Mister and Missus Eats Logging On.
Yesterday we had tickets to the theatre, so on a whim, we
chose an Italian restaurant not far from the show. This was ‘A Little Taste of
Italy Ristorante Teatro’. We chose this based on an offer that appeared on 5pm,
which is a discount site that is really handy for deals on eating out. It was
one of the first ones that came up and the menu looked quite nice. (See link
below for menu.)
A Little Taste of Italy Ristorante Teatro is a small Italian
restaurant, just round the corner from the King’s Theatre, in between
Sauchiehall Street and Bath Street, in Glasgow. The restaurant is said to hold
60 people with a free private function room available.
When we arrived outside, it was a cute little bistro style Italian,
that was situated downstairs. We were looking at the menu and realised that the
deal that was on 5pm, wasn’t actually that good of a deal after we saw the
other ones that were advertised. We had a voucher for a 2 course pre theatre
meal, including a bottle of wine per couple for £16.95pp, whereas outside they
were advertising the same deal for £12.95pp. This seemed a little bit odd, but
we went inside anyway and abandoned the 5pm voucher. To confuse things a little
more, we actually ended up going for a 3 course pre theatre meal with tea,
coffee and champagne cocktails for £19.95pp as Missus doesn’t drink wine, and
we were both starvin’ marvin’ by the time we got there so 3 courses sounded perfect.
So, what did Mister think?
I never like going into a restaurant when we are the first people
there, but I guess that’s not the owner’s fault. It’s just the feeling of being
watched, and having the waiters being over involved and too nice. I don’t know how I feel about places that are
downstairs and not being able to look out of the windows, for lack of a better
word it’s a concern for me. But once we got in and sat down the lights were
dimmed and the music was turned up, there was a nicer vibe to it. I didn’t like
getting served by what looks to be a manager or owner, as I think they try too
hard. But onto the food…
The menu was quite good, a lot of choices, but for starters
I ordered the Pate Della Casa (Chicken Liver Pate, Toasted Bread, Mango Chutney
and Rocket Salad). I know it’s only Pate but it arrived quickly, which was
great. It’s quite hard to get Pate wrong, so I don’t have many faults to say
except there could have been better bread to pate ratio, as the last few bites
were just pate with a hint of bread. I can’t recall ever having Mango Chutney
with Pate before, but I would have it again if it tasted as good as it did then.
Excluding the bread portion, it was a very nice starter.
Again, for my main, I went for a simple dish of Spaghetti
Carbonara (Pancetta and fresh cream). I only have two faults with the main, and
that’s that the portion was a little small for me, and that it might have been
nice to have had the bacon cooked through the pasta instead of thrown on top at
the end. The carbonara was cooked well
and the sauce was lovely and creamy – if the portion was a little bigger, this
would have been a perfect main.
Before I forget… when we first arrived at the restaurant, we
got an appetiser of bread, flavoured oil and olives. It didn’t go down too
well, I’d have preferred some balsamic vinegar instead of the oil, and I don’t
like olives.
Onto the dessert! I ordered the Rich Italian Chocolate Pot
with Amaretti, not being a lover of coffee I was disappointed that the dessert
was actually coffee flavoured. I was expecting a chocolate mousse pot, and
ended up being a sort of.. unset, gloopy, coffee flavoured chocolate syrup. Instead
of the one, tiny amaretti biscuit, it would’ve been far nice if it’d been
crushed and sprinkled on top.
Half way through the main course, a man walked in with a
guitar. I genuinely just thought it was a customer with a guitar, until he sat
down and started to tune it in the seat
opposite us. If anyone has heard a guitarist tuning up, this isn’t a pleasant
sound! (The guitarist in me was shouting.. buy some nylon strings!!!). It was
very off putting and a very uneasy feeling, whilst you’ve got the Italian opera
songs playing from the speaker in one ear and the tuning guitar man in the
other. Once he got warmed up, and actually started playing though, he was quite
good. Although, it was still a little awkward, and I’d have preferred it if he’d
have been on the other side of the room.
The price was too expensive for what we actually got. I
wouldn’t mind paying that price we paid (£56.61) for the same meal, if it was a
bit better. It annoys me when places automatically add on a service charge,
especially when they don’t deserve it (carrying on reading Missus’ experience to
find out why..).
