Red Hot Mamma Stratford-upon-Avon — Restaurant in Stratford-on-Avon

⚠️Dangerous for allergy sufferers/vegans Highly ignorant.⚠️

Visited over the weekend. Got told there were vegan options though unclear on menu so trusted them as it's a chain.

Told the starters -Olives Hummus and foccaia Aranchi balls

Were all vegan, I questioned aranchi as normally stuffed with cheese but reassured they only sprinkle on top which can be left off.

Ordered a starter and pizza.

What seemed to be the manager came over after ordering and said the serve was wrong and there isn't a single starter you can have vegan not even Olives and aranchi are stuffed with dairy. -frustrating if she hadn't clocked it but accepted it and said okay just pizza.

Then real cheese came out. I instantly said it's dairy. She insisted it's not. So I pulled at it and it stretched like an elastic band tight. I actually laughed thinking she would understand it isn't physically possible for vegan cheese to do that and its general even and mottled brown bubbled with the classic cheese look vegans would know a mile off.

I asked for a photo of the cheese and said (very politely as she was definitely not vegan so wouldnt understand really) unless science in America has released a plant lab created synthetic casein based cheese and they are the first in the UK to stock it then its not vegan.

She came back saying 'sheese' is the brand

-we all know sheese!!!

🫠I'm 9 years vegan and bless sheese being their as an OG but I have my own pizza oven as pizzas weren't in stores when I first went vegan.

I explained I use that as a staple cheese and promised her they are wrong. I also explained the science behind the stretch and explained how sheese would structurally pull at best (basically it will gloopy 1cm pull at most).

She said I was wrong the chef insisted he got it from the 'vegan drawer'

I said...well then someone put dairy cheese is in the vegan drawer. She basically refused to accept this and said she can't help if I don't believe her but the chef has no reason to lie.

Well I said someone's going to get seriously ill. She offered to make fresh...with the same cheese as it is vegan 🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠

I would like to say its like someone handing you back the wrong child or pet and gaslighting something so obviously wrong as you use the ingredient so routinely.

You just know and its unreal they were not respecting it was dairy and I said I wanted to just leave then as I dont trust them whatsoever and she was pushing to make it again or one without cheese.

Horrendous dangerous service I actually had to raise my voice to say to stop circling I'm wrong and to let me leave as she was basically forcing me to accept it, infront of the whole restaurant which was also awful and I'd said I just want to leave then calmly twice as they don't know what they are doing and she was ignoring it saying make it again.

She told me 'mozzarella is meant to stretch' after I said it doesn't stretch 10cm and feel squeaky it was so rubbery. - not bloody VEGAN CHEESE!

I didn't have my phone and regret not taking photos or even a sample to lab test it to report them.

If you have allergies please keep a wide...

I recently visited this restaurant, and unfortunately, my experience was far from pleasant. Upon arrival, there was no greeting from the staff, and we were left waiting downstairs for several minutes. After a while, we made our way upstairs on our own, which felt a bit odd. Once upstairs, the manager asked us to wait briefly as she was on the phone, but another waiter eventually seated us.

The discomfort continued throughout the ordering process, as we overheard the manager and another staff member speaking quite negatively about a trainee. Their conversation was filled with condescending remarks as they reminded the trainee of his duties. It felt unprofessional and awkward, especially since we were the only customers there, and everything was clearly audible. I felt it was inappropriate to treat an employee this way in front of customers, and it definitely impacted the atmosphere.

When my pizza arrived, I was disappointed to find that the underside was soggy and undercooked, practically soaked through. I raised this with the waiter, who then brought the manager over. Instead of addressing my concerns, the manager dismissed them by claiming that this was how pizzas are traditionally cooked in Naples. While I understand that Neapolitan pizzas can have a softer, juicier center, the pizza was simply inedible due to being sodden wet. I felt that my complaint was brushed off, and that the manager was implying my dissatisfaction was a personal issue, rather than taking it seriously.

Eventually, the pizza was removed from the bill, and we were offered complimentary sweet treats as a gesture of goodwill. However, the overall experience left me feeling that my concerns were not genuinely addressed. I understand that sometimes things go wrong, but the lack of professionalism, poor communication, and dismissive attitude left...

On a brief trip to Stratford, we had a hankering for pizza. The first place close to our hotel had a rowdy one-man band, so we walked on to Red Hot Mamma. From the outside it looked very nondescript. Similarly, the downstairs "takeout" area was deserted. We were asked if had a booking... alas, no. No worries, they found us a table, and we climbed the stairs...

What greeted us upstairs was mind-blowing. Bright decor, dominated by swathes of red and mirrors on the ceiling. You cannot help but giggle at the comical absurdity of it all, it works so well! Also, happy people enjoying delicious food with friends and family.

Super-friendly staff, delicious pizzas, decent desserts, well-priced. Also worth mentioning, the acoustics are really good - even with a full room buzzing with chat, it was still possible to hear each other. The only downer was a bit of a nasty decaf coffee, but rather minor in the grand scheme of things.

Homage to Diego Maradona (legend at Napoli for many years) abounds - on the staff t-shirts and our box of leftovers. Nice!

When we eventually left (almost reluctantly), the place was still buzzing. The place we had considered originally, was shut for the night.

If you're going to Stratford, plan ahead, book a table at Red Hot Mamma. You won't be...