Linguini's Italian Restaurant, Lincolnshire

...which isn't to say that Linguini's don't welcome little ones, but it's certainly not a readily available fact if they do although the lunch time buffet is available for children at just £2.95 each if they’re under ten. However, whether there is a specific evening menu for children is questionable.

We’d booked our table for 7pm and at that time, the restaurant was fairly deserted; a couple of tables were occupied but not many although ...
...During peak times such as a Friday and a Saturday night, I would recommend booking a table at Linguini’s if you do intend to visit; by the time we left the restaurant at roughly 8.30pm, it really was quite busy so I wouldn’t recommend just turning up on the doorstep on those nights in hope of being served some authentic Italian cuisine.

Mind you, after reading this, you might decide that staying in and ordering a pizza would be preferable...
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It was fast approaching my brother’s birthday and we always like to go out for a special meal to celebrate. Where we live in Lincolnshire, I’m sad to say that there are very few ‘special’ restaurants in the area; such establishments have either gotten dodgy or have closed down all together, but Boston wasn’t always like that.

A long, long time ago, the town was host to what I’d describe as a phenomenal Italian restaurant called Zucchini’s, an eatery that closed down somewhere in the region of three to four years ago. It was an inevitable downfall; the new owners were inconsistent with opening times and stopped doing the ‘early bird’ menu which many people loved but I was still very sad to see Zucchini’s shut down altogether after having so many fantastic meals there in the past, both with family and friends. Alas there was hope: a couple of months ago in one of our local newspapers, we came across an advertisement for an up and coming Italian restaurant called Linguini’s, owned and operated by the chefs who used to cook at Zucchini’s!

We were of course delighted by this but I did stop and wonder whether Boston needed another Italian restaurant; currently speaking, Boston is home to a couple of local Italian eateries but they are not that spectacular, at least from past experience. Prezzo’s changed all of that when it came to the town about a year and a half ago and whilst it might be a lot more expensive than any of the other Italian restaurants, its consistency and quality is second to none. Yet, my Brother desperately wanted to try Zucchini’s mark II before he went back to University and we couldn’t think of a better date to try Linguini’s than his birthday.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: WHERE IS LINGUINI’S AND WHEN IS IT OPEN?
Linguini’s is situated not too far away from the centre of Boston, at numbers 23 to 25 along the High Street. Along the same stretch is a mixture of businesses, hair dressers and other restaurants but the most significant thing to note here is that Linguini’s does not have its own parking lot. There are sufficient car parking spaces in the pay and display area just around the corner from the restaurant but it wouldn’t be an ideal opportunity to try out those new 6 inch heels, ladies, as the paths are quite uneven in places (you can tell that my Mother was in the room as I typed that bit, can’t you?!). The parking area is free after 6pm on a night time but if you visit on the lunch time, it’s important to remember that you might have to pay to park.

Linguini’s is open from a Tuesday and through to the Saturday of every week, which is pretty much the same as Zucchini’s used to be. On a lunch time, between 12pm and 2.30pm, there is an all you can eat Italian buffet, featuring various pizzas, pasta, meat and salad dishes at £4.95 per person if you eat in and £3.00 for a take away which is excellent value considering a baguette from Subways could cost you that. In an evening, Linguini’s opens its doors from 5pm until late, everyday apart from a Monday. However, the restaurant has just announced that it serves a carvery between 12pm and 3pm on a Sunday, with various meats and seasonal vegetables with prices ranging from £6.95 for one course to £11.50 per head for three courses so whether they will consider opening on a Sunday evening and on a Monday in the near future is debateable.

I cannot comment on the quality of the lunch time buffet or the Sunday Carvery as I’ve never been, and I’m unlikely to in the very near future. However, I think those prices are quite competitive with the idea of filling up a container of food for £3 to take away being especially resourceful.

AMBIANCE AND LOOKS
As we approached the restaurant, I had vague memories of Linguini’s being a club in years gone by. I could be wrong but the tower of steps as you approach the restaurant may indicate its former identity and it would be a good time to point out that the steps are the only way to gain access into the place, at least to the public. If you have a pram and a child with you, be prepared to carry them and if you’re in a wheelchair, I certainly don’t think Linguini’s is the right restaurant in Boston for you. Again, like the fact that the restaurant is closed on a Sunday evening and all day Monday, Linguini’s may decide to get a lift or at least incorporate a ramp into the stairs but for now, this is not the case.

