La Vita Spuntini — Restaurant in Scotland

Visited last night for dinner, having eaten at the restaurant many times before. My friends and I always book la vita for birthday dinners, but won't be ever again sadly. My friend booked the table 3 weeks in advance, requesting a table upstairs and saying it was for a special occasion. We weren't seated upstairs for a start but not the end of the world.

We arrived at 4.30pm, our order wasn't taken until after 5.15pm. Service was very slow. When the starters arrived, we asked for chilli oil, which we had to ask for again about 10 minutes later as it never came. One person ordered a drink and 20 minutes later, had to ask for it again as it never came. Chips with main course were cold, we had to send them back and ask for them to be hot. Not one person came to ask how our meal was at any point.

We had great difficulty flagging down staff who were clearly overwhelmed by how busy the restaurant was. When our main course plates were cleared, we were not asked if we wanted dessert or more drinks, despite having empty glasses. We finally managed to catch someone's attention just before 7pm to ask to order dessert. The man who looked over gestured to us asking if we wanted the bill. My friend picked up the drinks menu and said we want to order drinks and dessert. We were then told, rudely, that there was no time for dessert and they need the table back for 7pm.

We advised that had we been served faster at the start, or had someone asked earlier if we wanted dessert, that wouldn't have been a problem, however we weren't given the opportunity. The waiter said the tables are only for 2 hours and said we could have quick, cold dessert from the fridge if we really wanted but needed to be quick. We told him that we said on the booking it was a 30th birthday celebration and we wanted dessert and to enjoy some cocktails. He said that he was sure everyone was there for occasions too. Appalled at the attitude, we asked for the bill.

After we received the bill, the waiter came back and said we could have longer. By this point, it was too little too late and we left.

If you need people out in 2 hours, you really need to serve them quickly enough which allows them to enjoy a full meal within that time. It was a very disappointing end and we felt the staff were rude and were essentially kicking us out before giving us the opportunity to...

I recently visited here for the first time since February 2020, so right before Covid. As per the last time, the layout was the same, the decor is nice and the staff are friendly and very attentive. In fact, by and large, over the years I've visited, the staff have always been excellent.

We always opt for the tasting menu for the sheer variety of options.

I always choose the cheese and rice arancini, which were always excellent. This time, sadly, they were very bland tasting, which was disappointing. The mozzarella fries were also terrible. Thankfully it was only a small portion, but the mozzarella was like solid rubber. The tomato and potatoes were also very bland. That being said, apparently the lasagna and the mussels were still top rated, as pointed out by others' in our party. The most recent menus online state the mussels are 50p extra, but they are actually £1 extra, but the quality is superb, so definitely worth the price. The price of the tasting menu has, understandably, risen in cost. I do feel the drinks are too expensive at 3.30 for a small soft drink, or £4.40 for a pint soft drink (which is a better buy). The sprite was flat and tasted odd, so I suspect it wasn't from a fresh can or bottle.

All told, although we were a bit disappointed, we will still be back, as there is alot of variety and further food options to try. Hopefully next time I won't be seated by the utensil cupboard, where it felt like every time they had to take an item from the cupboard, they banged my chair (it felt like someone kicking your chair whilst watching a film in the cinema). We've been frequent patron's since not long after it opened (literally often weekly visits) and they seem to hire some of the best restaurant staff in their waiters and waitresses respectively.

I definitely recommend this establishment and their tasting menu is definitely...

If I could give this place less than one star I would. Attended there last night for my mothers birthday, never got seated until after our reservation time to which we were take upstairs. Our “table” was three tables at different heights all rammed together with very little room, so little that my sister had to stand on chairs to get in to the seating at the back. We asked if we could be moved and told no, that’s all we had. Then our drink order was taken to which I was charged £4.40 for a soda water and lime, this in itself is scandalous! We were rushed to order our food which we did and when they came the food was mediocre at best. No one asked if we would like any more drinks and we were left completely unattended. After the starters were taken we were again left for a ridiculous amount of time with no food, no offer of more drinks and no customer service. We had been waiting for an hour and a half when I spoke to a waiter who was unbelievably rude and condescending. We then decided to leave, at this point we were approached by the manager who asked why we were leaving, he asked if we could stay and eat as our food was just coming (he seemed more interested in the food being wasted) to which I told him no, our night was ruined and we would rather leave. He proceeded to charge us for every item we had eaten and drank, no offer of anything to make up for what can only be described as shambolic service. We then paid and left. I will never come to this establishment again and I will be informing all friends and family not to go either as out night was a horrendous experience. Avoid...