Don Alberto — Restaurant in England

ould have been so much more We booked based on the reviews and as it’s 10 minutes from us thought we would give it a try.

Initial impressions were of a busy restaurant where we thought the night would be good.

We arrived on time and we’re told our table would be 10-15 minutes ok but then no one took a drinks order while we stood at the bar. 10 minutes in we were asked if we would like a drink I asked for a coke and a peroni. Beer swiftly served and then the coke which was flat. Sent the coke back and was told I’ll sort that for you.

We were shown to the table 20 mins late, and the coke followed us eventually.

We ordered mushroom bruschetta and spare ribs to start.

The mushrooms arrived with a flourish from the obviously Italian waiter but no spare ribs. I waited and observed the next table being served with a mushroom bruschetta and ribs, only to see them sent back as they hadn’t ordered ribs, intervening as politely as possible I said he had obviously got the tables mixed up and that we had their bruschetta and they had our ribs!!

Calamity averted I assumed we were plain sailing again. Ribs good and the mushrooms very nice. At this point I decided to order a bottle of wine and asked for the montepulciano which was £25 I think. The wine arrived and I uestioned if it was the one I had ordered assured that it was and it was poured. My mind was telling me that’s not right but the Italian waiter said no it was right so it must be. The mains arrived together thankfully a mushroom risotto and a filet al Pepe. Offered black pepper but no Parmesan.

The risotto was dry and could have done with more cheese to add some creaminess the steak was cooked rare but was cold, and the vegetables were limited 1/2 a potato and cold beans carrots and broccoli

We ate the meal it was passable but not fantastic

Then came the saga of the bill requested at 915 delivered and then we sat waiting until 945 to pay it. I ended up standing at the bar as I was so bored of waiting.

Aonly then did it become apparent that I had been served a bottle of house red as I thought and not the wine ordered, this had cost the restaurant £15. I paid leaving the barman under no illusion that things hadn’t gone well. Another couple had problems with their steaks and a young couple were given food that hadn’t ordered but accepted anyway.

Perhaps an element of training is required or waiters who are prepared to listen to the customers.

We eat out a lot and are happy to comment on excellent service and food but this definitely missed the spot, a shame as some of the food is great and it had a decent atmosphere

For me it would be 6/10 might try it again on a week night as Saturdays...

Very disappointed visit to restaurant last night. Having read the previous reviews we thought we were going to have the best times. The restaurant was busy but we have booked. Drinks order was taken quite quickly. We ordered a bottle of sparkling amongst others but were not given the water glasses until after a while. Ordered our food. We thought the starters took a long time but the mains took 1.45 hours after our starters. No explanations as to why that was the case. We looked around and lots of others were also waiting far too long for their food. There was a problem with the Wi-Fi apparently not working so all payments were to be made in cash but this was not communicated when we first got to the restaurant! Asking for drinks top up was hard work too. It’s like they were avoiding us. My main issue is the fact that no one from the restaurant told us that the food was going to be late. I would have thought the would have offered us more drinks or garlic bread whilst waiting for the very delayed mains. I must say by the time the mains arrived, all I wanted to do was get out of there as it was far too late to eat already. It’s such a shame, we were having for a proper nice family dinner. We weren’t going to take our phones out but after waiting over an hour for our mains we ran out of things to say to each other! What a disappointment. Owners need to try harder in terms of communicating with the customers and doing more to make them them...

Have been here multiple times but unfortunately, recently, the service and atmosphere have been poor. The food, although usually very good, has not been great recently. Whilst we were in tonight, 3 other tables around us had to send food back. One group ordered a drink then left without ordering food (as their order hadn't been taken by the time they finished their drinks).

One of our drinks was missed, one of our starters was missed and one of our mains was cold. We had to ask for tap water 3 times. For a group of 8 a small jug was provided then not refilled. Unfortunately the staff are inexperienced and don't follow up at tables. When glasses are empty, they don't ask if you want another drink. When plates are empty, it takes ages to clear them away.

There used to be a great specials board but the past couple of times I've been the board has been empty.

They really need to work on the service and atmosphere as they are losing local customers. We know many locals who used to visit regularly and now won't because of the service. It's...