so we headed to carluccios last nite in order to grab a bite to eat before heading to a play. ("duet for one" with juliet stevenson). mel was meeting me from work so i headed there pretty much on time to have a wee beer. i walked in and waited and waited and waited. not a good start. i eventually had to approach a member of staff myself to say i had a table booked. the surly waitress showed me to a table and then walked away without even asking if i wanted something to drink. pah!! nil points so far. however i had a quick look at the drinks menu and when she finally decided to haul her ass back to ask if i wanted a drink while waiting i scowled and ordered a peroni. mel turned up and we quickly checked out the winter menu and ordered the following. to start we shared an antipasto di verdure which contained marinated peppers, buffalo mozzarella, artichokes, olives, rocket, marinated aubergine and foccacia bread. all drizzled with olive oil. very very nice so no complaints there. next up was the mains: i opted for the lasagne and mel plumped for the penne with spinach balls and courgette. the lasagne was ok; it wasnt outstanding and kinda lacked oomff. mel said the same about her dish. i mean it wasnt bad but it didnt leave us ooh and ahhing. we ordered a bottle of the house red to go with meal after quaffing a glass of prosecco each with the starter. i also had a beer. total cost £54. would i go back? probably not. or i would maybe take somebody there who wasnt too bothered by what they ate.
A gastronomic journey into the unknown and beyond
Thursday, 12 March 2009
carluccios islington
so we headed to carluccios last nite in order to grab a bite to eat before heading to a play. ("duet for one" with juliet stevenson). mel was meeting me from work so i headed there pretty much on time to have a wee beer. i walked in and waited and waited and waited. not a good start. i eventually had to approach a member of staff myself to say i had a table booked. the surly waitress showed me to a table and then walked away without even asking if i wanted something to drink. pah!! nil points so far. however i had a quick look at the drinks menu and when she finally decided to haul her ass back to ask if i wanted a drink while waiting i scowled and ordered a peroni. mel turned up and we quickly checked out the winter menu and ordered the following. to start we shared an antipasto di verdure which contained marinated peppers, buffalo mozzarella, artichokes, olives, rocket, marinated aubergine and foccacia bread. all drizzled with olive oil. very very nice so no complaints there. next up was the mains: i opted for the lasagne and mel plumped for the penne with spinach balls and courgette. the lasagne was ok; it wasnt outstanding and kinda lacked oomff. mel said the same about her dish. i mean it wasnt bad but it didnt leave us ooh and ahhing. we ordered a bottle of the house red to go with meal after quaffing a glass of prosecco each with the starter. i also had a beer. total cost £54. would i go back? probably not. or i would maybe take somebody there who wasnt too bothered by what they ate.
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3 comments:
The service at Carluccio's, honestly!! I went to their branch at Heathrow T5. They took our order, brought our drinks and then we waited, and waited...it was only a croissant! Surely they must realise people have planes to catch?? Sorry! Enough ranting. Needless to say I'm not a big fan of Carluccio's either :)
Windsor branch ... The waitress, having taken our order, from me, later asked my husband : "Everything alright for you, sir ?" ... Which century are we in ? He suggested 'having a word' ... I had one myself ...
Service in Carluccios is frequently inattentive. I always feel like I'm craning my neck to get some attention, which rather takes away from a relaxing lunch. The food is variable - sometimes the Penne Giardiniera (the courgettes and spinach balls one) is super tasty with a solid hit of chilli, and sometimes it's just sloppy and stodgy.
Sadly, an example of a London chain that has simply overextended itself. Unfortunately I have to say the same for Gourmet Burger Kitchen - fab in W Hampstead, shockingly bad (burnt chips, overcooked burger) at the Brunswick Centre (WC1).
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