Stuzzi — Restaurant in Leeds

Last night we decided to give Stuzzi a second chance after a some what disappointing birthday meal a year or so ago. We were at a loss as to where to go out for some tea and so headed to Stuzzi.

We hadn't booked but unluckily for us they had a table available.

When we arrived I asked if they had GF options for their pasta which they said they had, later did we find their GF option was to swap out pasta and replace with beans, which from briefly looking over the recent reviews seems to be a bug barer for many ... which it would be, pasta vs beans? so many options in and around Leeds now give loads of GF pasta options which seems to be a bit of a dropped ball on Stuzzi's part, each to their own I suppose.

Anyways, I just want to state that this is my first ever review, I really can't be bothered to review places but last night really did naff me off big style.

We ordered 4 dishes for myself and mum to share and my partner order a couple of dishes for herself due to GF dietary requirements.

When our food arrived we were a little underwhelmed at the portion sizes, £15 for essentially a starter portion of pasta, to double down on the disappointment we had ordered x2 pasta dishes.. so that's £30 for two small bowls of pasta. Arancini ball at £6 and 3 crochettes for £9... My partner ordered the steak £17.5 and a 'roasted' cauliflower dish at £8.

When our food arrived my mum asked if we could have some plates, waiter said you've got plates to which my mum mentioned but they were cold, 'well yes, they've been on the table' the waiter replied.... What restaurant serves hot food and wants you to eat them off cold side plates???

Our dishes were extremely salty to say the least, but fine enough. But the steak came 'chargrilled' which was almost inedible, you know when you over cook sausages on a BBQ and there's that burnt crust that's just awful? well that was the chargrill, the cauliflower dish came out cold and was quite literally 2 flowers of the vegetable.

Our waiter was more than happy to go into detail about each dish when serving but once served didn't come back to ask how thing were, if we needed anything else, fancied another drink etc etc etc. You'd expect a little more attentiveness from the place based on it's 'reputation' / 'brand'.

We had to speak to another member of staff about the steak and cauliflower dishes, one was cold to the touch and the other burnt to a crust. Waitress said the cauliflower was supposed to be served as was, and the steak, again was served like that. Said member of staff then went to speak to the kitchen and said they would make up another cauliflower plate, to which we declined politely as we really weren't feeling it and the restaurant at this stage and just wanted to get out of the place in all honesty. At that point the waitress then just picked up what was remaining of said cold veg dish (£8 to remind you) and rudely stomped off.

When we came to pay the bill the chap who came across with the card machine didn't ask how thing had been, so my partner decided to tell him, to which he sat back on the back of a chair with his arms crossed and nodded in what can only be described as a patronising up his own a$$ stance. All the chap could say is I'm sorry you've not had a good meal, no 'let me get you a drink' or 'I'll take the burnt steak off the bill'.

Such a rubbish experience, so cr@p that I'm sat getting behind at work just to put this out there.

From their website

'We believe our obsession delivers a glimpse of what’s on offer beyond the tourist traps into true Italy'

True Italy isn't overpriced, small portioned Italian 'small plates' with a heavy pouring of patronised service... but if that's what you're after get your self down to Stuzzi.

Rant...

I made a trip to Stuzzi this evening to celebrate my 30th birthday with my family; all in all it was exceptional - the food, the service, the atmosphere - everything was top notch.

Stuzzi is unique as its one of the few good resteraunts which is dog friendly, which is brilliant because it means I can bring the whole family including my parents (who refuse to leave their beloved pooch in the house on his own). The staff were helpful in us letting us change tables because the dog took and issue with going up the spiral staircase to the top section of the resteraunt. I always find the service to be good even if its busy; staff are always on hand to add extra dishes to your order on the fly (which is what you want if you're in a small plates resteraunt) and are happy to give reccomendations and talk through any menu items which you might not have heard of before.

The resteraunt has a great atmosphere, with views from the large windows onto Vicar Lane and a chic decorative style (I always find myself admiring the ornate tiles). I've been here on plenty of dates as well as group meals and celebrations, and the atmosphere really suits any of these occasions.

As for the food - I think the January 25 menu is my favourite so far. The aranchini and foccacia were brilliant - Stuzzi touchstones by this point. I was seriously impressed by the steak and polenta dish, which was cooked perfectly and was the best steak dish I've had anywhere. I also especially enjoyed the combination of flavours within the celeriac and buratta dish; the chefs here are really good at combining flavours in unique ways and adding a diffent twist to an ingredient. For instance, I'd have never thought to candy a caper, let alone serve it with parma ham, but it all works. Importantly, all the plates compliment each other - this is something I've found that other small plates resteraunts struggle with, where the dishes might be good in iscolation but the flavours dont really mesh as a whole. Ther chefs have clearly given careful consideration to how the dishes interact, and there's enough option for veggies and pescitarians, which was perfect for our table. I've also been with dining partners who've had special dietary requirements (vegans / allergies) and because so much of the menu is made fresh, chefs have been able to accommodate.

I'm not usually much of a pudding person but I do love an affagto and Stuzzi has great quality ice cream and coffee (plus they serve it with Frangelico, superior to amaretto in my opinion). That being said, I did have a few spoonfuls of my parents desert, a dish with puff pastry, pear and hazelnuts and it was exceptional and big enough to share - although I'd definitely get one to myself next time!

Drinks-wise the wine list is extensive, although I always go for the cheapest red which I think is a sangiovese - a good quality itallian table wine which you can't really fall out with. My pregnant sister enjoyed her mocktail, and commented that it was nice to have a fancy drink so she didn't feel left out.

Price wise I actually think Stuzzi is really reasonable . Granted its not somewhere most could afford to eat every week, but I've paid much more for much worse quality food. Even my parents, who seem to be in a constant state of shock about the price of literally anything, agreed that at £50 per head it wasn't bad value for such good food made with quality ingredients.

All in all a really lovely dining experience; it felt like a real special occasion and I know my family will be raving about it to...

We visited last night as Stuzzi had been somewhere the whole group had wanted to go for a while - however were sorely disappointed.

The service was pretty appalling. We were given menus without dietaries, with a veggie and coeliac, it was annoying to not be asked any dietaries and wait for a menu to be annotated. I can't think of a restaurant I have been to lately where it is not clear from the menu itself. Despite calling in the week to confirm they can cater for gluten free where I was told 'all pasta dishes can be made gluten free', I was told the pasta is subbed for canneloni beans not gluten free pasta - so I think that should be clearer as we would not have visited. Many other independents offer much better gluten free alternatives.

All staff members we encountered were rude and unhelpful. Putting dishes down on our table, and others, without talking to the customers. We weren't asked how our meal was or if we needed anything else.

We were not asked if we had been before and the menu/pricing itself was a bit random so explanation of how best to order in a group would have been useful. We asked and ordered a larger dish each, and were told it is quite common to order more if needed which we intended to do.

However the service was so rude and slow that despite being hungry we decided to just pay and leave. When presented with the bill we asked for the service charge to be removed and were asked why and to point out which staff members we felt had been rude which wasn't exactly the most professional response.

The food itself was okay, some flavours were good but portions were very small for the price. The wine was good and they do offer a gf foccacia! However it was a really poor experience for somewhere that seems to be raved about otherwise. Maybe this was a one off but it was particularly bad we will not be returning and we wish we had spent our money elsewhere for much better food...