviews and word of mouth because I want to make sure that what little spare money I have is spent wisely.
The starter, when it finally arrived, was ok. Not amazing, not bad, just ok.
The main course arrived after another very long wait.
The vegetables arrived separately on a shared dish and were sparse. When the guest next to me asked the waiter for more vegetables, he walked away from her and called out from across two tables, "What do you want?"
When the vegetables arrived, the service was not with a smile or even an apology but a pathetic explanation from a stressed waiter that the party was booked for 45 and there were 52 of us. Even if that were the case and the message from that afternoon hadn't reached them, one would expect a restaurant the size of Marios to be able to cater for an additional 7 people with ease, even perhaps gratefulness in today's economic climate.
The guest at my 10 O'clock had ordered steak. It was a very thin portion and was cold by the time vegetables arrived for him.
No steak knife came with the steak and I had to physically leave the table to find a waiter and ask for one. I don't eat out nearly as much as I used to but a steak knife is usually delivered with a steak dish and guests should not have to wander the restaurant looking for a waiter to get one.
The person opposite me requested the same meal as his Wife sat next to him, who was first to get served, but didn't get his plate until everyone else at our table had almost finished and then he received a portion substantially smaller than his Wife's.
As the evening drew to a close, meals were finished and staff cleared plates. Trained staff clear plates and silverware from the right. Understandably this didn't happen at Marios - this is Swindon after all, not Knightsbridge. Anyone who's been waiting tables for longer than a week though would generally, unless in an environment providing invisible service, ask permission to remove the plate if there is 25% or more food left on the plate. What was shocking is that a waiter tried to remove a plate from a nearby table that had several slices of pizza left. He dropped the plate onto the table after being told that she wished to take the pizza home. The force of the plate hitting the table projected the fork onto the lap of the guest. No apology was offered and the waiter stormed off in a huff.
Of the 52 in our party, not one was happy with the service.
Name: Mario's Trattoria
Address: 7 Wood St. Swindon, Wilts. SN1 4AN
Recommendation: Avoid read more
