Carlo Lounge — Restaurant in Mid Sussex

Nice atmosphere when walking in, we were welcomed within moments of being there. Asked to pick any table we'd like then use the QR code at the table to order our food and drinks. I am not a fan of server-less ordering, it feels so impersonal. I particularly dislike that the app recommends at least 10% tip when checking out - not sure who we're meant to be tipping as we don't have a server! But there is an option to leave no tip. My opinions on this kind of ordering aside, the app does let you customise everything on the menu: take out whatever you don't want from your burger for example, add extras of items to your dish. Very good for the picky eaters, or those who don't like to make a fuss but wish they could change something.

We had a long wait for our food, around 25 minutes after paying on the app. The venue was around 60% full (great for seating for 5pm on a Saturday) but being a small-medium size place, this seemed like a long time to wait. The menu is no-nonsense / not pretentious. Great sounding dishes, with all the things you'd expect in the meal, and none of the silly fancy extras like "pickled slaw" or other trendy hot new thing restaurants force us to have (however some still do, if that's your thing). The Smoky Joe burger for example, is a burger, salad, American cheese, pulled beef, chorizo. Nice, hearty, and how you'd make it at home.

Presentation of the food was nice, not just thrown on a plate, and we were sat right near to the serving window which was great to see these good looking dishes come out.

I'm not sure why, but at one point the trays that hold the cutlery was placed on the floor where it stayed for the rest of our 2-hour stay. Servers would gather fresh cutlery from this tray on the floor to put out on new tables. Feel like it should be on a table or desk somewhere - not on the floor next to the serving window.

After finishing our main we ordered iced coffees (delicious) and churros. I dislike when restaurants don't clear away your Mains dishes before serving you further items.. we were sat enjoying our coffee with our used plates and drinks from our first meal still on the table. Only when our dessert was ready were our plates then cleared (but still 3 empty glasses left). It's a little annoying.

Overall, we enjoyed the food and the buzz of the other customers when we walked in, but the service as the evening went on (not clearing table) and wait time for food was a little offputting. Ordering through an app and not speaking to a person is not my favourite but I understand it, and it does have its benefits (customisation). We will definitely come back here as there are great menu choices and delicious food, but I hope staff become more...

Finally came here after knowing about it since it's opened.

The good bits first - The inside. They basically nailed the vibe and interior decoration 🛋️ of the place. Lots of good design and art on the walls. And it's dog-friendly too 🐕 so that's a plus!

Aspects that need improving - The food. I went for the breaded halloumi burger 🍔 which sounded like a good choice, but in reality the burger overall came out a bit dry 🙅🏽‍♂️. Presentation wasn't anything to cheer about either. I then asked for some ketchup and mustard, the first squirt of mustard that came out was basically water (maybe I should have shaken the bottle first?) which tells me it's been sitting for quite a while. The ketchup comes in this ridiculous squeezy bottle in the shape of a tomato 🍅 a bit inconvenient to get the ketchup out, and the ketchup also looked very cheap too 🤢.

Overall I think for the price you're paying I'd have expected the food to be a lot better. The have a wide ranging menu, which in some respects is good because you have a lot of options, but on the downside I feel they might be spreading themselves thin a bit and could probably do with doing a smaller menu really well.. This place has potential, just needs up their...

This place is all style and no substance. The service we received was abysmal. We sat at a table that hadn’t been cleared and proceeded to order hot chocolate, coffee and cake. After what seemed like an eternity the drinks arrived. When my partner told the staff member that we had also ordered cake she said it would come separately. She then left without clearing the table. I then noticed that there was no spoon with my coffee meaning I was unable to add sugar. My partner got up and spoke to a staff member who then brought spoons. However, she made no attempt to clear the table until she was asked to. She didn’t wipe the table and left behind what looked like two tea bag tags.The cake followed shortly and to be fair it was good, as was the coffee and hot chocolate. We sat on a leather sofa, when my partner moved one of the seat cushions to make himself more comfortable we were shocked to see an alarming quantity of crumbs beneath it. I think it probable that no one had ever cleaned under the cushions. I would suggest that management and waiting staff should be given further training and cleaning should be more rigorous and...