I am a big fan of Italian food, and always enjoy a visit to my local Carluccios.
Last night we decided to go and try out their festive menu.
The Reading Branch underwent a face-lift a couple of years ago, and is quite roomy and comfortable.
Like all other Carluccio’s restaurants, the Reading one offers various foodie items for sale at the entrance. Too many to mention here, but they range from alcohol to cakes, to pasta to antipasti. I could buy them all if the purse allowed!
Fortunately, we had booked a table; good thing too, as it seemed very chaotic . We were shown to our table, handed a menu and left to choose. It was a long wait before they took our order. The waiter did eventually turn up, but he was rather confused by the arrangements for the starter.
We ordered a bottle of wine (as it’s Christmas) and both of us went for the mixed antipasti (meat version). It was delicious, but could have done with a slice more toasted ciabatta bread.
My main course was the pan fried cod with pepper and olive stew. The cod was cooked perfectly, and the stew was superb. My husband ordered the breaded turkey, and mentioned that it was not cooked as well as he would have liked. He also requested a side dish of pan fried rosemary potatoes. I must admit, that the portion size here was not great.
The dessert choice was tempting, including a trio of the festive variety; but we both went for the cheese. This was very disappointing. I had hoped a selection of a few cheeses would turn up, but no; instead we were presented with 2 meagre portions of cheese plus one cat’s tongue biscuit broken in half; and a pot of honey and a wet walnut.
The total bill was £65, but remember that within that price was an £18 bottle of wine; so I suppose it was reasonable.
My score :-
Out of 5 would be 4. Just because of the rather disappointing dessert. Service was ok, considering the number of large Christmas parties going on.
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