Castello Italia

We made a reservation for 06/08/2023, excited to try a new restaurant especially one with such good reviews but our experience was cut shortly very soon after food was delivered due to one particular member of management attitude, passive aggressive behaviour and due to her behaviour lead to uncomfortable atmosphere made us promptly leave the premises! Ordered Penne Arrabbiata to what was served was far from as described on the menu - a bland roasted vegetable Rigatoni pasta (not penne as advertised) which initially tasted like salt had contaminated it, mixed with the sauce as best I could to disguise the taste of salt and with hope would bring up some of the spice taste but no. Tried to eat the meal as best as I could but it was generally unpleasant and difficult to enjoy overall, a waiting staff member must have observed the struggle to eat the meal and asked if everything was ok, I said no not really and advised her of what was wrong, she in turn informed the female manager of the ground floor of my disappointment of the meal who then proceeded to aggressively and loud talk at us - without asking or listening to what was wrong and how this was a gluten free pasta (this was not advertised or asked for), how it should be cooked Al dente - again this was not the issue nor do I need a lesson in how pasta is cooked! The staff member then proceeded to rant how she tasted the pasta and in her option there was nothing wrong with it! Then proceeds to bring the chef out with no other reason than to look at the customers who have made this concern about the meal they have been served - again passive aggressive behaviours which are uncomfortable and unnecessary for any dining experience. Yes the meal was removed from the bill but this did not make up for this member of staff’s behaviour and attitude towards paying customers especially in-front of a young child!

Our waitress Emily was excellent and made our evening a very enjoyable experience. Three things of note, firstly we waited an hour between our starter and main course and then were given our dessert as our main plates were being lifted. The wait was not an issue initially as we were chatting however it did cause us to have to make changes to our travel arrangements. Secondly my husband is coeliac and his starter came with the bread at the side, when the main arrived I asked the waitress to confirm his meal was coeliac (not Emily) and she snatched it away before practically throwing it back down once confirmed. Finally we were on the very top floor were there was little Christmas decorations and was very loud, soft furnishings may have helped? That all said we did overall have a good evening