Valentinos Restaurant Reviews

I decided to give Valentino a try as we happened to be in the area for a few days. Friends had told us that they do a light lunch menu at a reasonable price. When we got there we were shown to a window seat and given a menu by the waiter. By the way he was definitely Italian! We ordered drinks. The restaurant started to fill up by 1pm and it was really beginning to get busy. I thought we would have slow service but I was wrong. My husband ordered the salmon and eggs and I had the bruschetta for starters and we both opted for the chicken for our main dish from the light lunch menu. Our starters arrived, nicely presented and fresh too. The bruschetta was delicious and I could have eaten more! My partner equally enjoyed his salmon and eggs. The main courses were equally as good and well worth every penny. We decided to have dessert even though we were both full. I had the tiramisu and my partner had the pears in red wine. We were told that both desserts had been made fresh and not been bought in. In all, we had a good light lunch and I would recommend it to anyone wondering where to go for a light lunch. Next time I will try the a la carte.

I went to Valentino for the Valentine’s special on Saturday. Although I understand some of the pitfalls of the set menu dining on special occasions, my previous experience of Valentino’s meant that I expected more. I was in fact very disappointed, from start to finish we felt like we were being rushed, the standard and presentation of the food did not reflect the price charged and the service also fell below expectations. The table behind us complained vociferously and after being told they could not see the manager as requested they stormed out. On leaving the restaurant feeling slightly conned we walked past the local Chinese takeaway and Pizza Express wondering if our money would have been better spent elsewhere.

Awful! I would never eat there again and just had the misfortune of spending Valentine’s night at this excuse for an Italian restaurant. Medallions of fillet steak turned out to be an inexpensive beef casserole. Dessert served on nasty blue glass plates looked like it had fallen on the floor and then scooped onto the plate. No bread or olives served on the table and no water offered, just the wine list. Italian staff? No way! On asking to speak to the manager, we were told he was 'busy' in the kitchen, that’s a coincidence! We didn’t pay for the set meal, although we had paid a deposit, and I wouldn’t have expected anyone else to. It’s despicable that they are charging extortionate prices for zero standard food.

The Italian members of staff are very good and so is the food. This is a great restaurant and everything is good and lovely. I will go back there again.

I regularly visit Valentino because the food, staff and the surroundings are authentic. I've been to Italy many times and I can say that this place has a truly Italian feel.