Trentina JQ — Restaurant in Birmingham

Had this place on my wishlist and I went today and was highly disappointed and left very upset. The waitress who served us I clearly stated I wanted the tagalioni vegan because a vegetarian option for this dish wasn't an option and to add parmasan cheese. The wait was over 10mins and they came out with the dish that was meat it had pork in and I almost had a mouthful till I realised the waitress never listened. I called her over and was upset about how she got this wrong. She rudly apologised and said she will change to the vegan alternative. Whilst I was talking the 'manager' interrupted me and said oh its her fist day and mistakes happen. She was very aggressive with her tone to me and I explained she got it wrong when I clearly stated what I ordered and she didn't acknowledge my dietary needs at all, the 'manager' went away but I noticed she gave me dirty looks, side eying me and smirking to the point it was looks of indirectly racial towards me. We were the only brown couple and the she made us sit where the toilet area is. The whole time how I was upset with my food the 'manager and waitress' started to be rude and refused to come our way to solve the issue when they got it wrong and blamed me the customer. They served me a wet pasta with boiled kale swimming in pasta water. It was a disgrace how the waitress slapped it on the table and hurried off. After the dirty looks I refused to eat a wet pasta dish of £15 and we had to go over to them and ask for the bill. I addressed how I was made to feel and the 'manager' was rude and still made me feel uncomfortable then I raised that she was giving me dirty looks constantly then she started to be apologetic and nill the bill. We left and I was upset by this awful experience I never had in my life. Clearly she was racist and didn't even factor in dietary requirements at all. I should of taken a pic of the sad wet pasta but I was upset and triggered by this experience. I would like to speak to the head of this management chain as I believe she isn't the actual manager but someone on shift today. I will never come to your restaurant again. You are bitter, rude and unwelcoming. Get it right and treat the customer the same way you would like to be treated. Utter disgrace and...

We were left so disappointed by our visit to Trentina!

Edited to add We have just been made aware from looking at Trentina’s instagram pictures, that the fennel and black pepper sausage starter my friend was served was nothing like it was supposed to be, as it came without the sauce and cheese. Unfortunately we didn’t take a picture of this but it’s deeply concerning that neither the kitchen team nor our server recognised that we were served a dish where 2/3 key components were missing. Completely unacceptable that we paid full price for this.

The vegan version of the radiatori, chestnut, oregano and old Winchester dish was dry and completely devoid of any flavour. There was no vegan cheese on the dish despite being advertised on the menu. We asked our server if we could get some, and she was told by the kitchen there was no vegan cheese available, something that should’ve been communicated to the front of house team at the start of service so they can inform diners in advance of ordering.

Our server was kind enough to get our dishes swapped to the risotto and spaghetti al pomodoro which were better but still not very impressive in terms of flavour.

Our friend ordered the pappardelle and ox cheek dish and it was not served in a sauce, but basically water. He did ask if this was intentional and it was. Same with the pomodoro as you can see in the picture. Truly baffling why it’s so thin, as you can’t quite mop up the sauce with the focaccia, the watery consistency means it just makes the bread wet.

We also witnessed the table across from us reacting negatively to their food, so we know it’s not just us being fussy!

We did however enjoy our starters, very simple dishes but the flavours were there. The focaccia is good. The drinks were...

Honestly after all the good reviews I have heard about this place I was excited to go but it was a truly dissapointing experience. The main thing was the food itself was a major let down, like for the price ranging from £12 to £18 you're expecting to feel satisfied after eating your meal however we have actually had to stop in McDonald's after because I was still hungry after. It was literally 4 pieces of pasta on my place and took all of 2 minutes to finish. After reading some of the other comments and the replies from the restaurant I'm even more appalled, getting told to order more than one plate is absolutely ridiculous, it's called a main for a reason not a small plate or starter. You want to feel satisfied after your meal especially at that price. And the excuse of getting the best ingredients etc. is genuinely not good enough. There's plenty of other places which are better for similar or lesser price. The other thing is the absolute horrid ventilation, halfway through the meal I thought my glasses were steaming up but it was actually the room getting grey from the kitchen smoke and it made my eyes sting which is not really what you want when you're trying to have a good time in a restaurant. The service was ok, nothing phenomenal. Overall it was pretty bad and I don't know how they think any of it is okay, especially charging those prices for essentially a child sized portion of pasta. Not going back and not recommending. In fact I will go out of my way to tell people not to go. Save your...