ASK Italian — Restaurant in Lichfield

Great staff and a very varied and welcome range of vegetarian mains. Our criticism is to do with uncertainty about Ask's food handling practices with regards to vegetarian/vegan food. For instance, we are vegetarian and assumed from the V symbol in the menu that the chips are suitable for veggies but it seems this is unreliable, and we are now wondering how many other of Ask's vegetarian/vegan dishes may be contaminated through food handling in the kitchen. Ask does chips with amazingly yummy texture - crisp and crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy inside. First lot we had were gorgeous. Second lot seemed to taste strongly fishy. On our third visit they had an overpowering seafood flavour. We left most of them. On our most recent visit before ordering we asked how they cook the chips and were told the kitchen has two oil fryers and they 'do their best' to keep chips separate from seafood but can't guarantee it. The chips are marked vegetarian in the menu so I think it should be made clear that this isn't guaranteed. Also, since seafood allergies are not uncommon anyone ordering chips should be told they might be contaminated, if they aren't already warned when they arrive and staff ask if they have any allergies. It seems zucchini fritters (marked veggie) may also be...

My boyfriend and I sat down at a table for a treat for my birthday and started looking through the menu. All was good until we realised you couldn’t pay by cash, which due to my boyfriend having lost his card two days prior, was a bit of an issue. However, we asked the waiter serving us if we could go and draw some cash out and come back afterwards to which he said no and that “it wasn’t a hotel” and he wouldn’t “reserve a seat for us”. We weren’t very happy with this service and the way we’re spoken to/treated, of course, but aren’t the type of people to argue. We politely got up and got our stuff together and started to leave. On our way out, we walked past the same waiter that tended to us speaking with what we believe to be the manager, pointing at us and then laughing as if they were two schoolgirls. Absolute pathetic behaviour and poor service from Ask and we won’t be returning again due to the sheer rudeness and humiliation that we experienced during our visit. A shame really, as we went for a meal here Valentine’s Day 2019 and it was beautiful with great service. Sort out your disgusting behaviour and attitude towards your customers before you start to lose...

I’ve never been treated so rudely, unprofessionally, and unacceptably in a restaurant — and the worst part is that I strongly believe it was racially motivated. Everything was fine until a staff member named Taylor (who was stood gossiping loudly with her colleagues) decided to come over and deliberately become rude and aggressive without reason or explanation. She spoke over us, refused to listen, and was aggressive, dismissive, and completely unprofessional. Our guest, who was seated at the table first, was made to feel extremely uncomfortable as Taylor and her colleagues stood at the front desk laughing, staring, and whispering. It was intimidating and disgusting. No one else was treated like this.The only explanation I can see for the way we were singled out is racial bias. And that is absolutely unacceptable in 2025. ASK Italian: do better. This person should not be representing your brand. I will be taking this complaint further, because the way we were treated was not just bad service — it was targeted...