Italio — Restaurant in England

Booked a table for 15 people for a family celebration. Pre- ordered our meals to make it easier for the restaurant. Arrived on time at 4.30 to be told they would need table back by 6.30. Thought it a bit odd, but said OK. Waited 45 minutes for our starters, then quite a while for Main meals. (Restaurant wasn't busy). Only 1 young waiter serving all 15 of us so only able to bring 1 or 2 dishes at a time. People also waiting for side orders. Food was good, but it was a bit pricey for portion sizes. Young waiters and waitress very friendly. Far too nice to be working here! Just before we finished main meals, we were asked if we would like more drinks, which we ordered. As soon as we had finished main meals, the older waitress/"manageress" appeared with the bill and card payment machine. (We hadn't even asked for the bill) Bill came to £600+ we had to pay a £60 surcharge!! (Which, apparently, according to the restaurant, isn't a lot of money!!) We then asked the young waiter if we could have the cake that we had taken with us, which he brought to the table with plates, etc. About 5 minutes later, the older waitress /"manageress" returned and was clearly not happy and started giving us dirty looks, rudely saying she's trying to run a business ,mumbling under her breath etc etc. She made the whole atmosphere very awkward. After we ate our desserts we got up to leave, some of the party still hadn't finished their drinks, but we had to leave them. She then approached me saying we had a deal,we said 6.30 and you were 40 minutes late! I was actually there bang on 4.30 as planned. She then told my 76 year old mother that she was barred after my mum commented on how bad the service was! Other restaurants would ask you to maybe sit in the bar area to finish your drinks or desserts but not this place! Also, if they are expecting another party, why not set up another table ? The restaurant wasn't busy. My son was still eating his dessert, so I went back in to speak to him. At this point, a male "manager" snatched the cake knife out of my Son's hand , cutting his hand. My son understandably became rather annoyed, stood up, and flipped the table over. Sadly, the situation became quite heated, and being told to F off isn't very professional. This whole situation could have been avoided if the "managers" understood Customer Service ! You will find better customer service at McDonald's to be honest. They then have the audacity to phone me 3 days later as they are not happy with the comments made on TripAdvisor and accused me of being in their restaurant a few weeks ago, causing trouble and accusing my son of being a drunk driver!! All Lies & Slander!! You should be ashamed of yourselves! Advice to Customers: Don't bother, save your money & go elsewhere ! They completely ruined what should have been a lovely celebration for my daughter!!! Advice to "management": Learn Customer Service Skills AND how to run a restaurant!! P.S. to the guy that said, "Good luck in writing that review." Here you are - enjoy! I wouldn't step back in your restaurant if...

Came for a meal on Sunday 30th June came in quite a large group. Meal was lovely had no complaints about food until it came down to paying, a service charge was added to our bill of £50 which we wasn't told about which we would of all of been happy to pay if they had mentioned this to us the bill came to £600+ and pretty much everyone was paying for their drinks separately so they had pulled in a fair amount of money this evening. I went to pay first and my bill should of been £51 but I ended up paying £76 I question this once I got back to my car I tried multiple times to contact the restaurant over phone, email and Facebook I got no reply so I then rang them on Wednesday 3rd July when they was back open I asked to speak to a manager and as soon as I mentioned that we was the big party from Sunday he started to get heightened and very rude on the phone not letting me get a word in, saying we had booked the room and not payed a fee which was never mentioned, we took over and decorated the room as this was for a 30th birthday nothing was mentioned about us not being allowed to do this, he then offered us a voucher of £25 and I said that I didn't accept this as I wouldn't be returning to this restaurant which then got his back up again him shouting down the phone to me, after speaking to others that came to the meal everyone had been charged £5-7 extra as well as the the £50 service charge one couple had to pay ontop of me paying £25 extra so they have over charged us all by a lot not just the £50 service charge. All in all I do not recommend you go to this restaurant in a big group other wise you will be charged extra without notice and the manager won't be bothered one...

We choose italio to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. We took our 7 year old boy.

Pros.

The restaurant is very nice, the staff are very pleasant but maybe a little rushed, it seemed to miss the personal touch of taking time to chat to people. The orders were taken, very pleasantly and the food service was quick, we asked for a little break in between courses which was nice. Other tables were finished and gone very quickly, so the service is prompt, maybe a little conveyor belt.... They obviously have a good plan in place to make sure it runs smoothly.

We are indoors and it had a nice feel with a delicious aroma.

The food.....really nice, we all had 3 courses, we couldn't resist.. we literally left in a food coma. I would 100% recommend the food.

Cons

The toilet facilities really lacked.... The toilet door wasn't even a door, more like a piece of plain (unpainted) MDF , the toilets didn't flush properly and really it just looked unfinished and a disappointment when downstairs is so nice... When you go to "freshen up" you want to do that in a nice area.....so maybe that needs a little tlc.

I didn't like the TV on the wall in the restaurant showing a drama TV channel on mute....what is the point? You go out for a meal and eyes are drawn to the TV, showing a program not suitable for children to watch. Maybe a slide show of Italy may be more apt, or even better, turn it off!

Would I go again? Probably yes, but I would request a table outside.

The food is really good, the wine is nice, the staff pleasant, if a little over busy. But yes I...