L'Italiano

A restaurant in a hotel can conjure one of two things; 1) swanky setting, good service and food, or 2) I expect Lenny Henry to appear at any moment. This place is somewhere in the middle. The surroundings try a little hard. But this is mostly tied to the hotel and what it’s trying to be. It’s not hard to see that where you dine is evidently where hotel guests will be picking up their full English breakfasts the next mornings, and that is a let down. The atrium in which the dining room sits under makes it all too impersonal, and the glass elevators riding up and down above for hotel guests makes it all too fish bowl-y. Don’t get me started on the muzak. As for the food, the bruschetta starter was utterly delicious. As for mains, they’re nothing to rave about but are filling. The set menu offer is a little hard for the staff to process for some reason as we had to return our bill three times to get the right price. Alright if you’re staying at the hotel. Probs not great for a first date. Sends the wrong message.