Amalfi White Wedding & Event Venue — Restaurant in South Derbyshire

I have been in two minds whether to leave a review or not, but our friends with whom we dined on Saturday evening left fair review of our dining experience and were asked by the restaurant owner to remove it with the justification that it could hurt their business.

I think this the wrong response to a truly dire dining experience. The Amalfi management really ought to put the effort into making an enjoyable dining experience that meets a customer’s expectation. If it is delighting, then Amalfi can expect a glowing review. If mediocre, then I probably wouldn’t bother writing any review. But when it was as bad as Saturday, it is the duty of customers to share our experience to make the Google Review website an true and honest knowledge base from which people can make a reliably informed decision.

As such, I feel compelled to Inform those seeking to dine in Melbourne, that our experience was by some margin, the most awful dining experience in my significant experience.

We were simply a table of four adults; table was booked for 7:15 pm. Food took way too long To arrive. After a couple of enquiries with staff as to its whereabouts, at 8:55, 1h 30 after ordering, the manager was asked and he told us that the food was being plated up as we speak and would be with us in 5 minutes. 15 minutes later, still no food. 3 of 4 meals arrived around 9:15. Mine was Dover sole. I have never eaten biltung fish before, but if I had, then I am pretty sure it would have confirmed that what I was served at Amalfi last weekend was a form of dehydrated fish protein, with the texture of leather. The fish knife was of no use here; scissors or a scalpel would have been more appropriate. I found it inedible and whilst upon closer inspection, the sole server did in fact have the aroma of fish, I still wasn’t completely convinced that I wasn’t served a shoe sole by some unfortunate error. So back to the kitchen my dish went, along with one of the other three meals received (still awaiting meal four).

A little while later my meal returned. This time it was smothered in a sauce. Originally, the sauce accompanied the fish in a small jug and that was best, as the non-describe cornflour based sauce did not go with such a delicate fish. So this second attempt at delivering the fish, now swimming in a nut brown bechamel, raised suspicion that the biltung fish had undergone a restaurant rehydration process. However, closer inspection revealed that some of the scars from previous attempts to separate the biltung flesh from the carcass were not present on this plate of enrobed fish. So, using the knife to derobe the sole of its bechamel blanket. I tasted the fish, still dripping in sauce and the subtle delicate flavour of the supreme Dover sole was subdued, ruined if you would. It was really very unappetising. I ate a few fried new potatoes from the side bowl to keep hunger at bay, but sadly the dish was unredeemable and lay awaiting collection. The time now, approaching 10pm and whilst three of us received plates of something, the fourth person’s food arrived. This looked shocking, and without the chicken. Another trip back to the kitchen, and 10 minutes later Three pieces of chicken placed on the same plate of pasta (our friend’s part nibbled she’ll clearly visible where she left it). Never before have we we dined out with friends, only to dine on our meals at different times of the evening!

Thankfully, the staff recognised that the food and service fell so far below acceptable, that they waived the drinks and food bill entirely.

In summary, if you would like the Fawlty Towers dining experience, then Amalfi White could be just the...

Where do I start?

We planned the night as a birthday meal, a group of 7 with high hopes considering the hype surrounding the place. Food looks great and so does the venue, thought it would be a great night… quite the juxtaposition.

Firstly, once drinks and food had been ordered we were waiting one hour for food, albeit we had ordered the chateaubriand (takes more time, understandable) once food had arrived it looked okay but nothing special, especially considering the price. The chateau platter itself is not served traditionally and only has half the filet itself (five measly pieces), we had asked for medium-rare but it was rare, the steak tasted as good as a £5 Tesco value steak, and was cold upon serving. Now for the best part, the lobster… completely inedible, smelt of bleach or some form of plastic and was revolting. In exchange we had lobster… swapped for tempura shrimp…lobster, for shrimp. The peppercorn sauce was incredibly overpowering and the portion of chips was no larger than a medium from McDonald’s (which realistically would have been better). The problem being is that the platter is £100. You would expect for that money that the chefs would be able to make a decent meal, I think that’s a fair assessment but it appears that this time they were out of their depth. Livid is the expression best suited to how we felt.

The other meals were sub-par with the exception of the salmon… and if you have any cooking experience then that’s all that needs to be said. Another steak was rare when medium rare was requested.

To top it off we had requested a birthday gesture to which after following up on twice, never happened. In conclusion this place on our visit had as much flavour and excitement as a trench diggers left flip-flop and that’s being courteous.

I would hope this is a one-off as many restaurants in the surrounding area are of much higher esteem for less of the price. Apart from the waitress no manager came to apologise, as most managers cower behind the young staff in places like this anyway.

In conclusion, would rather have a Tesco meal deal than eat at this establishment again.

To the young staff, I apologise that you were caught in the cross fire of negligence from your colleagues, you guys handled the situation in a professional conduct which was appreciated. After all the trouble £50 was knocked off the bill, which was still far too little but at that time I was hungry and wanted to leave.

Won’t be returning and wouldn’t be payed to do so. To the staff that oversee the operation, the bulls head in Repton and wine house in Lichfield (+ many more in the surrounding area) are an absolute paramount above in quality for a lower price, I suggest you should take a note from their books.

Photo attached of what £100 will get you. (It’s...

I haven't had a dining experience that compares to dining at Amalfi White, and I like to eat out.

Often, I attend restaurants and have an expectation to be let down by something. Be it poor service, rude waiter, mediocre food... I expected no different from Amalfi White. I was LOOKING for something to nitpick.

First off, here's what I ordered: Marinated Sicilian olives, fresh chilli, garlic, rosemary Starter: Duck liver and apricot parfait, blackberry reduction, berry jelly, lamb's leaf and rocket salad, mini brioche and Himalayan salt butter Main: Roasted pork medallions, glazed fondant potato, Romanesco florets, compressed apples, crispy belly, pork popcorn and cider reduction Dessert: Honey and lemon thyme roasted figs, Mirabelle plum jelly, brandy steeped cranberry sponge with cinnamon ice cream

The olives were straight forward, hard to go wrong. The starter however, was exquisite. A masterclass in decadence that I haven't experienced before, even from Michelin star restaurants. The flavours and textures were amazing, but moreso than this, the presentation was beautiful with the dish being so well put together I felt bad "digging in". I must admit, this was my favourite course. I can't say it any more; I've never tasted anything quite as wonderful as this.

The main came out and that was wonderful. The meat was tender, with minimum effort required to cut at the pork and it tasted brilliant. The crackling was a pleasant addition and broke up the textures of the dish beautifully. It certainly delivered as a great follow up to the starter, with it being equally as beautifully presented and tasting fantastic.

The desert was okay. I wasn't too impressed by the fig itself, it was more bitter than sweet, but the cinnamon ice cream and the cranberry sponge beneath the fig were great additions to the dish and made up for the fig itself. Overall, I still enjoyed this.

Edit: I was so impressed by the food it's all I talked about. This has unfortunately lead for me to neglect speaking about the staff. The staff here were welcoming with the front reception area covered by three people, and one of them took us to our table. Throughout the meal, staff were attentive of our requirements, with offers of drink refills close to our glasses being empty. Everyone was really nice. The restaurant should be proud of their staff.

So there you have it. I highly recommend dining at Amalfi White at least once if you can. I plan on reserving this for special occasions for me...