Accrington Web - View Single Post - Monte Cristo

minnarory · 30-03-2011, 00:11

We visited Monte Christos this evening for a joint birthday party. I had not visited before and was not sure what to expect. When we arrived I was impressed by the decor and looked forward to some nice food and a good evening.
The service was ok, although I found it a little off putting to order starters and mains separately, particularly when the main order was taken just as the starters had arrived. Also, the starters and mains seemed to come in dribs and drabs with some of the party having to wait whilst others had received their food and were eating. However, it was a large party so this was understandable.
The starters were ok, I ordered the Anti Pasto Monte Christo and my partner ordered the homemade pate and bread. I think I received the Greek Anti Pasto, but was happy enough with what I was served. The pate my partner ate was not homemade, we have eaten the same one from ASDA on several occasions. On my platter was a cheese I had not had before, I was curious about what it was as I would like to try it again so I asked the waitress to tell me more about it. She didn't know what it was, but did ask the chef for me. However, the reply came back that the chef also didn't know what it was, it just came as part of a pack of cheese! Perhaps I have been watching too many cookery/restaurant programmes, but I would've thought someone would know what diners were being served???
The mains came and two of the party had ordered the risotto. However, what they received was not a risotto. Risotto is a rice dish made with Arborio rice, which is short grained and sticky, and from my own experience quite hard to get right! What was served was a rice dish made with Indian Basmati rice, which is long grained and usually dry and served with curry! One of the party complained to the serving staff, very politely about this, the complaint was met with complete surprise and to be fair was not handled very well. At first, after some insistence, the rice was taken back to the chef, it was bizarrely returned by the waiter and we were told that this is how risotto was meant to be served. Of course, we knew that it was not, so the point was laboured. Eventually, the chef came out and told us that this was how he served risotto. Again the point was made that it was not, therefore, risotto! Again, after some embarrassment we were offered an exchange, by this time many of the party were nearly through their food and the point was made (by me sticking my oar in!) that the offended member of the party should not have to pay for the replacement. After some bartering it was agreed a free drink was in order and the issue was settled. Later on the chef reappeared and made light of the situation which we all appreciated, but it seemed too little too late.
Some ordered desserts, one of which being a banana split. When it arrived the banana had a huge black bit smiling at us from the dish, perhaps acceptable at home, but when you are paying for food in a restaurant it is not what you expect, but to be honest, by this point none of us were left with much appetite to complain further.
When all is said and done, the food was very cheap and to be fair, many aspects of the service were good. However, you get what you pay for. The food was bland, lacked the herby, olive oily and garlicky tastiness of real Italian food, indeed, there was very little that was Italian about the risotto - which should be a classic Italian dish.
I don't think I will be going again due to the poor quality of the food and the poor handling of the complaint that was made at the time. Really, the customer is always right, particularly in this kind of business. I wonder what Gordon Ramsey would make of it? I would certainly like to watch that episode of Kitchen Nightmares!

30-03-2011, 00:11	#15
minnarory Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 2 Liked: 0 times Rep Power: 0	Italian? We visited Monte Christos this evening for a joint birthday party. I had not visited before and was not sure what to expect. When we arrived I was impressed by the decor and looked forward to some nice food and a good evening. The service was ok, although I found it a little off putting to order starters and mains separately, particularly when the main order was taken just as the starters had arrived. Also, the starters and mains seemed to come in dribs and drabs with some of the party having to wait whilst others had received their food and were eating. However, it was a large party so this was understandable. The starters were ok, I ordered the Anti Pasto Monte Christo and my partner ordered the homemade pate and bread. I think I received the Greek Anti Pasto, but was happy enough with what I was served. The pate my partner ate was not homemade, we have eaten the same one from ASDA on several occasions. On my platter was a cheese I had not had before, I was curious about what it was as I would like to try it again so I asked the waitress to tell me more about it. She didn't know what it was, but did ask the chef for me. However, the reply came back that the chef also didn't know what it was, it just came as part of a pack of cheese! Perhaps I have been watching too many cookery/restaurant programmes, but I would've thought someone would know what diners were being served??? The mains came and two of the party had ordered the risotto. However, what they received was not a risotto. Risotto is a rice dish made with Arborio rice, which is short grained and sticky, and from my own experience quite hard to get right! What was served was a rice dish made with Indian Basmati rice, which is long grained and usually dry and served with curry! One of the party complained to the serving staff, very politely about this, the complaint was met with complete surprise and to be fair was not handled very well. At first, after some insistence, the rice was taken back to the chef, it was bizarrely returned by the waiter and we were told that this is how risotto was meant to be served. Of course, we knew that it was not, so the point was laboured. Eventually, the chef came out and told us that this was how he served risotto. Again the point was made that it was not, therefore, risotto! Again, after some embarrassment we were offered an exchange, by this time many of the party were nearly through their food and the point was made (by me sticking my oar in!) that the offended member of the party should not have to pay for the replacement. After some bartering it was agreed a free drink was in order and the issue was settled. Later on the chef reappeared and made light of the situation which we all appreciated, but it seemed too little too late. Some ordered desserts, one of which being a banana split. When it arrived the banana had a huge black bit smiling at us from the dish, perhaps acceptable at home, but when you are paying for food in a restaurant it is not what you expect, but to be honest, by this point none of us were left with much appetite to complain further. When all is said and done, the food was very cheap and to be fair, many aspects of the service were good. However, you get what you pay for. The food was bland, lacked the herby, olive oily and garlicky tastiness of real Italian food, indeed, there was very little that was Italian about the risotto - which should be a classic Italian dish. I don't think I will be going again due to the poor quality of the food and the poor handling of the complaint that was made at the time. Really, the customer is always right, particularly in this kind of business. I wonder what Gordon Ramsey would make of it? I would certainly like to watch that episode of Kitchen Nightmares!