The Definitive Limerick Restaurant and Takeaway Thread

gotasmoke

I went into La Cucina Centro on Saturday afternoon and my experience wasn't great. I'm not usually one to complain but after my experience here I don't think I'll be going back, there are better options in town.

I was with my wife and our 2 year old, when we arrived we said that we would need a high chair for the toddler. The server showed us to a table for 2, which is fine, but then said that we couldn't sit here with a high chair because it would block the walkway. I don't know why we were brought to our table if it wasn't suitable? There were no other suitable tables, even tho they were not full so we had to go back and wait at the entrance with menus.

Another couple with a toddler arrived after us so they moved around some of the tables to accommodate both parties. So we ended up sitting after about 10 minutes. This wouldn't have been too bad if we were told up front that there was a wait, instead of being seated and then moved again.

To add to this, we weren't given a drinks menu or a kids menu, even tho the table next to us were, and when my wife asked for a 7up, she was practically scoffed at because they don't sell it. What ever happened to service with a smile, it certainly doesn't exist here. We had to drag the soft drink option from the server. These are just a few small things that on their own probably wouldn't have been too bad, but the fact that all of this was on top of being seated and then removed just didn't make us feel welcome.

As for the food, it was ok. We got bruschetta and pizzas and while they were tasty, they're not worth the €15 price tag. There are nicer pizzas in town - Da Vincenzos and Cobblestone Joes.

My overall impression is that it's style over substance. Pricey food and questionable service.

James Bond Junior

Got a takeaway pizza from la picolla pizzeria last night. I would only take or leave pizza at the best of times but I am converted. 10/10. Got chips too and they were stone cold by the time we got home not 5 minutes later. I'd say they had been sitting out and not dipped again to reheat but the pizza was so good we didn't actually care. Far nicer than La cucina centro two weeks ago.

panda100

So tried La Cucina centro on Saturday afternoon and, unfortunately, I will not be returning any time soon. I always likes La Cucina out in Castletroy but admittedly I been there in the last two years as I'm rarely out in that direction.

Myself and my friend arrived in LaCucina centro at around 2pm on Saturday. It was busy but there was still a few tables free. We didn't end up leaving until 5pm!Not because we were taking our time or having a particularly leisurely lunch, but the service was just so slow. Firstly, the waiter forgot my drink and I had to physically go up to him (the owner) at least twice to ask for it. When our food arrived my pizza was cold. My friend had ordered the beef salad and the beef was not fresh. It looked liked it had been overcooked and was obviously reheated. It was also cold.

We waited and waited for someone to take away our plates and ask us about desert. In the end I had to go up again (to the owner who was standing around not doing much) and ask him for a desert menu. He reeled off the desert menu to me there and I said could someone come over and tell it both to me and my friend. Our teas and coffee's came out about 15 minutes after our desert was served despite asking for them together. The only thing that came quickly was the bill and that was extortionate for the slow services and cold food we were served.

I am not one to complain and myself and my friend were in good spirits on Saturday but the overpriced dinner and poor service would test anyone's patience. I also got the distinct impression that because of my accent they thought I was an English tourist and so were very dismissive of me in general. Very disappointing.

Also, have the stickied threads on here disappeared on the mobile site for anyone? I can't see this thread on my android mobile app anymore only on desktop!

Mc Love

The thing to remember is, that is only open less than month, it's going to be a while before it beds in and finds its feet. Most places arent perfect when they open first never mind how much they intend to be.

dominatinMC

Is there any other restaurant that divides opinion as much as La Cucina?! It has a reputation as an artisan, authentic Italian culinary experience, and appears to get good reviews (the recent McKennas one for example), but has always been the subject of much criticism (a lot of it justified IMO) on this thread. I've expressed my opinion previously - decent food, albeit overpriced, and poor service. However, I think a recent poster summed it up best when they said "style over substance". The owner is excellent at marketing the place and, as such, it appeals to all the facebook/twitter/snapchat brigade who see themselves as "real foodies". What does that make the rest of us! :rolleyes:

Mc Love

I think a lot of people maybe on here have a chip on their shoulder/or are jealous of their success. It seems no matter how well the owners of LaCucina do, and they are really nice people, some people will still have a dig. Maybe it's a Limerick thing, maybe its an Irish thing. I've never left either of their premises unhappy at either the service or the food. It might be a bit more expensive in town, but Limerick city does have some of the highest commercial rates in the country.

zulutango

Mc Love wrote: »

I think a lot of people maybe on here have a chip on their shoulder/or are jealous of their success. It seems no matter how well the owners of LaCucina do, and they are really nice people, some people will still have a dig. Maybe it's a Limerick thing, maybe its an Irish thing. I've never left either of their premises unhappy at either the service or the food. It might be a bit more expensive in town, but Limerick city does have some of the highest commercial rates in the country.

