Visited the restaurant with a party of 8 for a meal on a quiet, Friday afternoon. Arrived and the place was empty. We were immediately met by a young, Italian waitress who spoke broken English before showing us to our tables. The decor looked like something out of a low budget, 1970's adult 'blue' movie. The cutlery looked like it had been collecting dust for the past four months and the room was filled with a strong, grungy smell.
We waited 10 minutes before being asked for drinks, as well as a further 20 minutes before being asked for our orders. I ordered spaghetti bolognese considering my strong liking of the Italian dish. The atmosphere was uncomfortable for everybody involved within my party as a single Pavarotti song was played continuously on repeat throughout the duration of our visit & 'Dickinsons Real Deal' provided little entertainment on the television within the restaurant.
Credit to the 'chef', if that is the correct term to describe the man continuously seen acting rather pervertedly towards the single waitress that was working, complimentary garlic bread was provided for both tables prior to serving our meals. Maybe this was employed as an apology for the disaster that was about to arrive?
The main courses arrived after an awkward 30 minutes of waiting. It was obvious that the kitchen was understaffed. I glared at my dish of 'traditional' Italian bolognese and was met with a sweet, vomit-like smell. Upon attempting to digest the contents of the dish in front of me, clearly something that wouldn't go a miss as a 'Bush Tucker Trial' on 'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here', I tried to fathom the taste that my gullet obviously could not bare. Not only could I eat the contents of the dish after a dreadful three and a half mouthfuls, the single waitress working the service was bearing down over our party throughout the entire duration of our stay no wonder the place was as busy as a cattle market. Ha, yeah right.
I physically could not fathom the remainder of my meal, despite my determination to do so. I threw in the flag like Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo. Despite only digesting a horrid three and a half mouthfuls, the waitress remained over me like a hawk stalking it's pray. She asked if my pasta was okay clearly not, I'd left the entire dish. Common sense would be justified on her behalf. Despite this issue, I was courteous enough to pay the bill, despite the thought of making a 'Dine & Dash' repeatedly emerging as a potential escape from this disaster of a restaurant. McDonalds, anyone?
A friend asked for his portion of the bill due to having to leave early to catch a train to Durham. 15 minutes later, he was provided with his request, forcing him to pay and leave with only a few minutes to spare in hopes of catching his train. Although the restaurant was as busy as a paul bearers office on a bank holiday, surely, the single waitress on service could have provided the bill quicker? After all, we were the only party or people to dine at the restaurant throughout our entire duration.
From a personal perspective, I was majorly disappointed with the service, as well as the food provided. I'm normally rather picky when it comes to restaurants due to the varying nature of the food, but on the one occasion when I decided to give it a chance, I was letdown. Bad food, average service and a terrible atmosphere. Never again. read more