Carluccio's — Restaurant in England

I had booked a table for 7 of us last night for a family reunion, after not seeing my siblings for 2 years. Myself and my partner arrived first and the waitress that greeted us was not welcoming at all, she didn't smile during any of our interactions or say much at all, and she spoke so quietly when she did, really bad first impression. I told her the name of the reservation and she just fumbled about a bit before offering us a table for two. When I told her that we had a table booked for 7, she went to the other waitress who was aware of the booking and showed us to our table. Mind you, there was only about 3 or 4 occupied tables at this point (6pm).

The other waitress, Elia, was friendly and cheerful. She brought menus for the rest of the table as the other only left two and she was very attentive in ensuring that everyone had drinks as people started to arrive.

Throughout the experience, sometimes we would get Elia and sometimes we would get the other waitress. The other waitress brought our food and it was awkward as she just glared at us after quietly stating the dish she had. She brought me my soup and I was sat for a few minutes without a spoon until I had to get up and ask Elia for one, who was lovely and apologetic. We finished the meal with coffees and desserts and when I double-checked that the lattes were decaf, she took them back only to come back 30 seconds later to confirm. I asked for sweetener as I can't have sugar and she brought and held a sugar pot over my shoulder from behind me. I told her that this was regular sugar and she just said "yes, this is sugar". She left again after an awkward interaction and she brought sweetener this time, but it just seemed odd that she wouldn't just place the pot of sugars on the table for the rest of the table to have too.

All in all, it was a nice experience with lovely food. It was definitely saved by Elia, if we'd have had the other waitress full-time it would have put more of a dampener on the night and made the experience a lot less...

From the onset, at was at the time, reasonably quiet, the welcome was well, not welcoming.

We stood by the 'wait here' point for about 5 mins, then shuffled a bit further towards the bar, to still be ignored for another few mins, only to then be hollered across from a 'busy' barman pouring a single pint that " someone will be with you in a mo mate".

Eventually, we were attended to and initially the young lady just pointed at any table, only to second guess and think it would be more pertinent to actually show us to the table... so next stage awaits...

..and wait, and wait some more....

About 10 more mins later, said lady from earlier apologised as it so busy (approximately 30 % full) and asked if we wanted to order a drink, again only to second guess in maybe we might want to order food too.

Yet more waiting and finally the food turned up from what appeared to then be the shift-change (approx 4pm by the time this all happened). Now the food was ok, but not what I would say was amazing.

I had the Penne Giardinia, which is apparently their signature dish. Fortunately I like garlic, but there was so much in it, it 'burned' more then the very small amount of any chilli that was present and presentation was sub-standard, with the 'sauce/courgette' combination slopped to one side of the dish.

My better half had the Seafood Linguine, which was presented much better. The only poor bit about it, that was the Squid being very chewy to a rubber consistency.

Drinks were ok and the Pitnot Blush was a rare "good one".

We were finally offered dessert, but declined, as didn't want to suffer the long wait again and skipped the wait for the bill with the 'pay at the table' QR code service (fortunately).

I know Carluccio's is slowly becoming a chain restaurant, in the North-West of England, but I think we will steer clear in future and support the more independent Italian restaurants, where we find you get better service for starters. (And mains etc, to...

Enjoyed a very pleasant lunch at Carluccio's on a day trip to the Christmas market. The restaurant is centrally located at the street level of one of the Bridge Street Rows, in a lovely old black and white Tudor style building. Inside, it's spacious and clean, with a stylish contemporary decor and colour scheme, modern artwork on the walls, and comfy leather seating. You have to climb a lot of stairs to get to the main toilets, but there is a wheelchair accessible toilet on the ground floor. The atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming. I was offered a glass of water to drink with my meal. The well stocked bar had a great choice of mainly Italian beers, wines and liqueurs. Authentic Italian cuisine that included freshly baked focaccias, a tempting selection of antipasti, pizzas, and pasta dishes. There was also a children's menu. I chose from the Christmas set menu, two courses for £24.95. The duck arancinis with nduja mayo were hot, crispy and flavoursome, and the pork saltimbocca in a white wine sauce, served with rosemary and garlic roasted potatoes and rocket, was well cooked and made a delicious main course. Excellent red wine too. Did not have a dessert, but they looked very good! The staff were polite, friendly and attentive throughout my meal, and service was very efficient. There were also some nice Italian food gifts to take out, including pasta, olive oil, wine, and large panettones. Overall a delightful lunch experience!...