Carluccio's - Marriott Heathrow — Restaurant in London

My family and I have dined at Carluccio’s many times over the years, always enjoying the experience. However, our visit to the Marriott Heathrow branch was incredibly disappointing, particularly due to poor service.

We ordered two starters and four main courses. While the starters were acceptable, the garlic focaccia was below the standard we’ve experienced at other branches. We also had to ask several times for water and drinks to be served. As soon as the mains were brought to the table, the server asked if everything was alright, though we hadn’t even had time to try the food. When we did, my Giardiniera pasta and my older son’s vegan spaghetti were unbearably salty—so much so that neither of us could eat them. To be sure, I gave some of my pasta to my husband and children to taste on side plates, and I also tried my son’s spaghetti. Everyone agreed that both dishes were far too salty. The other two dishes (pizza and ravioli) were fine and were eaten. Importantly, most of the two salty dishes remained untouched, in the main dishes and also on the side plates, with only small portions tasted.

When the server returned to ask about he food again, we asked for a menu to consider replacements but ultimately decided not to order additional main courses. We clearly mentioned the saltiness of the dishes to the server and asked for them to be removed, ordering only a Nutella calzone for the children. At no point did we indicate to the server that we were happy with the quality of the food, in fact we clearly expressed our dissatisfaction. We therefore assumed the uneaten dishes would be removed from the bill, but when it arrived, the Giardiniera pasta was still listed. Despite the poor experience, a service charge had also been added.

When my husband queried the bill, the server mumbled something incoherent and took it to her manager. Instead of apologising, the manager argued that from his inspection of the main dish, most of the pasta had been eaten, which was untrue. He claimed we hadn’t informed the server about the issue, essentially accusing us of lying to avoid paying for the dish. We explained that both dishes had been barely touched, with much of the food left on the side plates as well as in the original dishes. The manager clearly hadn’t bothered to check the side plates and had no response when this was pointed out.

Throughout the conversation, the manager ignored me entirely and addressed only my husband, even when I tried to explain the situation. When my husband insisted that he speak to me, the manager claimed he couldn’t talk to two people at once—despite us speaking calmly and taking turns. His behaviour was dismissive and rude. After much back-and-forth, he finally agreed to remove the dish and, at my request, also took off the service charge.

Unfortunately, the ordeal didn’t end there. We waited another ten minutes for the updated bill, only for the original server to return and confront us again. She accused us of claiming the food was fine initially, which was completely untrue. Despite our repeated attempts to end the discussion, she continued arguing, leaving us frustrated and upset.

The issue wasn’t just the substandard food but the appalling customer service. What could have been a minor disappointment turned into an upsetting experience due to the way the staff handled the situation. We hope Carluccio’s management takes these comments seriously and invests in better...

Last night my husband and I went there for our anniversary dinner. When we reached there we were absolutely exhausted and starved because of our work and back to back meetings all day. So we ordered a pizza and two steaks for us. The food is absolutely amazing, no complaints about that. We enjoyed our food and had a great time. My issue is the server that served us. I don’t know her name but she was wearing some sort of lights as her necklace. She came to us and told are we finished and began to take our plates (I was still eating and holding one of the chips). We got uncomfortable and told her to take the plates anyway. Then she asked us if we need any dessert and we said no we were fine. Then she literally told us, I am not surprised after that big dinner while making a judgemental face. Like seriously? That’s not even the end of it. After the bill, she told us to take three rounds of the hotel because we had too much food?!! Also while making that judgemental face. Seriously?!! You are telling your guests to take three rounds of the hotel?!!! I mean if you want to make such stupid jokes and be so unprofessional that you make your guests uncomfortable, then you should learn some manners. I don’t care if she the floor manager or whoever she is, she should learn from her juniors. The other girl who served us food was absolutely phenomenal. Anyway, my anniversary has been ruined and I felt so embarrassed and left the restaurant feeling guilty that maybe indeed we ordered too much. As we couldn’t be together whole day for our work, that evening was really something that we were looking forward to. Even I have worked in hospitality in my beginning days as a student. Trust me, I know. This can never be the standard for a restaurant like this....

A nice afternoon lunch. We booked for a table of 10 for an afternoon lunch and had a good time. It can be difficult to book online so we rang the Marriott hotel and they booked us into Carluccios. Tony called me the day before to make sure we were still going ahead with our booking. On arrival the manager (a female) did not know we had pre-booked, however her colleague has already laid out our table and was waiting for us. All the staff were very nice and professional, service was prompt and courteous. The food was traditional Italian fare and cooked well. The drinks selection was also very nice and the cocktails went down well. Dephran took care of our table and was extremely professional and courteous. We were celebrating a birthday and the staff brought out a cake and extra cutlery, nothing was too much trouble and they did it with a smile. The restaurant is spacious and has a nice feel to it, with seating for groups, families and couples. It is situated in the Marriott Hotel which has a nice bar and lobby area adjacent to the restaurant. There is a charge for parking, however there are lot's of spaces. If you fancy well cooked Italian food in West London in a nice setting with good service then Carluccio's is definitely worth a visit. We will definitely visit again. Thank you to...