ASK Italian - Westfield Stratford — Restaurant in London

We go the Ask Italian and Pizza Express quite a bit and yesterday whilst at Westfields Stratford, the plan was to have an early midday meal at Pizza Express but they don't serve the Spaghetti Pomodoro that my son was craving, so we decided on Ask Italian which was not even a stone throw away.

Atmosphere: As it was just after 12pm, the restaurant was very quiet with only two tables occupied in the outside seating area and one customer seated inside. So, perfect timing. We were seated immediately and had the menus and activity sheets and crayons for my son as soon as we sat down. The lemonade served was nice and fresh, as usual. As it was so empty, it felt like VIP treatment, although once or twice, we had to wait...I think they even forget we were there. It wasn't a problem as we were not in a real rush. Just enjoying it all.

Service: Other than the occasional wait, the service staff were very friendly, helpful, and attentive, also answering any questions we had without getting agitated. When we added an additional order halfway through our meals, it wasn't a problem either. They got on it. It did take a little while for that order to arrive (thr cheesy dougballs), but that's because by that time, the restaurant was busy with customers and there were alot of orders being taken and prepared.

Food: Now the food. It was a bit hit and miss. My wife and I had the mushroom starter, which we shared. It was divine. Just hit the right spot. I've included images of all that we had so you can take a look for yourself.

My son had the spaghetti pomodoro, and he was satisfied but did comment that he wished they served a bit less tomato and a bit more spaghetti. I absolutely love spaghetti and pizza and get finicky when it's not quite as he prefers.

My wife had the worst experience, I'm afraid. She did not enjoy her risotto (with mushrooms) and noted that it was too dry and not creamy enough. She didn't even finish it all. That says a lot as she does love eating these types of foods. She even stole some of my son's excess tomatoes to add to her meal. It's quite disappointing.

As for me, I had the salad (it's on the menu under specialities, won't attempt at typing the name, but it was essentially spinach as a base with roasted vegetables such as sweet potato, caramelised onions, mushrooms, etc). I asked for the dressing to be presented separately in case I didn't like it, but it was quite nice. They could have added more sweet potato. The spinach was plentiful, maybe too much spinach and not enough roasted vegetables? Everyone's tastes are different. This is just my assessment. For health reasons, I don't eat much carbohydrates, so I thought this salad would do...it did but also didn't. Strange one. Would I have this salad again when visiting Ask Italian (my first time getting this salad)? Probably not. I did finish it all as I am not one for wasting food and money.

Overall, the food, though edible and not horrible at all, it could have been better. The star performers were the mushroom starter and the cheesy doughballs. The drinks were fine.

General Hygiene: Spotless, as expected. I usually do check out the toilets. For me, if the toilets are clean and tidy and don't smell, then that says a lot about the establishment and its people. You'll see some images of the men's toilet I took...quite funny to see how beat up the bin was in the toilet. Hate to think what that poor thing has endured over the years. Maybe it's time to replace it. I'm sure it can be afforded. It's the small things that count.

Overall: Yes, I would recommend Ask Italian Westfields Stratford for a meal or when meeting with friends and family, etc. It has a nice atmosphere and is in a nice and quieter location in this very busy mall. But be sure to raise any concerns regarding your food if you feel it doesn't quite meet your expectations and / or standards. We will return in the hope that we can turn our 3 star rating on the food into a 4 or even a 5.

Thank you for reading my review. I appreciate it's a long one. Reviews are...

Tuesday 28th may. When me and my partner came in, the girl at the Front couldn’t even smile at us or greet us properly. She showed us to a table and walked off without saying a word. We then were greeted 20 minutes later to take our order by a blonde girl and rolled her eyes, looked miserable and was very blunt. She then snatched the menus away from I front of us. We then waited 20 minutes for some olives and some bread to come (from the snack whilst you wait menu) with no apology for the wait at all as it wasn’t even busy. We then got slammed with our main courses (a sea bass from specials and an carbonara) about 30 minutes later which weren’t even hot, under seasoned and very mid. We ordered some water for the table when we got our snacks but didn’t receive them until after we finished our main courses. The blonde lady that took our order, then took our plates without even talking to us, making eye contact or anything. We tried to flag her down for about 15 minutes to order a desert and some drinks but she refused to come over and preferred to chat with her colleagues and giggle in the corner. The blonde lady then walked straight past our table after grabbing some glasses, I tried to grab her attention but she looked at me and rolled her as she was walking away. She came over afterwards about 5-10 minutes later and finally took the order with a snotty attitude. The desert came out all wrong. I tried to get her attention again but she was having none of it. So then managed to flag down one of the other colleagues who was wiping tables at the time and asked her if she would be able to grab the stuff we actually ordered and she sounded understanding and informed the blonde girl again. The blonde girl eventually came over and rolled her eyes AGAIN and slammed it in the table after. We then grabbed the manager on shift and asked how we pay and he said to use this QR code to pay for our meal and it added on a service charge to it which is absolutely disgusting seen that it was a completely horrible experience in every aspect. The woman on the right of our table were very surprised how this girl treated both of us. Me and my partner work in the hospitality industry as both FOH and BOH, we are aware how draining it can be and how tiring you’ll end up like after a busy shift. But this was around 2 o’clock in the afternoon. And customers are still people. You cannot be moody, angry or blunt to customers?? Has anyone trained these people how to act infront of people?? How to be a server/waitress?? I am horrified and I will never come back to this place and I highly suggest anyone else reading this does the same. Do not give these...

I would like to give this place zero stars but would not be able to leave a review. Decided to go to Ask Italian as I had finished shopping was unsure to eat in or take away. To briefly summarise my experience I decided to eat in. Firstly I went to the toilet and came back, one of the kind waitresses watched my bags, she had her hair in cornrows and was pleasant, as was the waitress at the front door. I was told to sit anywhere by the waitress whom was at the front door. Sat down whilst waiting to be seated, no member of staff came over to seat me, only to be told by a Manager whom was a woman with blond hair that I sat in three different places. I replied that because I was paying thought I was allowed to be comfortable. Only to be told it does not work like that by the Manager she then walked off. Then I waited for a menu and my table to be cleaned, no one came over to me. I then called the rude older waiter over whom asked me had I been given a menu and I replied no, he stated that I had moved a few times and that I was taking the order away. I told the waiter I was not taking my order away. The Manager had clearly gone around the back and was talking about me to other members of staff, which is very unprofessional. I then told the waiter I had moved three times so I was comfortable. The waiter told me the table was dirty I said there is one glass which can be moved and the table needs to be wiped, as it was not that dirty. It was that easy. I should not have to disclose my medical condition. At that point I got up and said I would be leaving and would not leave good reviews. The waiter said I could go and that he was not bothered about reviews. There was another lady in the restaurant whom asked to be served and stated she was in a hurry no one went to serve her and she walked out. This restaurant does not appreciate customers. They would do well to realise that without customers they would not be in business. A lot of restaurants and shops have closed down as a result of covid and have not been able to recover financially. Ask Italian Senior Leadership Team should be grateful they are in business and their staff have jobs. I have been to Ask Italian before and the Waiter was pleasant even left him a tip. How times have changed!!!!! Terrible customer service and rude staff now!!!!!. Please avoid!!! There are better Italian restaurants in Westfield...