Pinocchio's Restaurant — Restaurant in Canterbury

We booked a table for 6pm, arriving dead on time, we were seated right by the front door and the restaurant was rather busy with most covers taken. We sat for 5-10 minutes giving us time to chose our drinks and food. We ordered these and our drinks were served in adequate time. Whilst waiting for our starters, somewhat half an hour after arriving, 3 more groups arrived. As we were seated next to the front door, we were in clear ear shot of what was being said. The first group were a young couple who advised they had booked so they were seated, then two other parties of 4 and 5. They explained they had not booked and looked anxious as the restaurant was clearly busy. The fake smarmy waitress (mutton dressed as lamb) told them she could squeeze them in but they only had limited time as the tables were already booked. Now, near on an hour had passed and still no sign of our starters, to our disbelief ALL 3 tables that arrived after us, two of which had not booked were served not only their starters but also their main courses before our starters had even come out! My mother spoke to the waiter and asked why they were taking so long and after this prompt they arrived, 1 hour and 10 minutes after our arrival. Starters were nice and this did soften the bad atmosphere at that point. However, we then witnessed the 3 groups paying and leaving before our mains had been served so my father made a compliant. Based on the fact we had booked, arrived on time and that as of this fact (we took the initiative of booking ahead) we should have been prioritised and served ahead of the stragglers whom came in on the off chance. They tried to palm us off with all sorts of excuses, the funniest one being that the other 3 tables in question had cold starters, well unfortunately to them we are not blind and we clearly saw what they had, in fact 2 of the 3 tables had the exact same order as us! Thus proving the starters were hot cooked to order, not cold ones that can be quickly fished out. We tried to argue this fact as in my opinion if you have booked a table and arrive on time, it should not matter if people who arrive after you are having a 1 course or 8 course banquet, you should be served in order and out of courtesy to the paying customers who guaranteed you service that night by taking the time to book. We asked yet again what was going on, 1 hour and 40 minutes since our arrival to which the waitress said she had spoken to the chef and he was going to start cooking our now!!!!! So not only were we served after people who came after us without a reservation, they hadn’t even begun preparing our meals!! Mains were served 2 hours after arrival. Food tasted nice but portions were toddler size, a king prawn spaghetti dish costing near on £15 was gone in 6 mouthfuls by my size 10 mother and only had 4 prawns! Needless to say we were sorely disappointed. The head chef then came out to show his face to which the waitress pointed us out to him, he walked over and in the most disgusting customer service I have ever witnessed proceeded to inform my father “well that’s business at the end of the day and I’m busy” I was simply gob smacked. I demanded that the 10% non compulsory service charge was removed but it never was, well it turned out that the compulsory service charge, I.e a tip, could be left off! Oh well yes thank you for allowing me not to reward you with my hard earned money for treating us like we didn’t matter!!!!! My parents were regular attendees to this restaurant and I can assure anyone now we will never be returning, if fake, smarmy, lying bad customer service restaurants are not your thing, I’d give this place a miss. It sure does live up to its name....Pinocchio’s!!! Surprised they don’t all walk around with long noses....

Superb!

Treated my boyfriend to a meal to celebrate and found this restaurant after a lot of searching around online. This seemed to have the best reviews and me and my partner both love Italian food.

We booked in advance and think lucky we did as was busy. Seems small from outside but goes back quite far! Very quaint little restaurant!

We had a garlic bread starter to share which was beautiful. The dough tasted homemade and it was just a perfect amount of garlic cheese and herbs.

For mains i had taglitelli bolonaise which tasted awesome! The taglitelli seemed homemade too! Was slightly thicker than regular shop bought pasta and was cooked perfectly. My boyfriend had a calzone which looked amazing. He said it tasted fantastic!

For desert i had tirrimisu which was lovely, light and fresh. My partner had chocolate almond cake with a chocolate and rum sauce. I had a try and it was beautiful.

The staff are friendly. Very attentive and kind. Did a wondeful job considering how busy it was when we went.

We didnt have to wait to long for food. Prompt service.

Overall fantastic evening and only came to £45 for us both. We only had water with our food as we wearn't in the drinking mood. Perhaps may have cost an extra £25+ with wine. They're wine was a tad pricey but im sure is loverly like their food!

5...

Last night, we dined at this restaurant and ordered three starters, which were quite good. However, I ordered spaghetti alle vongole (clams), and calling it "terrible" would still be generous. The pasta was overcooked and completely lacked flavor. Additionally, we ordered extra bread, which was served raw in the middle.

As an Italian myself, dining at an Italian restaurant and encountering such a poor standard of cooking was deeply disappointing. Given the high cost of the food, one would reasonably expect the quality to match the price, but this was far from the case.

When the waitress checked on us, we expressed our dissatisfaction, but her response was a dismissive "sorry about that." It was evident that she was not engaged or interested in addressing our concerns.

When we requested the bill, we noticed that nothing had been adjusted, even though it was clear that the two plates of pasta had barely been touched. I had to personally approach the waitress, who appeared to consult with her manager. The manager's response was equally dismissive, and he quickly retreated to the kitchen. Eventually, the two pasta dishes were removed from the bill, but only after this additional effort.

I will not be returning to this restaurant, and I cannot recommend...