Dough What — Restaurant in England

TL;DR version: I recommend for the food. The pizza I picked was the most basic one - Marinara, containing tomato sauce, basil, and olive oil. I try the basics first because getting the basics right means the rest is a bonus. The service faulted in one area: they assumed I wanted to take out, so I was surprised when they handed me a takeout box. I clarified that I wanted to dine in (I was sat at a table). They rectified within a couple of minutes and I had an unrestricted dining experience. The place looked clean but some makeshift prep station on the corner kinda detracted from the cozy experience.

Full review: I am a pizza lover (Italian/Brazilian background). This place opened a couple of years ago and due to a very busy life I have only been able to try it now. I believe in always trying the most basic thing first, if the quality is good that means they understand how to make food. Kinda like chefs test cooks by asking them to make omelette.

I went for the Marinara. The sauce was fresh and tasted vibrant, slightly acidic with sweet notes from the added basil. The basil was fresh, one big leaf on each quarter slice. The olive oil was sharp and fragrant and tasted herbaceous. The sauce was smooth on the most part with good textural balance and color. They don't have a wood fired oven which initially concerned me a little but I was amazed that they could get an elastic, thin crust with a crisp char on the base and good inflation on the edges also with excellent charring, a hallmark of Neapolitan pizza.

Service was friendly but faulted in two areas. First the positives: I asked the lead time, she said 15 mins and delivered roughly within the stated timescale. When the pizza was delivered it came in a box which baffled me! I was never asked if I wanted takeout or dine in. I asked for a table, and said I'd sit by the window which she said was ok. This was a walk in with no reservation, there were a few diners there already, but not full. When she tried to hand me the box I said I was dining in, they took it back and served it to me on a plate. I thought sitting at a table would indicate they should set the table but that didn't happen, so I also had to ask for cutlery as they assumed I'd manhandle the pizza? A small oversight, I hope they can improve on that.

Payment was taken promptly as soon as I ordered, which was great but probably happened because she thought I was taking out. I would have preferred to pay at the end, as I was dining in.

She offered me a complimentary espresso (and pronounced espresso correctly ☺️) which made me smile. I had lots of coffee already and it was getting late so I politely declined but appreciated the thought.

I am satisfied with the pizza and look forward to going back. This is a place you should definitely check out if you're in Leicester and want a tasty pizza made quickly and well. It earns my recommendation for using good quality ingredients and displaying true Neapolitan qualities on the product such as the elasticity of the crust, how well cooked it was, and the perfect charring that adds an extra dimension of flavor complimenting the sweet nature of basil and sharpness of good tomato sauce.

For under £10 I left satisfied as the pizza was perfectly dimensioned and with light ingredients it left me with a...

I feel really bad about leaving a 2 star for a small business but it was just a terrible experience. The easy part, the pizza wasn't very good. Greasy, bland, over priced and just overall disappointing. They also charge £1.20 for condiments. Outside of tourist traps I've never heard of any restaurant doing that. We're not talking something special like peppercorn or Stilton sauce, we're talking garlic mayo. For that alone, I wouldn't be returning. The main reason however, when the young lady waitress took our drinks order, I asked for a glass of ice. A few moments later the manager comes to our table and informs me they would not be giving me a glass of ice. When I queried this I was told I would have to have tap water in it. What i did not inform her of was that its very difficult for me to eat and drink at the same but ice pieces are a lot easier to digest, because i shouldn't have to disclose any medical history with a stranger for such a seemingly simple request. Perplexed, I then requested that i have a glass filled with ice and partially filled with water, she told me she'd see what she could do but it goes against their policy as they've had incidents where people did weird things with ice. What that means, i dont know; however the way I felt casually accused of doing something untoward with ice made for an uncomfortable dining experience. My water arrived with 6 ice cubes. They were all fished out and consumed fairly sharpish, I assumed that following my proof that i did indeed know how to behave appropriately with beverages i requested the same again only to be given 3 ice pieces. Not only that, there were 2 tables including ours in the entire restaurant, what did these folks think I would do? Either way, it was highly uncomfortable and made for a strange experience; one which I don't feel the need to repeat. It's a shame because I'd been looking forward to visiting this restaurant since they opened not long ago and in reality I want to leave 1 star but that feels cruel. And I suppose the waitstaff were kind while making me feel...

If I could give a one star I would . I came here on Saturday around 6pm and I was rudely dealt with by the front of house with curly hair and blue jeans and curly hair immediately when I came in I was not welcome at all to which she looked at me like I did not belong in the restaurant I choose to sit and dine inside to which I was shown a space at the back which I was fine and one minute into sitting down this rude member of staff which I suppose was a supervisor came straight to me requesting what I wanted to it and I told her to give me 5 minutes as I am indecive as this was my first time coming to this restaurant and then one minute and she came back to which I told her she needed to give me time and then she gave me the dirtiest look that made me so uncomfortable I was scared. Hoping she would not come back again I made eye contact with another member of staff which was from an Asian background and she was lovely after that the rude supervisor saw me charging my phone at the back which she proceeded to tell me off in a restaurant full of people for charging my phone ?????? When the plug was right at the back of me . I brushed that off because I had already ordered my food and what made me contemplate my presence was clearly not wanted here was when the rude girl came up to me before my food had arrived and asked me to pay for my food when I clearly witnessed with my two eyes her taking payment for the two people who sat next to me after their meal . To which I left the restaurant because you would think in 2024 this sort of behaviour would be acceptable to a black young girl going on a solo date on their own . Clearly someone needs more training on customer service and equality and no...