FRESCO — Restaurant in Oxford

Yesterday I had a truly unpleasant and frankly disgusting experience at Fresco restaurant in Oxford. When I tried my daughter’s pasta from the kids’ menu, I suddenly felt something hard in my mouth. When I pulled it out, it turned out to be a hard narrow piece about 2.5 cm long.

I didn’t call the waiter immediately as we were in shock and trying to process it, but when he came over to ask if everything was okay, I showed it to him. Instead of apologising, he immediately insisted that it was absolutely impossible and that he could almost swear nothing like that could be found in their dishes. He even said that if it had been from their pasta, it would have been covered in tomato sauce — to which I explained that it ended up in my mouth, and of course I had to pull it out and wipe it to see what it was.

So instead of showing concern, he practically implied that I was lying or had pulled that thing out of my pocket to get a free dish. Only when I asked if he genuinely thought we were lying did he finally mutter an apology — but by then, the damage was done.

Finding such an object in food is bad enough, but in a child’s meal it’s even more dangerous, as a child could easily swallow it. Our main dishes cost around £18 each and we also had a starter. If I wanted to cheat, I would hardly do so over a £6 kids’ pasta. A lesson learned: if you ever find a foreign object in your food, make sure to leave it covered in sauce, otherwise they might not believe you.

UPDATE: I want to reiterate that the object found in the dish was not hair. Yet, instead of addressing this serious safety issue, the owner responded with irrelevant statistics about the probability of who may shed hair, which is both unhelpful and unprofessional.

Their reply even suggested that I and other women with hair “should put our hair up” and eat without “bending over our plates.” No restaurant should be telling customers how to dress or how to eat. Their job is to ensure food safety and customer satisfaction, not to lecture us!!!

This unprofessional response only further highlights a lack of accountability and an attempt to shift blame away from the actual problem.

So, ladies with hair, and even men and kids — beware! And try eating without "bending over your dishes",...

Very disappointed. Firstly the food took over 1 hour 20 mins to come. One hour into this wait the waitress came over and said part of what we had ordered was finished in the kitchen and to order something else. But the most disappointing was that I called TWICE to request a dessert with candle as a surprise at the end of our dinner as we were celebrating a birthday and come to dinner especially for it. I even told the restaurant which restaurant i would like to order on the phone beforehand And it was all agreed upon. However after waiting over 1 hour before the food came, when we were done one of the waiters just came over and handed over the bill as it was closing time at 10, although I had booked the table for 8:30 and arrived perfectly on time and the food. So they did not bring over the dessert as I organised with them and requested. Very disappointed experience will not be coming again. I must add this was also on a Wednesday! There were a coupon of groups bookings and they were clearly prioritised. Never coming back and do not recommend especially if you’d like to bring someone for...

Initially, it was a nice restaurant with few customers, and everything seemed fine. However, as the place filled up, the team appeared to be overwhelmed. After ordering starters, main courses, and receiving the starters, the waitress asked twice if we wanted dessert, despite informing her that we were still waiting for our mains. The food looked great on the plate, but it lacked seasoning and tasted bland. We didn't receive the cheese with our pasta, which other guests received in their package. Moreover, no one bothered to check if we needed more drinks, even though I was eager to try your cocktails from the menu. The lack of attention from the staff was noticeable. No one asked if we enjoyed the meal or if everything was alright, showing little concern for the customers spending their money. If there had been more attentiveness, I assure you, I would have happily spent much more than £80, ordering desserts and several drinks. I give 3 stars as an encouragement for improvement. For a new restaurant in Oxford, addressing these issues can lead to a change in my...