Centotre

This letter I wrote to Victor Contini/owner of Centotre reflects my opinion

"I have been lucky enough to call Edinburgh my home for over 15 years. During which, I have been a regular customer at Valvona & Crolla. It was this famous Contini establishment where I first tried Parmigiano and found myself trying to be grown-up as a child; sipping at my first espresso in the cafe and tipping as much as the thing cost! My fondest memory however of the experience was your all too familiar smile greeting my mother and I over a chat.

After three recent disappointing meals I decided to give Centotre another shot. I was unable to emulate that same sense of excitement I felt at Valvona all those years ago as a child.

I had phoned your restaurant during breakfast service to book a window booth for 2 people at lunch time, I was assured a 12:30-p.m. reservation had been penned in. I arrived before my guest to find that although they had record of my reservation, no seats were available. The manager explained that some customers from breakfast were still seated. Although I am all too familiar with long lunches, long breakfasts are something I'm not. Surely a reservation should never been confirmed unless of certainty of availability?

After some quick thinking I agreed on an outdoor table given the beautiful weather. I was quickly seated at a table for 2. A flustered and uninviting waitress came quickly over and took my drinks order of a still bottle of mineral water, a bottle of sparking water soon appeared and I was left feeling slightly flat! All around me other tables were being offered olives and other nibbles, whilst pondering menu decisions. I was completely ignored by the waitress for the 15 minutes until my guest arrived.

When my guest arrived, we hastily ordered before the already filling restaurant became overwhelmed, as I was concerned the service may continue to evaporate. I ordered without problems, but in another simple error, the waitress had forgotten to tell us that a key ingredient - artichoke, was 'finished'. As the restaurant only started lunch service maybe the earliest 11:30-a.m. I was left feeling more convinced that problems were echoed in the kitchen as-well as front-of-house. After an intense 30 second scour of the menu my guest ordered, but herself commented on how disorganized things appeared.

Once ordered the food did arrive very promptly and my guest and I were in agreement the food was fantastic, athough we were disappointed that the waitress at no point offered black pepper. As we both finished, the waitress seemed more enthusiastic over collecting our plates than we had seen so far - that simple you say? Unfortunately not, she stacked my guest's plate onto my plate (still sitting in front of me) and then with an awkward lean over the table took them away. I felt this manner of clearing plates was very invasive and I really felt more the kitchen porter than a customer.

The waitress did ask if we would like any desserts but we declined and asked simply for an espresso. Ten minutes of waiting and no espresso, we did however ask the manager for the bill. Sadly the bill arrived before the espresso.

It would be very easy to draw an assumption about me as an individual by reading this letter. I am only write this letter because I am a huge supporter of all the Contini ventures, be it ViniCafe, Valvona or Zanzero. I know all to well that a busy lunch service can be a hectic time and given the huge demand for seats on that particular day I can see I'm not the only fan.

I hope that you will receive my letter in good faith and accept my offering of feedback"
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William Forsyth
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Sunday, July 05, 2009

This is a restaurant part of the Valvona and Crolla dynasty, but i found it does not equal either the original on Elm Row or the Vin Caffe.

Like the bellow, i had a similar experience with dry chicken, which came with very mediocre sauteed potatoes and a dressing which was just far too lemony. For around £16 this dish was just a total and inexcusable failure. On a seperate occasion, ive had very bland canneloni and greasy deep-fried courgettes.

Also, i agree with the below comment about the seating; the tables near the windows are very small and uncomfortable, but apart from that the room is quite spectacular and very trendy; very George St.

I find this all a shame considering the high quality of the food at other Valvona establishments. And when the prices are this high, you have to expect better.
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Nick
Saturday, April 26, 2008

wow i cant believe the last review, my experience was totally the opposite. after promtly being seated in a nice corner we had nothing but great service and food all night. i had a delicious creamy pasta with italian sausages and my friend had a pizza, cooked specifically to his liking. for the quality of the ingredients and service i thought the prices were very reasonable, we'll definitely be back!
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alison o''rourke
Thursday, June 21, 2007

I was invited to a business meeting at Centotre which is always a great way to experience where to eat in Edinburgh (i.e. the cost is not coming out of your own pocket so you are more likely to be relaxed about trying new places!). I loved the building, I thought the ‘bistro’ style of the tables and chairs let it down though. Also all the tables were packed in like sardines – I could have helped myself quite easily to the neighbouring tables condiments!. There was little privacy therefore and felt a bit too much like a pub meal atmosphere. The prices were expensive but I though, perhaps it will live up to the cost with the food….it did not in my case I am afraid. I had chargrilled chicken on a salad with a garlic and lemon mayonnaise. The chicken was very dry and overcooked, the salad had been dressed too early and was wilting and there was far too much mayonnaise – it was over powering. The service was good though, friendly, attentive without being over eager but swift enough. Unfortunately, when I left virtually all my dinner no-one asked me if it was OK which would have given me a opportunity to comment without the embarrassment of having to raise it separately. At this time I would not recommend it to anyone.

Lucy Wright
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Lucy Ann Wright
Tuesday, June 12, 2007