I like La Cucina, and haven't experienced any poor service, but why do you suggest that those who do post about their negative experiences are jealous or have a chip on their shoulders?

Mc Love

zulutango wrote: »

I like La Cucina, and haven't experienced any poor service, but why do you suggest that those who do post about their negative experiences are jealous or have a chip on their shoulders?

Mainly because I know how much effort Bruno and Lorraine put into their business, that some of the negative experiences on here make their restaurants sound worse than one of those cheap fast food outlets. They have really good food/ingredients and I wouldnt expect any less tbh. They've had some teething problems with Centro but as I've said - they are only open a wet week, and having spoken to them, they're working 17 hour days just to make it work, they've new staff and they are still getting used to the menu and how to make it work the best way they can.
Obviously, they've been overwhelmed with the amount of people going in, which is based off the reputation they've built up over the years in Castletroy, its only natural for there to be some mixed reviews for Centro.

You can just tell some people have chips on their shoulders by the way the post historically but there are always going to be some people that will begrudge others, on here or on the street.

panda100

Mc Love wrote: »

I think a lot of people maybe on here have a chip on their shoulder/or are jealous of their success. It seems no matter how well the owners of LaCucina do, and they are really nice people, some people will still have a dig. Maybe it's a Limerick thing, maybe its an Irish thing. I've never left either of their premises unhappy at either the service or the food. It might be a bit more expensive in town, but Limerick city does have some of the highest commercial rates in the country.

I think this is unfair. I received extremely poor service in a restaurant and so I have a chip on my shoulder? I think we are very quick to denounce people as 'begrudgers' when they say something slightly critical about anything these days.

Of course people are going to judge by their first impressions. I would rather spend my money in a place that I get good services and high quality food. I can't say I experienced that at all in La Cucina centro on Saturday so why would I spend money there again? Maybe it was teething problems in the first few weeks of opening but it didn't seem like that. I'm more inclined to agree with DominantinMC and that they are very good at marketing and this doesn't really follow through in the service or food quality. I'll probably end up going there again in the next few weeks so will be interesting to see if anything has changed or maybe I will realise I really do have a chip on my shoulder :pac:

Mc Love

panda100 wrote: »

I think this is unfair. I received extremely poor service in a restaurant and so I have a chip on my shoulder? I think we are very quick to denounce people as 'begrudgers' when they say something slightly critical about anything these days.

I never mentioned you, or referred to your post. Fair enough it if was busy as it was the previous saturday which led to long wait times. They'll need to hire more staff if it continues.

panda100 wrote: »

Of course people are going to judge by their first impressions. I would rather spend my money in a place that I get good services and high quality food. I can't say I experienced that at all in La Cucina centro on Saturday so why would I spend money there again? Maybe it was teething problems in the first few weeks of opening but it didn't seem like that. I'm more inclined to agree with DominantinMC and that they are very good at marketing and this doesn't really follow through in the service or food quality. I'll probably end up going there again in the next few weeks so will be interesting to see if anything has changed or maybe I will realise I really do have a chip on my shoulder :pac:

I'm really surprised to hear that considering I had a completely different experience, both the food and service were top notch when I was in.

zulutango

Mc Love wrote: »

I'm really surprised to hear that considering I had a completely different experience, both the food and service were top notch when I was in.

Maybe you got good service because you're pally with the owners!?

(I got good service too, fwiw)

panda100

Mc Love wrote:

I'm really surprised to hear that considering I had a completely different experience, both the food and service were top notch when I was in.

Hopefully it will be like this next time. Would like to see it do well so will definitely give a second chance

Mc Love

zulutango wrote: »

Maybe you got good service because you're pally with the owners!?

(I got good service too, fwiw)

Not doubting my stature, but I honestly think the waiting staff wouldn't know me from Adam.

Tefral

I find it strange that within an hour of me messaging Lorraine about this thread that 2 people were in here posting about how good it is.

I had negative experience in both their restaurants and both were staff related, i linked her the thread in the hope it might spur her to look at the issues that keep coming up with people.

