I went here for a date on a Wednesday evening. I wasn’t aware of the place – apparently it’s quite new, so we thought we’d give it a go. We hadn’t booked, but this wasn’t a problem as it wasn’t at all busy (which could have been a worry, but we went with it!) and we got a table straight away. There was no sign of any staff, and when the waitress appeared she wasn’t particularly welcoming. She gave us a choice of tables then gave us a wine list and some menus. The menu was generally typically Italian, with a few interesting alternatives which seemed refreshing. There was a specials board but there was only one special on it! Maybe Wednesday’s aren’t special enough...
The wine list was extensive and reasonably priced (something which always pleases me!) and we had a delicious bottle of Sauvignon Blanc which went down very easily. The waitress took her time to take our order (a little too much time... Especially considering there were hardly any customers in the restaurant!). We ordered garlic bread with cheese to share to start; it was huge and extremely cheesy! I am not opposed to copious amounts of cheese generally, but this was much more cheese indulgence than culinary finesse... If you’re hungry and fancy a cheese feast then go for it!
For the main course, I had a savoury cheesecake. This was on a menu as a starter, with the option of having it as a main course with salad and new potatoes. The cheesecake itself was delicious; it had ricotta and goat’s cheese in it with caramelised red onion. All my favourite things in one delicious slice! It may have worked better with some sort of chutney on the side, just to balance the richness a little. The new potatoes were... Well, new potatoes! A relatively good accompaniment but not exactly exciting. The salad was beautifully dressed but it seemed to be more onions than salad. Not exactly what you want on a date! Simple error which could have – and should have, been avoided. My date had lasagne – it came with garlic bread (even more of it... Thankfully not with cheese this time!), but it could have done with some salad on the side – again, to balance out the heavy richness. I did try some, the pasta was clearly homemade and very nice but the balance between sauces wasn’t quite right – there needed to be more meat sauce and it could have been more intense in flavour. But then, as someone who makes very good lasagne regularly (if I may say so myself...) I’m very difficult to please in that department!
We didn’t have dessert (to be honest after all that cheese I couldn’t face it!) but the menu choices looked delicious. I may have to return, just to have dessert! The waitress took far too long to bring the bill and take payment... In fact she was generally very slow and wholly inattentive throughout the meal. Good service is something I feel is extremely important, and in a small intimate restaurant (which wasn’t very busy) I expected it to be better. Despite this, the meal was generally lovely (not perfect, but lovely), it was reasonably priced, the wine was delicious and the surroundings were good. I might go again, but not for definite, and I’d only recommend it if it was convenient for you... Don’t make an extra special effort to travel from the other side of town! If you like Italian food, maybe give it a go. Probably for lunch, the dining experience didn’t feel special enough for an evening occasion.
No comments:
Post a Comment