I visited this restaurant last week with my fiancée while out shopping in Milton Keynes. The restaurant is located near the shops with pubs and other restaurants next to it.
Appearance --------------- On walking through the doors, you are greeted with a two level restaurant, actually very large, it could probably fit between 80 and 100 people in it! The décor was very nice and well kept, in an Italian style, all brown and beige colours. We noticed that the kitchen is open view in the diner so that you can see the chefs cooking which is an excellent thing - provides safe knowledge of food and adds character to the restaurant.
They also had quiet music on in the background which wasn't too harsh. The tables were quite close together though - I hate this!
Staff ------ We were escorted to our table nicely although my fiancée was not seated by the waiter, not surprising in this place. We were given our menus and asked whether we would like a drink which we declined to straight away. It would have been nice to have had a few mins to look at the wine list first!
The waiter came back quite quickly to take our order for drinks and food, a bit too quickly. When they served the drinks and meal, he was courteous and friendly and did not bother us too much. Overall he was good for a chain.
Food & Drink ----------------- There was a reasonable amount of choice for beers and wines, although I can't remember them having any Rose wines. We chose a Pinot Grigio which was nice but all wines were quite pricey.
The food menu was excellent though. Lots of choice for pastas and pizzas. We love our pastas and some places do not do enough choice. There was plenty here for vegetarians too and you could change the choices on the menu to suit your needs - we asked for extra chicken, as there wasn't any, on one of our meals.
We always order a starter but the selection was limited. We used to have the 'Asortimento Bella' when the chain was 'Bella Pasta' but since they changed name and menu, it is now called 'Assortimento'. They have change the meal and it is not any where as nice as it used to be and is a bit boring - cheese sticks/small dough balls/chicken wings/bruschetta - a bit bland to be honest.
In the end we only got mains. One was a cheesy pasta bake, the other a tomato pasta dish. They were both fantastic with generous portions and lots of meat. The flavours were delightful - the chef did a brilliant job!
Cost ------ The Restaurant price is quite expensive but worth the quality of food, but this may depend on the chef.
Overall --------- A nice restaurant with excellent food that has a few niggles about it - recommended to try though!
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