Lombardi's Ristorante Italiano — Restaurant in Chesterfield

Don’t take this as a hate comment, I’ll only state my true opinions on my experience here.

First things first, we had a reservation for 8:45, but we were only seated around 25 minutes later. It then took another 40 minutes or so for food to be served. That being said, I understand that it may be hard to predict how long it takes for the previous customers to finish their food, so that’s fine. We however didn’t appreciate the crowded area that we were told to wait in, since I do feel bad for the employees and others who were trying to get through.

This is one of the more important issues I’d like to address - the racism we experienced from one of the staff members, an older man possibly a manager, but that’s beside the point. I understand that it may be somewhat rare to have a large group of asian-looking people dining there, but that doesn’t justify much in my opinion. We were asked/told things such as “which one of you speaks english?” “Where are you from? Oh london? No no, I’m asking where you’re from” “I know your people like to.. (insert stereotype)” “Are you speaking Chinese, Japanese, or English (while we were ordering)”, that really isn’t okay. I fully get that most of my family members don’t have great English compared to us teens with a developed “british” accent from growing up in London (where we clearly stated we were from), but it was comprehensible to say the least. They may think that they were being “friendly”, but that really is a type of racism, not to mention it was uncomfortable and awkward when he leaned in. It didn’t help that he came out with a guitar, stood next to us teenagers at the table, and started playing stereotypical “tik-tok chinese” songs on it. They were all clearly annoyed, since we did specify that we are NOT chinese, nor are we from China. The random “arigato”s (japanese) and “xiexie”s (Chinese) were really off putting too. We did not find that acceptable at any point, and I really thought that ruined the experience, and truly sharpened my understanding of the racism we are vulnerable to once we leave diverse cities such as London.

That aside, the food was great. The pizza was flavourful, and the lasagna was nicely made. It’s just a shame that the act of one person had kind of ruined the overall experience, but I’m hoping you’ll see this and realise that maybe your idea of “friendly” was quite offensive and you’d now have a better understand of how we feel as the receiving end of things. Once again, no hate to this restaurant, the younger staff were rather helpful and friendly. Even the guitar playing at neighbouring tables brought up a lively atmosphere, just not the part where the stereotypical songs were played next to our table. Still, it pains me to know a few of us are scarred for life, not in a dramatic way unfortunately. Perks to them for having great food though, I’m sure it’ll be a great 5-star worthy place to dine once the racism part is...

This should have been a five-star review but for a couple of misgivings. When we arrived the atmosphere was jolly. The lighting was perfect. And the ambiance fitting of a high-end Italian restaurant. The tables and chairs are made of a mid-colored wood that blended well with the decor, all were good. We had a short wait and were shown our table which was by the window as requested. We ordered some drinks and then waited for a waiter or waitress to return to take our order. In the meantime, The central table which caters to party bookings was empty when we arrived and was now being populated by guests. We watched as they were waited upon and served almost immediately. 45 minutes later no one had asked for our order. The party table was now enjoying their second course. We enquired and were told without even a hint of an apology that things were a little slow because of the party booking being attended to. I explained I just wanted to know if we could order. It was as if I was speaking another language. We eventually ate 1 hour and 45 minutes after we arrived. The food was outstanding, it was the best-tasting Italian I've ever had. I ordered the lamb and it was cooked to perfection. Served with mashed potato puree with a caramelized red sauce currant and a beautiful onion gravy that was perfect. The broccoli and roast potatoes were exquisite. Our total meal including all drinks was about £98 Including spirits. I've given this a 2*review because having to wait 1 hour and 45 minutes without an apology is simply unacceptable. But I would recommend Lombrdis as the food was worth the wait. The staff was excellent and we had a wonderful time. It is just a shame, not all customers are...

Want an authentic Italian night out?? Then avoid this place.. Arrived at 6.50 as our table was booked for 7..we were sat direct under the air conditioning fan so it was consatnly cold but because it was busy we overlooked this. The wine waiter came over friendly guy helped us choose our wine but when he came back he poured the wine and then said have you looked at the specials menu and shoved it in my girlfriends face..... I couldn't belive it.. We looked at this then the main menu and ordered when a member of staff came over.. I orded gamberoni starter..... At no point did it say on the menu that they were in the shells. My girlfriend and I spent five minutes trying to get them out at with point they were cold and tasteless.. Went out for an anaversery meal not a model kit dismantle lesson.. I feel that this should be stated on the menu.. Then the main came my girlfriend ordered the seafood linguine which looked trown together and I ordered the beef ragu... Looked like a child's portion I ate it as I was still hungry from the starter.. Three cold prawns and some salad.. Pasta was underdone and to many Bay leafs with spoiled the flavour.. At no point did anyone check back to see if we were OK.. Staff were typical robot sheep who were to busy doing there job to look after people properly... Manager then came over and said everything OK?? I said it was alright... Now I work in this industry and that would have sent alarm bells ringing.. But she just walked away and said nothing...... In short it's not what you get and they seem more interested in taking money than looking after customers... Try georgios on whit Moore if you want a true Chesterfield...