I am certainly not a begrudger, im gonna give it a few weeks and go back once it "beds in"

Bored_lad

I have been to both the restaurants and I've never once had a problem in either of them the food has always been excellent and the staff are always friendly. Obviously minor issues are to be expected when a restaurant is just after opening up but I've been to crentro a huge amount of times since it's opened and I have never had a single problem and neither has anyone I know who's been there. I would agree with the sentiments of the poster who said some people have a chip on their shoulder and it appears every new business gets lambasted on here. I also find it despicable that users who post positive experiences in a website are accused of shilling for the owners.

I wish them the best of luck it's not easy opening a new business venture especially when you already have a successful one that needs to keep going at the same standard and has already set a high bar to live up to. They have taken an empty unit in the city centre that has never had much success done a great job of doing it up and I believe that they will be successful in the future.

paulers06

James Bond Junior wrote: »

Got a takeaway pizza from la picolla pizzeria last night. I would only take or leave pizza at the best of times but I am converted. 10/10. Got chips too and they were stone cold by the time we got home not 5 minutes later. I'd say they had been sitting out and not dipped again to reheat but the pizza was so good we didn't actually care. Far nicer than La cucina centro two weeks ago.

Love La Piccola pizza.

kneesox

I can only say, I don't have a chip on my shoulder about anybodies success but I also appreciate good food :pac: and my visit at La Cucina Centro was just as disappointing as the others who complained. We tried Castletroy one twice and centro one ones and food and service is very inconsistent unfortunately.
Only once we enjoyed the food and it wasn't new restaurant. My experience of new one was as follows..
So I asked for asparagus risotto and instead got some suspiciously red looking one.. tried a little and certainly could not taste any asparagus either.. I don't eat meat and I could taste it there.. I asked and it was - beetroot and chorizo! I said to waiter, it wasn't what I ordered and he replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world- oh but we don't have asparagus one today! My partners pizza was very soggy also, tasted ok but that's not how proper pizza should be, that you can't even hold one piece.
In the end, I got pasta instead of risotto, which arrived after my partner was finished with pizza... I am not paranoid with not eating any meat at all, so I survived with tasting chorizo risotto, but if I was some of one of the very strict vegetarians, there would be trouble! Anyway, it wasn't nice to wait double time and get something I totally didn't want to in the end (which was some pasta with tomato sauce - think I can make better myself to be honest).. not great overall, we got one beer for free for that, but still won't be back..

le_girl

kneesox wrote: »

I can only say, I don't have a chip on my shoulder about anybodies success but I also appreciate good food :pac: and my visit at La Cucina Centro was just as disappointing as the others who complained. We tried Castletroy one twice and centro one ones and food and service is very inconsistent unfortunately.
Only once we enjoyed the food and it wasn't new restaurant. My experience of new one was as follows..
So I asked for asparagus risotto and instead got some suspiciously red looking one.. tried a little and certainly could not taste any asparagus either.. I don't eat meat and I could taste it there.. I asked and it was - beetroot and chorizo! I said to waiter, it wasn't what I ordered and he replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world- oh but we don't have asparagus one today! My partners pizza was very soggy also, tasted ok but that's not how proper pizza should be, that you can't even hold one piece.
In the end, I got pasta instead of risotto, which arrived after my partner was finished with pizza... I am not paranoid with not eating any meat at all, so I survived with tasting chorizo risotto, but if I was some of one of the very strict vegetarians, there would be trouble! Anyway, it wasn't nice to wait double time and get something I totally didn't want to in the end (which was some pasta with tomato sauce - think I can make better myself to be honest).. not great overall, we got one beer for free for that, but still won't be back..

Oh God, that's my worst nightmare. They were lucky that you were so understanding!

I was going to try Centro at lunch and called in for a look at the menu. I asked the lady behind the counter if there were any vegan options available (I'm guessing there are a couple of dishes like the bruschetta, a plain-ish pasta or pizza minus cheese which would be suitable with no substitutions or minor changes). She just said no and that was it. Didn't ask in the kitchen or anything, just no.

They were very busy in fairness but it wasn't a great first impression at all, not very friendly or welcoming. I had no preconceptions as I've never even been to the one in Castletroy but it was very offputting (not the fact that they don't accommodate vegans easily, I was with a meateater who said he won't be trying it because of the way a simple question was brushed off).

The prices seemed really high compared to Da Vincenzos as well which seems like the most comparable place around. I'll stick with Vincenzo.

dominatinMC

Bored_lad wrote: »

I would agree with the sentiments of the poster who said some people have a chip on their shoulder and it appears every new business gets lambasted on here. I also find it despicable that users who post positive experiences in a website are accused of shilling for the owners.

