Tarantella Ristorante — Restaurant in England

Before anyone takes the time to read this review please understand I'm not one for leaving negative/bad reviews. If someone makes 1 or even 2 mistakes then I get it we're only human and these things do happen, but this was from the minute we walked in until the minute we left.

The table was booked for 20.15pm we arrived at 20.10pm to not be greeted as we walked in and had to ask at the bar about our booked reservation at 20.15.

It was Very busy and noisy!

We were sat at a small 2 person table in front of the entrance next to the bar that rocked from side to side due to either an uneven floor or one of the legs were broken. At this point the atmosphere is not feeling very Italian at all.

We were told as soon as a table becomes free we would be re seated in what I can only assume would be a more sensible and adequate location.

20 minutes later we were asked if we would like to order our food? We said yes that's fine. My wife ordered the steak with asparagus and chips I ordered the sea bass with squid and prawns.

5 minutes later another couple walked in and another table became free, if I hadn't asked the waitress "can we have that free table please" like promised the other couple would've been seated there instead of me and my wife.

Once seated we were asked if we would like another drink to which we obliged.

1hr and 15 minutes later our food order turned up but a lot more than what we originally ordered 🤔 they had sent out 2 plates of steak and asparagus along with the sea bass dish 🤦 I called the waitress over and had the extra steak dish taken away.

My sea bass dish was very well presented and tasted amazing but it was very small in size! it was more like a starter than a main and considering how much it cost as well I was a little disappointed.

My wife's dish only had 2 tiny bits of asparagus, a small pot with triple cooked chips and a sirloin steak that was quite fatty and gristly.

Once we had finished we asked for the bill and it was £73! So if each dish was no more than £20 so £40 that means 3 Sam Miguel's and 2 Malibu's with coke cost £33 and apparently one of those Malibu & cokes were removed to apologise for the long waiting time on the food so that's £33 for 3 Sam Miguel's and 1 Malibu and coke! 😲

Would we come back here again...... unfortunately not 😞 it's just not the same as it use to be years ago 😞 is this restaurant under new ownership? I didn't notice any of the original staff that used to work here? This was the restaurant we came too when we 1st started dating 16 years ago. The waitress who was hosting us tonight was lovely by the way 👌 it was more just a bit of an unorganised mess where me and my wife were left feeling disappointed, unrelaxed and fed up to the point where we wished we had gone to a hungry horse like the...

This place is obviously very popular but isn't the place for me... I will start by saying that.

I will also state that I have been here twice before in 2017/18 and had an okay time but that was because of the occasion and not the establishment.

My first time that I was a bit put back by the lack of kindness and friendly professionalism was the time we went there on a whim.

Even before Covid and the eat out to help out it seems they were and are very set on turning the table around for the next customer, or for shutting up shop. We went to go in before covid and they told us that they were "closing in 30 minutes" and I asked if they would kick us out after 30 just to make sure and they kind of just repeated that they were "closing in 30 minutes", point very much taken. We did not go in that day and it kind of left a sour taste in my mouth.

Fast forward several months and we book a table for eat out to help out as my partner wanted to go there. They stated that we had to be gone by 7 which gave us an hour, which I would get in these unprecedented times but with the 30 minutes fiasco before, it just got my back up a bit. Seemwd like they were trying to kick us out before we even got in, again.

When we arrived we were shown a table out the way which in covid times is my preference but it was kind of tightly shoved in a corner between a wall and a pillar. It was like we were outcasts or naughty children. The table and establishment seemed clean which is always a plus.

The food was alright but not amazing for the price and it did not give me that wow factor that I get in other restaurants. As you can see by the images, for the main I had a bit of chicken covered in mushrooms and sauce and some potatoes which would have been about £12, if I remember correctly. And as I mistakenly ordered the wrong meal this made things worse. The starter of meatballs in sauce was nice enough and more enjoyable and fulfilling than the main.

The young lady that served us was very friendly and nice but there was one lady who seemed to hide an attitude behind a thinly veiled pleasant persona. This all just made the experience have an air of something not fully relaxing and enjoyable. Which is what I want on a meal out if I am spending over £70 (thankfully eat out to help out took some of the sting out of the occasion).

Oh, and it was probably because we were in the corner by the door but as we were finishing up our drinks two little tiny flies appeared.

COVID NOTE - I have been to a few restaurants during the pandemic and all have the track and trace (name and number) requirement procedure but most also have their staff wear some sort of face mask and/or visor... here...

Very disappointed the service last night was shocking, our party of 12 arrived at the restaurant at 8pm, we had already pre-ordered our food a few days before, we ordered drinks and a few had ordered starters so we waited for that to arrive, and we waited and waited around 9pm they arrived. Great we thought the mains should follow shortly... No.. 50 mins later they finally got our mains to us after 3 people asking over a 20 minute period when our food would be ready. The food came which was nothing more than mediocre and certainly not worth the wait, some items where missing off at least 2 plate , this being the creamed spinach in the two salmon dishes, (the birthday girls meal, you'd have thought they would have at least made the effort to get that one right). One of the guest that couldn't attend asked if her meal could be prepared as a takeaway option, to which the restaurant kindly agreed, after my meal and being nearly 11pm I noticed that the kitchen had been cleaned down I approached one of the waitress and asked if the said meal was ready for me and the look of panic said it all she then went to the chef spoke to him and he looked at me like I was something he'd just stepped in and said very abruptly 3 minutes, clearly they had forgotten about said meal and it arrived at the table some 10 mins later. As some of the table then began to leave we turned towards the bar area where every member of staff were stood there arms folded staring at the table waiting for us to leave, maybe if we wasn't the last table you served so late at night you might have been able to leave on time. I've been to this restaurant in the past and have no idea how or why it has rapidly gone down hill. Hopefully this was a one off but am I prepared to take that risk again, I'm unsure. The lead of the party said they would talk to staff before they left, if they did or not I don't know. But for me personally very very...