I have to say that when we first walked into the restaurant, I was genuinely taken aback by how charming yet sophisticated everything looked; with sleek leather chairs and a mahogany bar, everything was dimly lit with gold fixtures to add a bit of sparkle to the surroundings. The restaurant has a large amount of seating space, with some being closer to the kitchen than others. We were guided to our table next to the window and I remember saying that it felt as if Linguini’s was located in a very location to Boston. That was until I saw the ‘porn star rodeo’ chairs as I so gracefully called them. Basically, the seats were adorned in some really tacky faux leather cow print which severely undermined the glamour of the rest of the restaurant; the chairs didn’t fit the general style and sleekness of the rest of the restaurant but none the less, they were comfortable and Linguini’s had a fairly laid back vibe to it, coupled with cheesy Italian remixes of British pop numbers.

Great, just what I wanted to hear.

It's one of those restaurants that I'd describe as a 'smart-casual' establishment; it's not the classiest of places but it's certainly on the same level as Prezzo's and perhaps Ask. Whether it's somewhere you'd want to take your children to in the first place is debatable; I didn't see a children's menu anywhere, which isn't to say that Linguini's don't welcome little ones, but it's certainly not a readily available fact if they do although the lunch time buffet is available for children at just £2.95 each if they’re under ten. However, whether there is a specific evening menu for children is questionable.

We’d booked our table for 7pm and at that time, the restaurant was fairly deserted; a couple of tables were occupied but not many although this did gradually build up as the night when on. During peak times such as a Friday and a Saturday night, I would recommend booking a table at Linguini’s if you do intend to visit; by the time we left the restaurant at roughly 8.30pm, it really was quite busy so I wouldn’t recommend just turning up on the doorstep on those nights in hope of being served some authentic Italian cuisine.

Mind you, after reading this, you might decide that staying in and ordering a pizza would be preferable...

STARTERS, SIDE DISHES AND DRINKS
After being sat down for a couple of minutes, a waitress came and took our drinks order. As you’d expect, there’s a wide range of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks on offer but we opted for an orange juice (with particular emphasis on the ‘no ice’ part of this request), a Peroni (a traditional Italian beer) and a bottle of the House Pinot Grigio. You’ll have to forgive me for not knowing exactly how much the drinks came to but, from what I can remember, all together it was something along the lines of £15 or £16, with the wine being priced at just £12. I don’t think the prices in general at Linguini’s are that bad and the drinks certainly weren’t extravagantly priced to compensate for most of the food being quite cheap.

The drinks were brought to us after a five minute wait but there were two notable problems even this early on into our dining experience. First of all, the orange juice, which was ordered without ice, came with ice. My brother could just about tolerate this and fished the cubes out before plonking them in a nearby wine glass but the ‘no ice’ part of the order was said twice so it was a little disappointing when the waitress seemingly forgot or ignored this, but nothing too disgraceful. Secondly, the wine was just chilled, didn’t come served in an ice bucket and wasn’t poured for us when it first arrived. I know it sounds melodramatic (how in the heck will I manage to pour my OWN wine – without chipping a nail?!) but it’s something I just assumed to be normal practise in most restaurants, especially one as decorative as Linguini’s.

We are naturally pudding people (not in appearance, mind you) and we didn’t order starters because our intention was to indulge a little on the sweeter end of the menu. If you prefer starters, Linguini’s offer a fairly broad range of traditional Antipasti dishes with olives being the cheapest at £2 per portion, Bruschetta and other bread orientation choices start from £2.95 and the scallop salad which was the most expensive starter on the menu, costs £6.25 per serving. The table next to us order the scallops to start with and if you like your sea food fishy, it certainly comes that way at Linguini’s!

We did however order a portion of garlic bread as a side order which I mainly chose on account of having pasta as a main course. The bread itself was cooked with an authentic, stone baked flavour to the actual base but the garlic flavouring was certainly lacking on this dish to the point where it was difficult to distinguish exactly what the flavour was at all. I know some folks don’t want to be keeping the vampires away for too long (Twilight fans this would be a good side order for you) but by the same token, if I order something with garlic, I sure wish it would taste of it! At £3.50, I wish I’d opted for the garlic bread with either cheese or tomato on top as they might have actually tasted of something other than bread. Yet, shortly after we’d order our main courses, one of the four waiters who dealt with us throughout the evening presented us with a plate of freshly cooked bread sticks. At least, I think they were bread sticks; part of mine was quite doughy and the other part crisp, so somewhere along the line, the sticks had either been cooked for too long or not long enough.

