Cecconi's Bicester — Restaurant in Cherwell District

My recent visit to Cecconi’s at Bicester Village was a real mixed bag – the food was absolutely lovely, but the service was truly shocking and has unfortunately left a lasting bad impression.

First off, there were no signs outside the restaurant indicating that you needed to wait to be seated. We entered through a fairly bleak corridor and weren’t greeted by any staff. When we asked whether we needed to wait, a short female waiter dismissively told us to "wait out there," gesturing vaguely back down the corridor. Not very welcoming.

Shortly after, a tall, blonde woman wearing a black and white top (who looked visibly miserable) sat us down. She asked my sister for her drink order but completely ignored me – didn’t even acknowledge I was there. When she returned, she brought two of the same drinks, assuming I wanted the same without asking.

The same thing happened with the focaccia and olives – my sister ordered the focaccia, and the waiter just walked away before I could even order. My sister had to wave him back to remind him I existed, and I eventually got to order the olives (which, I must say, were divine).

We ordered our mains, and credit where it’s due – the food itself was faultless. Absolutely delicious. However, the drinks were advertised as "fresh pressed juice" but turned out to be tiny, pre-made bottled juices – a complete joke.

The man who took our food order was polite, but he also failed to mention that the bread and olives weren’t complimentary, and that the glass of champagne they offered would be added to the bill. These things should be made clear.

The final straw was when it came time to pay. A young black woman served us, and her attitude was absolutely despicable. When I asked for the service charge to be removed, she snatched the receipt out of my hand and said "fine" with clear hostility. She returned with the card reader and bill, threw them onto the table without a word, and simply waved the reader in the air arrogantly. She didn’t tell us when the reader was ready for payment; she just stood there glaring. After tapping my card, she waved the machine in my face again but still said nothing. I had to ask, "Did it not go through then?" and she just snapped, "No," offering no further explanation. It was one of the most passive-aggressive, unprofessional payment experiences I’ve ever had.

When we complained about her behaviour, a member of staff wearing a green blazer – who we assumed was the manager – simply looked at us and looked away without saying or doing anything.

It’s a real shame – the food was genuinely fantastic – but the staff seriously need retraining in basic customer service and an attitude adjustment. Based on this experience, I wouldn’t return and am leaving this 1* review purely because of the appalling attitude...

I was genuinely afraid and feeling immense regret after we sat down and I checked the reviews (noob mistake! Always check reviews before deciding where to eat!!). It seems this branch of Cecconis opened very recently at the start of the year, but there are a more than negligible number of negative reviews

I really hope they've permanently sorted out the hygiene issues in the kitchen where I assume the hairs were from that went into the food. Thankfully none of our dishes had any hair in them.

I warned everyone to avoid the mushroom pasta based on the previous reviews. I only had the aubergine parmigiana, which is a starter and, therefore, small. If you're hungry you will need a few starters and/or small dishes or starter and main. It was alright. Nothing special and the tomatoes have that watery kind of taste that can make you feel a bit nauseous, if you normally get that sensation avoid. The others had the lamb shoulder with polenta (nice, probably best thing on the table), sea bass with some veg (a normal generic dish, not memorable) and veal cannelloni (not bad, if you crave a comfort dish go for it but also quite tomato-y).

We didn't order any drinks. They do fresh juices it seems. There's a bar in the middle so presumably it covers most alcoholic beverages. There was a wine list on the back of the food menu.

Service was fine for us. Little slow to get people seated when we went way past the lunchtime peak (eating well after 3pm) and there were plenty of tables free.

There are toilets inside. Be aware there are two areas. One for the pizza place where they also do pasta and small plates. The other side has more choice for main dishes it seems. By the way this is quite clearly an Italian restaurant (both sides), as I saw a review mentioning it was French! It's quite a modern kind of vibe they're going for I guess. Need to justify charging London prices in Bicester I guess.

Fine on the whole, better than expected after reading earlier reviews. Good place to get out of the cold. If you want to sit down for food, rather than the fast food options in the villages, then it's one of a few restaurants. Value for...

Disappointing Experience at Cecconi’s Bicester Village

I rarely leave reviews, but after our recent visit to Cecconi's at Bicester Village, I feel compelled to share my experience. Unfortunately, it was one of the more frustrating dining experiences I've had in a long time.

Upon arrival, there was an awkward and uncomfortable situation where we were almost refused entry. We had asked for a table of three, but only two of us had arrived initially as the third member was briefly shopping next door. Despite explaining the situation, the staff made us feel unwelcome and hesitant to proceed with the meal, which set the tone for the rest of our visit.

The service didn’t improve from there. Our waiter seemed to struggle with even the simplest of requests. For example, when we asked for apple juice (which was on the menu), we had to repeat ourselves multiple times. This shouldn’t happen in a restaurant of this caliber, especially when it's a straightforward request.

The most upsetting part of our visit came at the end of the meal. When we received the bill and asked for the service charge to be removed (as we weren’t satisfied with the service), the waiter responded in a manner that made us feel incredibly uncomfortable. He became visibly angry and made a comment, "It's ok, you can pay the tip in cash," which was completely inappropriate and uncalled for. We hadn't even indicated any intention of tipping at all, and it felt extremely entitled and rude. We had to firmly tell him that we weren’t tipping, and he wouldn’t walk away until we insisted.

A restaurant of this level should maintain professionalism and respect for customers, but this experience left us feeling disrespected and undervalued. I hope the management takes this feedback seriously and addresses both the service quality and the inappropriate behavior from the staff.

Sadly, we will not be returning to Cecconi's in Bicester Village...