Gusto Italiano Reviews

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Danny - 3rd September 2008

Rating: (Not rated - review added before star ratings introduced.)

Despite the fact the food looked fantastic, I think the service and manners of the Italian lady who runs the place leaves much to be desired. On both of the two occasions that I have visited this Italian I have had a very poor experience.

The first time I was looking for a quick bite. I love Italian food so unwittingly I walked into the restaurant with a Starbucks coffee in my hand. My brother was ordering and I tried my best not to have the cup on show as I had seen the place served coffee. The lady owner came directly over to me and told me "not to bring this cup into her restaurant again". I was visually embarrassed, which led to me getting up to leave before my brother had received his order. She blocked the doorway so she could have her say with me on the way out as well, to which I responded that she had just alienated a paying customer. My brother took this all as her having a joke, so on his advice we went to the same place a month later.

The Italian lady was serving and instantly recognised me. She came over and removed the food that I had pointed at from the hot counter and put it in the back. When I came to order she said that she had none of the food that I was after and offered an alternative to which I said that would be fine. Her manner and attitude was that of someone trying to be awkward. When I got to the till to pay for the food she came to the till girl and told her that only 1 portion of lasagne was available (which my brother had asked for).

I had waited in a queue and discussed my order, and had given this place a second chance after they had embarrassed me the first time. I understand that this is an Italian food establishment, however they should be aware that British customers expect manners, or they do what I did today and went to eat somewhere else. She has done a great job of faking it for reviewers here and for the award they have on show in the restaurant, in my opinion. If you cant have some manners for your customers then they will turn on you and spread the word about how you treat people (i.e. 1 happy customer may tell 1 friend, an unhappy customer will tell at least 10). If you don't care about people's attitude when your giving them money then this is the place for you, however if you like polite service and a bit of respect go to somewhere that has customer service standards like Starbucks or Pizza Hut.