Villa d’Este — Restaurant in England

My first visit to Villa d’Este and the last. I ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara which to put it bluntly was probably the worst Carbonara I’ve ever had (and I’ve eaten plenty not just in the UK but around the world). The dish was a little dry, the sauce was not at all creamy, couldn’t taste the guanciale but mainly there was too much black pepper which completely overpowered the dish. When the waitress came over to clear the table she asked if everything had been okay to which I told her no sorry it was probably the worst Carbonara I’d ever had and my husband politely requested it be removed from the bill. There was no real apology or could they get me something else. I then stepped outside for some air and when I came back into the restaurant there was a gentleman waiting for me and all I can describe it was like an interrogation why I didn’t like the Carbonara. A little taken aback I explained why and he said he couldn’t understand it, explained the ingredients, how its cooked and their recipe had been the same for 15 years and they’d never had any complaints before. He came across rather patronising like I was some kind of moron who’d never eaten Carbonara before but I kind of laughed it off and explained I just didn’t like it but I was left feeling rather uncomfortable and awkward. When the bill arrived we of course had been charged for the Carbonara. I asked the waitress if she could remove it to which she replied in a curtly manner ‘has Alex authorised that’. I replied ‘Who’s Alex’ (turns out he's the owner and the interrogator). She then started to explain how the dish was cooked, etc and I informed her I’d already been interrogated why i didn't like it. They did remove the Carbonara from the bill but when ‘Alex’ came over to take payment he said to me I didn’t interrogate you and I advised him I felt he had. Now either he’d overheard me telling the waitress this or she’d gone back to him tittle-tattling. Good lord all this over the fact I didn’t like one of their dishes. All in all I felt they do not like criticism and it was a very unpleasant experience and could not wait to leave. Shame really as everyone else in the party said their food was good but they would not be returning...

First time at this pretty eatery in a fab village, sadly not a great dining experience, felt pressured to have a starter as the guy informed us our main meal would take 25 minutes, garlic bread was really nice, main meal very salty, had carbonara, with enselata salad and rosemary potatoes, very salty, my partner had Lasanga he said it was average, drinks were watery blackcurrant juice and elderflower presse not nice at all, wished i had removed the service charge, but felt awkward, as I paid in cash left a bit extra, then another guy came along with card to ask us to pay, no apology, Will not return, overpriced meals and...

I've had my fair share of Italian food, especially Pizzas. But I have to say, this was easily one of the best, if not THE best pizza I have ever eaten. The dough was so thin and light, not burnt, an almost biscuit-like texture. The pizzas are huge and the toppings were lovely too. I had the brie and pancetta special.

The location is beautiful, very picturesque. There is car parking and plenty of street parking. You can burn off the food with a walk around the village after.

If I lived closer this would definitely be my...