Vesuvius Review (New Owners) - Wicklow Town

shinny

Ok, so I was apprehensive about going to Vesuvius considering it had been taken over by the same people who run the local chippers; and my concerns were realised.

Bad, bad, bad. We were a group of 8 people celebrating our friend’s birthday party. First problem, we couldn't read the menus !! Seriously the light over us was "broken" and we had to use the lights from our mobile phones to read what we were ordering. We ordered our starters, Bruschetta, Garlic Bread, Filo Prawns, La Caprese. They were OK, just ok, nothing special. The La Caprese looked unappetising. Next our mains, chicken, sea bass and other meat dishes. ALL of them were lukewarm, but the centre was hot (a clear indication of a microwave zap)

Caesar Salad - Awful with a capital A. It was like a head of lettuce thrown on the plate. 2 of the party ordered this and neither ate it (the staff didn't even ask them if they'd enjoyed it which is common practice when most of the food is left)

We decided to have a look at the desert menu and perhaps have some Bailey's coffees etc. 15 minutes later we were still waiting for our order to be taken, so we made a decision to leave. We asked for the bill and 30 seconds later our waiter came over to ask what we'd like for our deserts, we indicated that it was too late and we were leaving.

All in all this new Vesuvius is pretty below par compared to its previous owners. Perhaps if we'd ordered the burgers and chips it may have been better :rolleyes:

maco

Thanks for that, atleast we know which one to avoid . . .

shinny

maco wrote: »

Thanks for that, atleast we know which one to avoid . . .

No problem, I wish someone had of told us before we went

I also heard that the old owners of Vesuvious are taking over the old weeping tiger restaurant (behind Phil Healy's) - Should be opened soon.

okgirl

Hi there,
the new restaurant over Phil's is now open. Haven't heard any reports yet. thanks for yours on vesuvius though. My husband and a friend ate there last week and they said it was good. (and they thend to be critical)Maybe you got them on a really bad night?

okgirl

Hi again,

Just thinking, I doubt if your food was microwaved as if it had have been the food would have been cold in the middle. Microwaves cook food from the outside in. http://www.physlink.com/education/askexperts/ae379.cfm

If I am lucky enough to be taken out for dinner soon I will post my review .

shinny

Okgirl, I was in the new place last week. It's called Antonio's. He's trying out a new menu and it's very authentic from an Italian perspective. I was a little dubious.

We were eating late, so just went for mains and they were very very nice. I'd say that he may play around with the menu over the next couple of weeks, based on Customer feedback. Came out to ask us what we thought of the menu, meal etc.

Actually I would agree with you on Vesivius new owners, that they might have had an off night had it not been for the fact that my brother and his girlfriend ate there the same week as we did and had a very bad experience. My other brother and his wife, who practically used to live in Vesuvius, gave it the big thumbs down also. I've heard other not great reports from friends, etc, so that's what I am basing it on.

Interesting about the microwave. Either way, the dishes were cold on the outside, perhaps they left them under bulbs or something, I don't know. Not a good start though :cool:

shinny

louboutin wrote: »

The chipper own Vesuvious not Antonios (the one in Phils). I have eaten in both recently, 0/10 for Vesuvious and 10/10 for Antonios.

Ok...but who said anything about the chipper owning Antonio's in the first place

unhappydiner

Well would you believe i had the same experience!
Have had numerous nights in the original vesuvius, be they dinner with the girls, family celebrations etc and was really disappointed to hear they had changed hands but was willing to give this "new" vesuvius a go.
Booked a table with my other half, we had to wait ages to get menus, wait even longer to place our order, their beautiful extensive menu has been cut down to a plastic brochure with little or no choice, I am a vegetarian and there was NOTHING on the menu for veggies and when i asked what was the option i was told there was none! Then i asked what could the chef do for me and the waitress told me i could have a certain pasta dish which had bacon in it I said i didnt want a dish with meat and she said that there wasnt much meat in it and i could pick it out! Did you ever hear the likes??!! So I ordered the dish in question and specified the "no meat" part and lo and behold it arrived with the meat picked out! This was very obvious as I could taste the bacon flavour and there was traces of it left in the dish. It was unbelievable. My other half got SEafood chowder which he eats on a regular basis and which gave him horrific heartburn for the whole nite.
All in all it was a horrendous experience, the place was half empty and when we used to go to the original vesuvius it was always packed.
Bring back the old place and get rid of the useless staff with their shabby attitude who should stick to serving food to late nite revellers !
Yours,
Unhappy diner
:mad:

pirelli

okgirl wrote: »

Hi again,

Just thinking, I doubt if your food was microwaved as if it had have been the food would have been cold in the middle. Microwaves cook food from the outside in. http://www.physlink.com/education/askexperts/ae379.cfm

If I am lucky enough to be taken out for dinner soon I will post my review .

Yeah agree.
Shinny: If your going to make elaborations along the lines of something like " the food was zapped in a microwave " and your proven wrong, then I would question you as a critic. Waiting 15 mins in a restaurant is not below par - there might be that the cost doesn't meet the service- it is probably the norm. I assume they had taken all the dinner plates and left you waiting cold. Did you try calling a waiter/waitress.

seaner

I would agree with all posters who've had a bad experience. You cant say they're having a bad night either. The restaurant has gone downhill and fast since being taken over.
I think their attitude to the food is pretty poor. It would appear their standards are low.

I was there with a few friends and not one person enjoyed their meal. The staff are nice and the setting is gorgeous, but the food lets them down terribly.
If they do own the local chippers and have decided to branch out with this restaurant then they should have adopted better practices when it comes to the food they cook and the dishes they make.
This isn't midnight gorging...ppl are paying good money for food and should be served something thats up to par.

KC81

you know am suprised at the posts on here. Ive eaten their recently and it was gorgeous. Ive eaten there before when the previous chef ran it and wasnt impressed then.
My boyfriend and i bought enjoyed it and definitly would go back again.
It definitly wasnt chipper food. It was real italian fresh cooking.

shinny

pirelli wrote: »

Yeah agree.
Shinny: If your going to make elaborations along the lines of something like " the food was zapped in a microwave " and your proven wrong, then I would question you as a critic. Waiting 15 mins in a restaurant is not below par - there might be that the cost doesn't meet the service- it is probably the norm. I assume they had taken all the dinner plates and left you waiting cold. Did you try calling a waiter/waitress.

See post 6. Besides, I never claimed to be a "critic" - just giving my feedback on my experience.