I was excited to come back once again to Da Vittorio and informing them that this was going to be a special occasion, I was expecting the team to knock it out of the park for us this time around. However, I was disappointed, which I was not imagining I would be in a million years at this restaurant. The usual smiley, attentive, theatre service which we had been accustomed to, was not here tonight, the dining room didn’t flow in the same way as usual. It was tense. I felt a little bit ashamed, because I invited two of our dearest friends who had not visited before, (who are Italian) and I told them beforehand that I hope it hadn’t lost its charm. Maybe I jinxed myself already?
The dining room warped into a profoundly serious service with the level not at its usual best standards. A couple of the younger staff were constantly interrupting us mid conversation, and the restaurant told us that they ‘forgot’ that we were celebrating. Don’t even try to hide it then! This disheartened me, but I kept my feelings under-wraps to find some solace in the cuisine. The restaurant told us that they were ‘waiting for us’ but it didn’t come across. Something felt off in the interaction. I did notice that the chef was not here, and all the other times he had been- Did this have anything to do with it? I saw a dark cloud shadowing over the place, what was going on? Come on Da Vittorio!
The pace of our dinner towards the end seemed to annoy everybody, which has never been an issue, they know we like to party, and this was supposed to be a special night, but it felt like all patience was lost and they didn’t want us taking our time towards the end- Ironic because the dishes themselves took ages to reach us generally, the pace in the kitchen slower than usual. We did not have our nice tea prepared for us at the end of the dessert, we were rushed out in a hurry, basically code for, you have been here too long, and you must leave now. So much for our special celebratory night… The pannetone was pathetic, a small slab without any of the recognisable condiments offered, and the whole magic with the ferris wheel was not the same at all like the previous visits. Honestly, I was quite sad because this is one of my favourite restaurants. I go back to one especially important word- ‘Consistency.’
I have not even reached talking about the food yet, but do I want to? We had some new dishes mixed with some old classics which we have eaten before, but the whole experience this night, has darkened the excellence of the food. If you click on ‘take 1’ at the bottom of this page, you will find my story from last year, and you will see how it is supposed to be: Fun, joyous, with excellent cuisine to match. Partly the reason you come here is because they are three-star and they know how to deliver a special time for you and your guests. I can describe the atmosphere this time as being ‘not very nice.’
The good- Yes, we had some excellent food, but some dishes were not at the usual level Da Vittorio is known for though. Everything just lost its spark. Now I am remembering something that Marco Pierre White has said, and here it is relatable. He said that people do not only come for the food when they visit restaurants and this is true. (Especially the ones you return to repeatedly) If you don’t have an enjoyable time, for whatever reason you do not return. As a repeat guest, for the first time ever, we felt disposable. This visit was poor, but we might leave some room for improvement, just incase they can bounce back, and we put it down to an internal problem within the restaurant. What restaurants do not think about is their colleagues out there, you do have competition, and you do have others doing things better than you. Never sit on your laurels and look after your loyal guests, because there might be a day where you won’t have any.
