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 have dessert.