Here’s my 5 point sum up:
- Too small
- Too expensive for what we actually got
- Awkward atmosphere
- Food tasted nice
- Wouldn’t go back
Here’s what Missus thought:
I thought the restaurant was so adorable when we first went
in. Tables dotted around the room, soft Italian music playing, and when we
first sat down at the table, the lights were dimmed. We were the first people
there, which was a little off putting, as I couldn’t help thinking.. well, it’s
a nice enough place, why isn’t it packed? We were given the menus, and after sussing
out which menu we were going to choose from the 4 (?!) we were given, we ordered. After,
another couple came in, and even though were must have been roughly 30 other
tables free, they were sat within touching distance of us. The lady asked to be
moved as it was too cramped with no privacy, and the manager said that no other
tables were set up, but he went and sorted that and they were moved. I excused
myself from the table and went to find the bathroom, only to be met with an
absolutely tiny space with a toilet that was filthy. This had already set the
mood of the night for me, but I put it to the back of my mind. We also heard a
lot of shouting coming from the kitchen in between ordering our meals.
For starter, I ordered the Uovo Su Pane (Poached egg, parma
ham, dolcelatte cheese on garlic bread). The presentation was really nice, and
was surrounded by a rocket salad and some sort of sauce around the plate (later
realising that this must have been the Dolcelatte cheese, as that was nowhere
else..). The poached egg was beautifully cooked, as soon as I cut into it the
yolk covered the bread – lovely. The taste was really nice, a light saltiness
from the ‘parma ham’, which actually was a thin gammon slice. The bread was
really crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside, clearly homemade – but not
garlic bread, which I’m actually relieved as I don’t know how that would have
tasted, but if it said it was there, it should have been. But overall, a really
nice starter, I really enjoyed it.
I ordered the Pollo Alla Pepe (Breast of Chicken with Black
Pepper, Brandy, Fresh Cream, Chicken Stock, Demi Glace). The main thing that
really annoyed me to start off with, was the fact that that is all it was. Two
halved chicken breasts, in a black pepper corn sauce. No sides, no salad, no
potatoes. I had ordered a side of chips already, thankfully, but I was really disappointed
– why would you serve that as a main with not even a simple salad to accompany
it? After looking at the menu online, it does say that it should come with a ‘Piccolo
Mash’, but again, it was not there. But to review the food that I did actually
get, it was an unseasoned chicken breast, with a cream sauce over the top. The
black pepper corns weren’t crushed enough, so in one bite it would be all
peppery, and the next bite there would be none. Then the unthinkable happened..
I found a hair on my plate. It was a short black hair, when both myself and
Mister have fairly long hair. I am really touchy over the hygiene in my food,
and I’m easily put off, and that just made me feel really ill so I stopped
eating it. When the waitress came over, she apologised and said that they would
provide a free liquor for the both of us. This again annoyed me, because I don’t
like liquor’s and I hadn’t been asked if I did – so it was abit of a waste.
Very disappointed at the main.
The dessert I got was the same as Mister, a Rich Italian
Chocolate Pot with Amaretti. At this point, I just wanted to leave but I tried
it anyway. It was okay, despite it clearly being a coffee based dessert which
it didn’t state – and they had put so much icing sugar on top of the dessert
that it had made the chocolate lumpy. This was served which a ‘champagne cocktail’,
which was just a glass of champagne. I gave this to Mister, and they also brought
over our two free Bailey’s, (notice how they didn’t offer what kind of liquor
it was that we got free), and I again gave this to Mister. It did make me feel
better however, that the man across from us also complained about his starter,
the Calamari was apparently rubbery and disgusting – they replaced that for
him.
All the food came out very fast, which whilst good, it makes
me wonder whether it had been sitting around in the kitchen all day – and it
makes it hard to believe that the meals are all made fresh. The actual meal
came to £51.60, but after the service charge it was £56.61, and if we had have
been paying with cash, I would have just left the £51.60 as I really don’t
think they deserve any sort of tip after the service they provided. The meal
was definitely too expensive for what we paid, we could have had a Nandos, and
I would have thoroughly enjoyed myself more.
My five point sum up:
- Unhygienic
- Bland food
- No customer service
- Too expensive
- Would not go again
What’s your thoughts if you’ve ever been here?
Thanks for reading, and remember… Enjoy your meal
Mister and Missus Eats x
If you have any reccomendations, please comment below or email us at mister.missus.eats@gmail.com!
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