Friday night i booked a table for myself and 8 work colleges at Carluccios on Greek Street in Leeds. Entering the restaurant there is a lovely ambiance created by the little Italian shop in the entrance selling a selection of wines, pasta sauces, oils, vinegar's and chocolates. The restaurant has clean modern decor creates a realistic feel of an Italian cafe. Unfortunately after this it was all down hill.
Sitting down at our table caused some confusion i had booked the table for 9 people, however there was only 4 small tables pushed together (creating what we thought was 8 spaces), there was one spare table next to us so me and my friend pulled this across. ( we was sat along a back wall in a kind of corner so there was just our party and the one single table there anyways). Within seconds of moving the table the waiter swooned over to ask for the table back. I was quick to point out i had booked for 9 people, when he explained the back row was set for 5 people (the back row was a booth style seat so it was hard to tell). When i asked why should 5 of the party have to squash up with little room he simply walked of.
When ordering the food the waiter was just as rude, when my friend asked if she could add a portion of chips to her meal instead of the side salad his response was "this establishment does not serve chips"
I ordered:
To start: Focaccia Home-baked Ligurian bread made with extra virgin olive oil, with balsamic vinegar for dipping. £1.95
Main Course: Tortelloni Di Cervo Handmade fresh tortelloni filled with wine braised venison £9.35
The focaccia was very large and i shared it with friends, when ordering what is basically bread and oil you usually know what to expect. The bread was baked well and i was given a very good sized portion however there was a lot of salt on top of the bread what made it far too salty to eat and was a real shame.
The tortelloni again was very disappointing. This was cooked very well and the venison filling was delicious. However the dish was smothered in a very rich buttery sauce what over powered the whole dish. It was as thought a lot of effort had been put into creating the pasta and the filling only to find no one could be bothered to make a sauce. Unfortunately i was unable to finish my meal due to the over powering sauce (aka lots of butter).
Overall the restaurant itself, has a lovely feel to it and the shop in the entrance is very cute and unique and i'v not seen anything similar. However unfortunately the rude waiter and disappointing food means i will not be returning any time soon.
Sammie