Dough — Restaurant in Bath

To be honest, we went with high expectation after reading all the good reviews...but it was an utter disappointment from the very beginning. We booked the table for 7:15 and dispite of the heavy rain, we tried to make it on time.

When we arrived, there was no seat, which was understandable given the popularity of restaurants during this 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme. The rudeness started from outside as the the manager avoided acknowledging us while we waited and letting us know how long to wait for the table to be ready.

When we finally got in, we ordered a pizza and FRITTO MISTO, according to the menu, it should be served on a seaweed bread boat, which echos the pictures I saw about this dish online from other reviews (shown below). We were not told at ordering that this would be any different from what is adertised on the menu. However, the dish arrived WITHOUT the breadboat... I enquired from the manager-looking person who brought the dish to us (A Rough looking man who hadn't bothered to wear a face mask like the others). He answered cutly that 'there was no such thing' and walked away. We then asked another waitress, who explained that they had run out and it would be brought back next week. We decided to overlook the matter and carry on.

On tasting the calamaris on the incomplete dish, we found that it was unbearably salty. We had to send it back with only one little piece tasted. When the dish returned now "corrected", it had shrank with the prawns missing..... this was unbelievable disregard of customers.

We do appreciate the waiter who served us for endeavouring to make up for all the damage caused by his manager's rudeness and the kitchen's incompetence. He offered to pack the re-cooked dish for us to take away for free. However, it was unacceptalbe to serve an incomplete dish without informing the customer thus taking customers for fools. By cutting out the key component of a main dish, it looks like starter-size, this was further downsized after sending it back for correcting the over-salty issue... We were not going to the restaurant for free meal to take away, we were going to experience an evening out. Unfortunately, it apears from recent reviews, this restaurant's way of placating customer for their failing in the kitchen is to offer takeaways.

It is a shame as it appears that they started and had been doing well. Unless there is improvement in attitude towards customers, there is no future...

Firstly, the food is most definitely 5 stars. Just a shame the service was... chaotic to say the least.

Having been able to book a table at short notice, we were really looking forward to eating here as the personal reviews have been excellent. And, as I stated, the food was phenomenal.

It was a Sunday on a Bank holiday and Bath is not somewhere you go for a quiet meal at lunchtime. You know it's going to be full of people stopping and starting, not knowing where they are going, and booking into restaurants to eat. With the Mr working is hospitality, I know what it's like when it gets busy and people lose calm and control. Dough, on the other hand, felt a little pandemonial.

We were seated, fairly quickly, and given our menus, which we dutifully perused and slavered over. The selection of bases and toppings is more than enough to keep most people happy. From Vegan options to Gluten Free they've got you covered. We sat and waited... and waited... and waited while the table that came in after us were asked three times what they wanted to order! We sat and waited some more, while the manager, I assume, started to have a meltdown.

We ordered, and had a couple of drinks whilst waiting for our food. I was sat - as near as damnit - in the kitchen so could see the orders piling up. Kitchen were doing a great job, though. Level headed, working hard on orders, doing their best and pushing food out. The manager, on the other hand, was sat behind his desk, head in hands, saying, "oh my god" quite a lot. Again, it was a busy service, and the kitchen were really trying hard. At one point the Head Chef, I think, had a stern word with the manager which seemed to calm him down. But by then, I think the damage was done. Other tables were having issues as well, and people were starting to leave.

Our food turned up, and it's one of the best pizzas I have ever eaten - Quattro Formaggi on a sourdough base. The combination of cheeses was salty and delicious. The base was thin, crispy and ridiculously flavourful. I probably could have taken another one home for later! As we finished, the restaurant was calming down and the mood became a little less chaotic. So we asked for the bill.

When it arrived, with an extra pizza added to it that we had only ordered in our mind, we weren't surprised. That issue was dealt with and we left.

Food 5 out of 5 Service 2 out of 5

If you go, just remember the...

After trying nearly all of the pizza places in Bath, Dough was next on my list. I must say, overall it was pretty disappointing.

The service was quick, friendly, and fairly professional. However, for a Saturday, I felt they had too many staff for what seemed like a quiet service. A lot of them were standing around chatting rather than being more proactive. This is a harsh critique, as the service itself was good.

The atmosphere was nice and warm, although playing an entire One Direction album felt a bit out of place for a pizzeria. Still, it wasn’t the worst ambient music I’ve experienced at a pizzeria in Bath.

I opted for the ham and mushroom pizza, my go-to and favourite. The ham was fairly good but simple, lacking any real flavour. The mushrooms were scarce and so thinly chopped that I didn’t taste any throughout the entire pizza. The cheese had a nice texture but was lacking in flavour, much like the basic tomato sauce with just a hint of herbs. I wouldn't normally critique a sauce, as pizza sauce should be simple, but this one was completely bland.

Now, for the main event—the dough! The impressive 12 dough options were nice to see, with a good focus on healthier and gluten-free choices. I went with their standard sourdough base, which was okay. The dough was fluffy and crispy from the electric oven but, like the rest of the pizza, lacked flavour. To be fair, they don’t claim their sourdough base to be anything extraordinary, even calling it “simple” themselves, and I’d definitely agree with that statement. Personally, I think a more flavorful base would have been better. The only saving grace was the garlic oil, which was absolutely delicious.

Overall, the experience was just okay. I wouldn’t go again, even though the specials menu did catch my interest. In my opinion, if you can't get a simple pizza right, the fancy ones won’t be...