The bread sticks themselves had a lovely, strong but not over powering, taste of garlic and herbs to them and came with an additional dip of the same flavour. The dip was a nice little accompaniment as the flavouring wasn’t too evenly spread across the whole of the stick and they weren’t cut very evenly; I chose the smallest one because I’m the littlest and we decided it would only be fair for my Brother to have the biggest (it was his birthday after all!) but I secretly wished that I’d had a slightly larger one in the first place. The bread sticks were delicious, flavoursome and at no extra cost, much better than the garlic bread that we paid for later on.

THE MAIN COURSES
Like all Italian restaurants, Linguini’s offers a wide selection of pasta, pizza, meat and fish dishes that are said to be freshly made and prepared on the premises. I’d have to say that the menu is of a fairly decent size; there is plenty to choose from and a lot of the pasta and pizzas basic ingredients seem to be ham, mushrooms, onions and various cheeses. On the pizza menu, prices start at £5.95 for a humble Margherita with the most expensive being a Pizza Verona, a selection of chicken, bacon, ricotta cheese and spinach, at £7.95. The pasta dishes range from £7.95 for the Italian favourite Spaghetti Bolognese with one of the most expensive pasta dishes being the Tagliatelle Al Pollo for £9.95. Many of the chicken and pork grill dishes start from £8.50 and the steaks are about double the price; all of the meat dishes come with salad and French fries with the most expensive fish dish is a Sea Bass cooked in rosemary, garlic, lemon and sea salt with a pesto sauce for £13.95. I can’t remember there being many – if any – Vegetarian dishes on the main course list but there are some options there and any non-meaters amongst you could ask for the chicken or whatever to be left out of your food.

We all ordered something different with my Mum and I reverting back to some of the old Zucchini’s dishes that we knew and loved. My Mum ordered Linguini’s Pizza Calzone, a pizza folded in half and stuffed with a selection of spinach, bacon, onions, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese topped with a Napoli tomato sauce. The calzone itself was of a good size and had been cooked well; the pizza dough was light brown and the Napoli sauce was plentiful and prevented the pizza from becoming dry. Apparently, the Calzone was very tasty although a little lacking when it came to the bacon; my Mum said that she’d only managed to find a couple of pieces inside the Calzone and even then, they were quite thick slices which she would have preferred to be cut slightly thinner. None the less, the Calzone tasted exactly how my Mum had remembered it which has her convinced that she’ll revisit Linguini’s at some point in the future.

My Dad opted for one of the grilled chicken dishes, Pollo Alla Diavlo, which is a Napoli sauce mixed with chilli, pepper, garlic, ham and mushrooms. The first impressions of the dish were good; costing £9.50 which is a bit cheaper than the pasta dish I chose to have, the chicken came with a lot of the sauce on top, fries and salad, all of which were bountiful. The salad was clearly fresh, bright and appetising, being a mixture of lettuce, onions and tomatoes and the chips were easily one of the most tasty accompaniments in any restaurant that I’ve eaten in recently; I am not a big chip lover but the fries here were crisp and seasoned to perfection with Rosemary sea salt, which gave them a subtle yet intriguing twist. However, whilst my Dad said that the chicken was enjoyable, the sauce itself was in fact a little ‘flat’; you’d expect something with chillies, pepper and garlic in it to be quite strong and hot but it was quite a mild sauce, too mild for my Dad’s taste, and barely warm when it was brought to the table.

Elsewhere in fair Bostonia, my Brother went for a Pizza Verona, topped with chicken, bacon, ricotta cheese, basil and garlic (yes my family really, really do hate vampires!). Whereas before the waitress forgot not to include ice in my Brother’s drink, this time they remembered not to put the spinach on the pizza – yay a success story! However, it seems as if the chef had forgotten to cook the garlic before putting it on top of the pizza; my Brother described the garlic as cold and odd because of that but the rest of the pizza was pretty nice with a thin, stone-baked crust and ample topping. At £7.95, it’s one of the more expensive pizzas on the menu at Linguini’s but there sounds to be a good combination of flavours there that really work well together.

