3. Gino's Italian Restaurant

Good food but diners packed in like sardines. Too many smokers & no option of no smoking area. Despite booking 2 wks in advance still had to wait half hour for our mini table!

When booking I was assured that our evening would be special. It was- but not in a positive way. Despite having booked over four weeks ago, our table did not appear for 40 minutes after arrival. The place was completely packed- and we got the feeling that making money was far more important than good customer service. The service we received was awful- no member of staff smiled once during the 3 hours we were there, not once did we hear a please or thankyou, or any enquiry about the meal. When our table was finally ready Mario just pointed to the table-but didn't speak. One starter out of six had to be asked for a second time, as it had been forgtten. Two main courses arrived out of six and then ten minutes later someone appeared to remove them,saying there had been a mistake- but not apologising or saying what. The six meals then arrived 15 minutes later- and we had to ask what the problem had been, as none was offered yet again. Apparently the meals were meant for another table. No apology was forthcoming yet again. One of our party had started to nibble his main course before it was removed, (as we were not aware it was meant for someone else!) so I sincerely hope it wasn't taken straight to someone else. Our wine was brought to the table- and opened, but no offer made to taste it first, or any offer to pour it. Food was just plonked on the table in a very perfunctory manner. We saw red wine spilt all over another table-again with no apology. Whilst some of the food was fine and some of quite good, much of it was not, and all of certainly did not live up to the review your website gives it. The portions were far too big- a case of quantity over quality I'm afraid. Whilst I appreciate how difficult it is to keep things at a high standard when you are so busy, this is all the more reason to restrict cover numbers to a manageable amount. However busy you are, there is no excuse for sloppy and curt/unfriendly service. I had booked this restaurant for a special occasion on the strength of your review- and all of our party of six- seasoned restaurant goers were very disappointed. I would not go again and would certainly not recommend it to anyone- and you will be able to tell how annoyed I am by this review!