I wish them the best of luck it's not easy opening a new business venture especially when you already have a successful one that needs to keep going at the same standard and has already set a high bar to live up to. They have taken an empty unit in the city centre that has never had much success done a great job of doing it up and I believe that they will be successful in the future.

How can you conclude that people have "a chip on their shoulder" simply from a few negative reviews? People are entitled to their opinions and, if the food/service was not to the standard they expect or that which the restaurant projects, they are entitled to say so. So goes the mantra of the customer is always right. I find the implication that people are somehow jealous of La Cucinas success bewildering. I, for one, admire anyone who sets-up their own business, I can't even imagine the amount of work and effort that goes in. However, it is inherent in the service industry (of which La Cucina is a part of) that you are open to criticism. Not everyone will like the place, and people will have bad experiences. This doesn't equate to jealously, or "a chip on the shoulder".

Treepole

dominatinMC wrote: »

Is there any other restaurant that divides opinion as much as La Cucina?! It has a reputation as an artisan, authentic Italian culinary experience, and appears to get good reviews (the recent McKennas one for example), but has always been the subject of much criticism (a lot of it justified IMO) on this thread. I've expressed my opinion previously - decent food, albeit overpriced, and poor service. However, I think a recent poster summed it up best when they said "style over substance". The owner is excellent at marketing the place and, as such, it appeals to all the facebook/twitter/snapchat brigade who see themselves as "real foodies". What does that make the rest of us! :rolleyes:

I would take the McKenna Guide reviews with a pinch of salt. From what I hear they are little more than paid advertising disguised as independent reviews.
The fact one of their main income streams is selling the plaques/badges to the business they review should lead you to draw your own conclusions.

Bored_lad

dominatinMC wrote: »

How can you conclude that people have "a chip on their shoulder" simply from a few negative reviews? People are entitled to their opinions and, if the food/service was not to the standard they expect or that which the restaurant projects, they are entitled to say so. So goes the mantra of the customer is always right. I find the implication that people are somehow jealous of La Cucinas success bewildering. I, for one, admire anyone who sets-up their own business, I can't even imagine the amount of work and effort that goes in. However, it is inherent in the service industry (of which La Cucina is a part of) that you are open to criticism. Not everyone will like the place, and people will have bad experiences. This doesn't equate to jealously, or "a chip on the shoulder".

I accept that businesses are open to criticism however, I have never once heard a bad review of either of the La Cucina restaurants except from this forum so obviously there is a problem somewhere and I'm simply questioning does it actually lie with La Cucina.

kneesox

Bored_lad wrote: »

I accept that businesses are open to criticism however, I have never once heard a bad review of either of the La Cucina restaurants except from this forum so obviously there is a problem somewhere and I'm simply questioning does it actually lie with La Cucina.

Have you heard of Trip Advisor go have look there..
About half of all comments there are - poor/terrible -that's about 40 together
- average - 15
and about 150 good/excellent
Which give about 25% customers left a bad feedback about it, no great..

Wise Old Elf

Was in Freddy's last night. It was very good, had lamb shank, decent sized shank, accompaniment of cous cous (I think) was very tasty. Other half had some variation of spicy fish tacos, which was also lovely apparently!

Mc Love

But if everybody that ate there posted a comment after it, I wonder how many positive there would be compared to negative, as you know it's hardly ever that positive feedback is given, unless its out of this world.

kneesox

Mc Love wrote: »

But if everybody that ate there posted a comment after it, I wonder how many positive there would be compared to negative, as you know it's hardly ever that positive feedback is given, unless its out of this world.

I don't know, I do both, if it was great I would absolutely say it..

zulutango

I'm going there this evening! Will report back

Mc Love

zulutango wrote: »

I'm going there this evening! Will report back

I'll ring ahead and tell them you're going, seeing as I'm pally with them

What will you be wearing??

zulutango

Mc Love wrote: »

I'll ring ahead and tell them you're going, seeing as I'm pally with them

What will you be wearing??

A slim black number and high heels.

Comhrá

zulutango wrote: »

A slim black number and high heels.

:eek::eek::eek:

gotasmoke

I think it's very unfair to say that most posters have a chip on their shoulder because of their review. I had a bad experience in La Cucina Centro and I posted about it, nothing more.

I don't care if the owners put in a lot of effort or not, I don't care if they work 17 hour days. What I do care about is my experience when I decide to part with my hard earned money, and I like so many others was not happy with what I got for my money.

Limerick needs better quality restaurants, both in terms of food and service and I would love for one to open, I'd be a regular there. Unfortunatley La Cucina Centro is not it.