Last but not least, I decided to order a main course that I remembered from Zucchini’s that features on the Linguini’s evening menu; Tagliatelle Al Pollo, a creamy tomato sauce with chicken, mushrooms and onions. Whilst it sounds a bit bland (chicken and mushrooms really are only as nice as the sauce they’re cooked in) I really enjoy the light flavours of this dish and I was delighted to find that it tasted exactly the same as to how it used to back when we visited Zucchini’s on a regular basis. The mushrooms were cut into quarters so were just about the right size to pop into my mouth and the sauce was just the right consistency, so it didn’t drip everywhere, but so it wasn’t a stodgy mass all over the pasta. The tagliatelle itself was cooked beautifully; it was tender and there was a good amount of it so that it didn’t become too filling too quickly.

It all sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? ‘Oh look, a review where MizzMolko doesn’t get her knickers in a twist about the smallest of things’. Well you’re wrong dear Ciaosters: very wrong. You see, my meal also contained chicken, as its title would suggest for those of you with a basic knowledge of the Italian language, and whilst there was a lot of chicken in this dish, perhaps ten or eleven medium sized pieces, six of those portions were rough. There’s nothing worse in a restaurant, or anywhere for that matter, when you put a piece of meat in your mouth and you start to feel gristle. Next you silently contemplate how you’re exactly going to those bits out without appearing rude but by this time, the people you’re dining with – and perhaps the people who’re dining around you – can see your face screwing up in a mixture of disgust and annoyance. I can generally abide coarse meat if it’s only one or two bites which are bad; chefs are only human and humans are, regrettably, prone to making mistakes. But to have to make the twisted face on more than two occasions whilst hearing my make up crack was unforgivable and I damn sure wasn’t going to let the waiter get away without hearing my true thoughts on the meal.

As it happens, after about the third time I’d spat rather inelegantly into my napkin, one of our waiters came to the table to ask if everything was alright with the meal. We informed him that the chicken was not very good quality in places to which he shrugged and muttered a sorry before heading off elsewhere. By this point, after finding a few other segments of chicken with gristly or inedible parts to them, I’d given up on my main course but at £9.95 and one of the priciest pasta meals on the menu, I would have expected it to be of a higher standard than my serving was.

When the same waiter returned to take our plates away, my Dad made it perfectly clear that I was unsatisfied with what I’d just semi-eaten. Instead of an apology, instead, he told us some form of utter rubbish about how the chicken is ‘pre-cut’ before the restaurant cooks it and that they can’t be held responsible for any rough parts on the meat. By this point, my blood was boiling and I said something along the lines of ‘well I’ll know never to eat anything else with chicken in if we return here’. To me, his excuse was quite frankly pathetic: as a restaurant that had just opened, the waiter in question should have simply apologised and arranged something with the kitchen staff as a way to make it up to the customer. Alas, he didn’t and I was, as you’d imagine, mad to say the least after his rather apathetic response.

DESSERTS
Out of protest, I didn’t order a dessert; I certainly could have done with one but on principal, I just didn’t bother. There were plenty of things I would have liked – with my eyes wondering to the hot chocolate pancakes – but I decided at £3.50, if I wasn’t too irritated by the time we got home, I could make my own sodding pancakes. However, as a part of my Brother’s celebration package at Linguini’s (more on that in a bit) he got to pick a dessert free of charge. They’re all heart these people are. As you’d expect, Linguini’s offered the basic kind of Italian puddings including Tiramisu and various ice cream flavours as well as a cheesecake. My Brother, who was only really having dessert because it was included for him, decided on chocolate ice cream which he enjoyed but gave the rest to his starving sister – awww! Actually, it’s coz he got a brain freeze along the way and I’m not surprise: out of the four bites of the much too bitter ice cream I had, three of them contained clumps of ice so, yeah, I was still majorly impressed with the quality of Linguini’s food...

So that my Brother didn’t have to eat dessert all on his own, my Mum decided to try Linguini’s homemade Lemon Cheesecake for afters. It was clearly a homemade cheesecake; the base was crumbly and very moreish but the actual lemon topping was a little too rich, even by my Mum’s standards. The portions of the desserts were very good; my Brother got three generous scoops of ice cream with a couple of chocolate curl wafers (which he kindly offered me – they were lovely and certainly has a very bitter dark chocolate coating inside of them) whilst my Mum’s slice of cheesecake wasn’t too big or too small. The desserts, if my memory serves me correctly, ranged from £3.50 to £4.00 and again price wise, I can’t complain in this area.

