Romanzo — Restaurant in Great Britain

We have been going to this restaurant for over 20 years, always good for food. However, our visit on 22nd August was marred by an unpleasant diner. An elderly gentleman who appeared to know the owners, was seated next to our table of 4 (we were on our starters). He glared repeatedly at us while he was sat there and then rather dramatically waved a waitress over, saying he didn't want to be seated next to us. He was then moved to the far end of the restaurant. Our crime? We were 4 gay chaps quietly enjoying our meal. It's hard not to view this as anything other than homophobia as he scowled at us as we left. We foolishly did not say anything to the owners as we didn't want to make a scene. Many gay people dine at this restaurant and I have never felt uncomfortable there in the past. however, this will now make me think twice about going again as who in their right mind would want to dine at a place with bigots? Sadly it may be a sign of changing times. The food was good, but the evening was soured. ...

Romanzo’s Greek Taverna is on the main road through Westbourne - which is itself a quaint olde-worlde “village” to the west of (surprise, surprise) Bournemouth. Effectively a small town on its own, Westbourne is a marvellous mixture of independent shops, interesting eateries and a Victorian arcade that boasts the smallest cinema in England - but we’re here for the food, so no more digressions… The Greek taverna is usually full (closed on Mondays), which is a good sign. Their liver is lovely (no fava beans & chianti jokes please) and the pork fillet is very tasty with fresh vegetables and great gravy. If you’ve spent time in your previous military career around Akrotiri in Cyprus, you’ll have tasted many of the labels on Romanzo’s wine list - though at significantly lower prices when consumed in-country - but a glass of Aphrodite during the meal - or Commanderia afterwards - will bring the memories flooding back. All in all, a lovely local place for dinner, with friendly staff and relaxed...

Inexplicably, this place came highly recommended by friends that we trusted (albeit with the caveat that they hadn’t been there in a few years). I don’t know if management/ownership has changed since they had been, but we were very disappointed. The food was mediocre at best throughout. The greek salad was 70% iceberg lettuce, mine had one olive and not much feta at all. The souvlaki dishes were mostly lettuce and rice - the two cheapest ingredients - with just five tiny pieces of meat. The calamari didn’t taste fresh and was extremely rubbery. The moussaka was mush. The halloumi (three slices for £6.50!) was barely cooked. The potatoes/wedges (the one thing we didn’t order, but come to the table for free) were the only remotely enjoyable part of the meal.

To top it off, the prices would be on the higher end even for an excellent greek meal, which this very much was not.

I will say that the staff were very friendly but, still, I’m honestly baffled by the amount of good reviews...