Valvona & Crolla Vincaffè

Does saying you have a List card mean you get a poor table? Went here the other night with a friend to have a really good natter. The restaurant was nearly empty, but we got sat next to a table set for 6. The first person to arrive for that table was a baby in a stroller, which was placed right next to our table. The baby couldn't help it, but - unsurprisingly as it was now after 8pm - he started getting noisy. We asked to be moved and got taken to the other side of the still empty restaurant to a gloomy table right by the wall.

I wouldn't go back here. The food was okay - nothing great, but their skill at reading what their customers might want was really poor.

Having always been impressed with VinCaffe in the past, I took my new List Card out for a spin there last Wednesday (10 June) and I have never left a restaurant feeling more disappointed.

Despite the restaurant being almost empty when we arrived, trying to get the waiting staff's attention was rather difficult and we had to ask twice for simple a drinks order (my wine turned up but my partner's Coca Cola was apparently beneath them). The starters were pleasant and filling but uninspiring, which is a relief as neither of us could finish our main courses. My partner was not displeased with his pasta dish, but commented that it tasted like it had been carved from a block of cheese; however, I found my chicken saltimbocca almost inedible. The chicken had been cooked to the texture of boot leather and had a slightly bitter taste and the cabbage that came with it was so drenched in grease that there was a pool half an inch deep covering the bottom of the bowl.

When this was brought to the attention of the waiter (when we finally got his attention), he did offer me a replacement or to take it off the bill. I opted for the latter, as we'd had the dishes for a good ten to fifteen minutes already and what I had eaten had turned my stomach somewhat.

For once, we didn't have dessert (which considering my other half is a sugar junkie, is very surprising).

I'll be thinking twice before going back, despite all my wonderfully postive previous experiences.

A lovely, light and airy space for lunch. I enjoyed the nod to Christmas with 'What a wonderful life' being projected on to a wall. The food was well presented, and the wild mushrooms in my handmade savoury pancakes were particularly good. The waiting staff were a little too efficient though, to the point of us feeling a little rushed. Taking my plate away when my friend was still eating seemed almost rude. Otherwise the staff were very pleasant, and the overall meal was good.