CELEBRATION PACKAGES AT LINGUINI’S
When it was still up and running, Zucchini’s used to offer a celebration package; basically, if you’re celebrating either a Birthday, hen or stag night, the birth of a baby or the world coming to an end, you get your main meal and dessert thrown in for free with a drink of your choice and a bottle of fizzy wine at the end. Linguini’s has decided to continue such a tradition...sort of. When it came to paying the bill, we were slightly irritated when we discovered that they hadn’t knocked my Brother’s main course or dessert off the final bill; we perhaps wouldn’t have been so intent on getting the charges knocked off either if the waiters had been a little more sympathetic with regards to the poor quality of my food either but we were even more inclined to retain the offer on principal. At the time, we were unaware about the drinks being thrown in for free and it seems as if no one at Linguini’s was about to inform us on such minor details either...

If you ever decide to give Linguini’s a go because you’re celebrating a random occasion, you need to book in advance so that you can inform the staff that it’s somebody’s birthday or whatever. So what if they forget about it after a mere ten minutes? At least you’ve warned them!

OVERALL: IT WASN’T ALL BAD AT LINGUINI’S, BUT...
I have to give credit to Linguini’s where credit is due: my Mum and Brother said they really enjoyed their food and would happily dine there again. My Dad is a little unsure; he was more than a little ticked off with the poor quality of the meat in my main course and he said several times he wouldn’t bother with the chicken dish he ate on the night again because of it being quite lacking in taste. As for me, well, I think it’s pretty much self-explanatory: I would never, ever go back to Linguini’s with the intention of eating a chicken dish again but, unfortunately, that more or less slices the menu in half already. Not being a fish lover or necessarily a steak person, my options are pretty much limited to Spaghetti Bolognese or a couple of the pizzas which is a shame as chicken is my preferred meat whenever I go out for a meal, regardless of the restaurant’s nationality.

Of course, this could have been a one off mistake and I could have been unlucky; these things do happen and I’m not ignorant of that. My Dad’s chicken, although a breast rather than being cut into pieces was of a fine quality. However, it is quite inexcusable that none of the staff felt apologetic enough to really try and make it up to me for such a poor main course; even if they’d offered me a J20 or a diet coke as a goodwill gesture, I would have still commented on the chicken but wouldn’t have felt quite as sour about doing so. Mistakes do happen but the overall carelessness when it came to compiling my dish was frankly inexcusable and I’m still undecided as if I’d want to give Linguini’s a go again, mainly because no real apology was offered. As I mentioned earlier, we had four members of staff dealing with us which is a bit odd to say the least and they weren’t necessarily in sync with one another; we’d only just been handed the desserts menu when another waiter came offer to take our order! Everything felt a bit clumsy in areas like this and reiterated that the restaurant has only just opened its doors to the paying public.

However, it’s in light of the restaurant’s age that I want to point out what a state the men’s toilets were in; according to my Brother, one of the lights wasn’t working and neither was one of the locks so it seems to me that Linguini’s have spent too much time going over the top with the decor in the dining room rather than getting the simplest of things right in the first place. I was quite surprised to learn about the loos being in such a poor state, especially considering that all of the cutlery and glasses on our table were clean, not to mention the floors so I can only think that the toilets are to be redecorated in the near future so that they match the rest of the restaurants presentable standards.

For me personally though, if I’m ever vying for a rustic, Italian meal, I’m more inclined to head to Prezzo’s than Linguini’s; I’ve dined several times at the former restaurant since it opened in the town and I’ve never had a complaint with my food. The Frankie & Benny’s that is in quite close proximity to where I live comes across as more caring and efficient; although when we ate their recently the food wasn’t quite as warm as it could have been, the staff were attentive and apologetic and I can’t help but think that Linguini’s should take a couple of leaves out of their books if they want to build a solid reputation in the town. Gordon Ramsay would scorn me for preferring chain restaurants over a local eatery but I’m more inclined to go to Prezzo’s or Frankie and Benny’s the next time I want a pizza rather than Linguini’s.

I would never rule out going to Linguini’s again, especially if I ever fancied trying the Italian buffet on a lunch time. Yet, I just hope they change the suppliers of their ‘pre-cut’ chicken before I decide to make a re-appearance.

(Please note: there are regrettably no pictures of Linguini’s at this time: I know many of you would be looking forward to seeing half digested food and the ‘porn star rodeo’ chairs but I didn’t want to scar my camera for life in such a place. Thanks for your understanding).

OTHER INFO
Address: 23 – 25 High Street, Boston, Lincs, PE21 8SH
Telephone: 01205 357805
Boston Borough Council’s hygiene rating of Linguini’s: Silver (a good standard of hygiene and management)
Website: http://www.linguinisrestaurant.co.uk 

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