Per Tutti — Restaurant in St Albans

I drive here. 1 hour drive to eat at this place. My only favourite place for a comfort food but today I was heavily disappointed.

They loved my husband. As he did not complain about the cold l, dry pasta they served him. But they hated me for my honesty. I ordered penne Arabbiata. I used to always like it. But this time they served it to me iced cold. And I felt if I had come bang on at lunch time or bang on when dinner time starts which is at 6pm the food might have been given to Me fresh. But I showed up around 16:40. So it was not lunch time nor dinner time. I seriously felt they gave me Left overs from someone else’s plate. When I complained. They said I was wrong to say the pasta was cold. They asked me did I taste it. So they made me a liar. One waiter spied to the other waiter and then it reached the owner who made a big din out of it. An Italian restaurant with Albanian staff and chefs. Not to say Italians don’t have bad tempers. But I will Never come back here again. I told them to take that plate back. Don’t put it in the microwave. As it was already contaminated as I had tasted it. Throw it in the bin. Make me a new one. The owner brought the plate back to me and asked me was I sure? I was wrong that the pasta was cold. Feel the plate. Still denied. He was screaming on top of his voice that other tables who was their nationality starred funnily at me.

They humiliated me. He said the parmassan cheese dries up the pasta. I am not a fool. I came there many times. I always had parmassan cheese and was happy . He felt obligated was not happy to get me a new one. He asked me “Do u want more tomato sauce on it to make it better. I said no. The entire dish with the pasta was ice cold. But the second time he brought it I was sure they gave the same pasta back in spite of me proclaiming not to do that. And they had extra very very sour tomatoe on top of it. Over heated in microwave. Waitress came by to ask Me if I was enjoying it. I did not answer her. I asked for dessert as I was still starving since I did not eat the second helping of penne arribiatta. When I ordered the dessert I ordered a coke. Second Albanian waitress asked me if it was ok and I said No. She argued on the top of her voice that I had told her colleage I loved the second time they made it. I said thas not true. It was horrible. She said that the next time I go there. As they were familiar with me, they will try and see what they could do to compensate me. But guess what. This time around when they could not have charged me for that pasta, they made me pay for it. I told them to Knock off the service charge. They also made me pay £1.85 for a glass of hot...

Came for a bday doo. The restaurant was very busy and the majority of tables were full. One thing I will say is that it did feel slightly cramped at times, in that there were maybe too many tables for the floor space.

Soon after being seated, our drinks orders were taken at which point we were ready to order starters, however the waiter taking our drinks order only wanted our drinks order for some reason and would come right back for our starter order. The waiter was another 15 minutes before our starter and mains order was taken, by which point we were already pretty hungry. This gave me the instant impression that they were either understaffed or didn't have a kitchen big enough for the size of the resutrant as they had, thus having staggered orders. For the starters we only ordered focaccia, mozarella/balsamic garlic bread and olives which were delicious, couldn't really fault them.

The mains eventually arrived around half an hour after finishing our started which was longer than I would've liked. It was made up for by the fact that everyone enjoyed their food, myself included. I had a 'Diavola' pizza with extra anchovies and an egg. My only critism is that the pizza could've been crisped in the oven for longer and the egg cracked on slightly later as it was well overdone and the yolk was rubbery! A runny yolk is absolutely essential for that crust dipping action. Whoever from Per Tutti is reading this, please take this on board, or even better, ask diners how they would like their egg and crack it on accordingly!

Generally the service and food was good for an upmarket Italian restaurant, however, having visited Per Tutti when the establishment was much smaller, I feel like the quality has declined across the board as a result of the increased footprint and output. Hence my 4 star review. This review would have been 5 stars if posted 5 years ago.

One thing I will say is that they provided us with free ice cream with a candle for the 2 members of our group who's bday it was and also sang along with us which was a really lovely of them to do which made the evening complete for us.

If you want a good Italian dinner then by all means, I'd recommend a visit. But I'd recommend going at a less busy time for the...

Poor level of service and attitude of waiting staff, not met when entered, left waiting to be seated, gave up and left wandering through the restaurant to find our table where one of our party was sat. Requested recommendation from staff what would be best and chose that. Gambers were acceptable, but not great. The burrata was bland, watery and tasteless. We ordered 3 different pasta dishes ordered, again, were OK, not ming blowing and not much substance. Predominantly pasta with not much topping or filling. Complaint made regarding the main course of the chicken Saltimbocca, a child's handful of greens served with this dish was unacceptable. The first server didn't understand and had to get another server to assist, at which point the complaint was dismissed with a shrug and a "that's how it comes". Bearing in mind the complaint was regarding insufficient vegetables served with the meat, it boggles the mind, that additional couldn't be supplied as this is the least costly aspect of a meal makeup. The serving staff were brisk throughout the evening, clearing away our dishes without asking if we were finished. Leaning over our plates to distribute cheese instead of going round the table, a concerning food hygiene issue which the manager didn't seem to comprehend. We were instructed that we could have dessert but only if we were quick 5-10 minutes, as the table was due to be given to other customers. We raised these issues with the manager, informed we would be contacted by the general manager, why the manager couldn't resolve some issues there and then is beyond me. Strangely, despite being promised, no call from the restaurant or general manager. We wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone, frankly, there are many better within St Albans that we've gone to, do yourself a favour and try...