ASK Italian Reviews Summary

Service

Pros:

• "Shona/Shauna always provides us with the most excellent service."
• "All staff were very polite and were absolutely lovely."
• "A huge applause to the waiting team, special credit going to the girl with dark hair and a septum ring who provided me with a seamless, polite and attentive experience."
• "The staff made the whole night for us, they let me come into the kitchen to surprise my aunt with her birthday cake, they gave terrific service to our table."
• "Peter was great! Even though it was very busy and we could see that they did not have enough staff, he managed super well and his customer service was outstanding."
• "Manager Natasha made this lunch an amazing experience."
• "Service was impeccable the waitress Annabelle was very busy gave outstanding customer service to every customer ensuring that every customer had an amazing experience at the restaurant."

Cons:

• "Waitress- hard work. Abrupt, unwelcoming, seemed nervous untrained."
• "Service was slow, even the table next to us asked if it was table Service or do you have to order by an app."
• "The worst service ever in a Bournemouth restaurant waited one hour and a half between starter and main course which didn't arrive."
• "Waiter took our order and then went for his brake without passing our order to his replacement."
• "Hard to get anyone’s attention over there as there were 2 people guess was the manager busy chatting with his colleague on the door."
• "Horrible waiting service/waitress."
• "The service was not very welcoming, the waiter that served us first never reappeared again."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Absolutely delicious food! Very accommodating since our group hadn't booked beforehand."
• "Lovely food and such a great location."
• "Pollo E Pancetta Pizza - base was delicious."
• "The spaghetti pomadoro was delicious and I would recommend visiting to get the authenticity taste of Italy."
• "In my opinion ASK has the best food of all the chain Italian restaurants."
• "Both pizzas were very tasty."
• "The lasagna was absolutely delicious and by far the most tastiest lasagna i have ever eaten."

Cons:

• "The dip that came out with the main tasted very bad."
• "The Mushrooms Al Forno - starter was served with the tiny pieces of bread, which became very overcooked and burnt in the sizzling skillet."
• "The food wasn’t great and our mains got brought out whilst we were still eating our starter."
• "Food average at best."
• "The Bolognese was grey and unappealing. It tasted like tinned mince with the addition of a few herbs."
• "The chicken was smelly, not tasty at all."
• "The carbonara that I had ordered was dreadful."

Management and Staff

Pros:

• "The staff were amazing and had great customer service, there is something for the whole family."
• "Staff were clearly just following an odd management decision and were very attentive."
• "Fantastic experience at the hands of the equally fantastic staff from bar to kitchen."
• "Attentive staff, very tasty pasta and very clean and modern decor."
• "The staff, the food was excellent."
• "Staff are very friendly and helpful."
• "Staff very helpful and efficient."

Cons:

• "I think that this branches customer service is appalling and also their measures for coronavirus are awful."
• "The main fail here was the kitchen but the biggest of them all was the male manager on duty which clearly has lost control of the whole restaurant and was not engaged at all with staff or clients."
• "Didn’t even get to book a table. So many calls to restaurant leaving messages as no one answered the phone, no response."
• "The management of this restaurant is the main problem, minimal staff which need to cater for numerous people."
• "Not once did a member of staff apologise or seem remotely bothered by their incompetence."
• "Staff are so rude and unwelcoming."
• "The Manager of ASK Italian Bournemouth was rude and did not take responsibility."

Atmosphere and Decor

Pros:

• "Clean and pleasant atmosphere, we sat looking at Bournemouth gardens in a bright sunny day."
• "Ask Italian is a nice roomy Italian restaurant and moderate pricing."
• "The open house kitchen makes for a lovely atmosphere all around."
• "Great food, chilled atmosphere and friendly staff."
• "The atmosphere was brilliant as it was very busy and bustling."
• "The decor was modern but homely and warmly compliments the bustling atmosphere."
• "Overall the restaurant is well decorated, open plan and had a great atmosphere."

Cons:

• "All ladies toilets were blocked when I reported this to the staff was told to use the disabled but there was urine all over the seat."
• "It was a bit loud that evening (Saturday), was a bit crowded and many voices, so understanding each other was quite a challenge at times, but apart from that it was a great experience!"
• "Also there was a really annoying loud alarm that went off every minute or so."
• "We left and paid halfway through our mains as an uncomfortable atmosphere."
• "Could do with a bit of music and air con though."
• "The table felt like it needed a proper scrub, the napkins were sticking to it, along with a couple of bits of cutlery that had dried food on them."
• "I was shocked to see Ask Italian not enforcing Covid procedures with their guests to the point people were walking around without masks on."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Food quality is very good and unlike some chains you can head to Ask with way-above-average expectations."
• "So absolute value for money."
• "Accepts Tesco club card vouchers boost too!"
• "We come from Australia and have honestly never had a more delicious Italian meal anywhere!"
• "The food was lovely, I don’t think we had any complaints and there were 7 of us at the table so to please everyone including a vegan is a great achievement."
• "Stopped in here for dessert and cocktails and we were not disappointed."
• "The quality of the food was top class. Certainly would recommend this restaurant."

Cons:

• "For £14.50 the salad was so tiny."
• "The food (pasta and calamari) was generally bland."
• "However while we were enjoying our meal, my girlfriend pulled a peace of plastic out of her mouth."
• "The Penne Al Pollo Della Casa - the sauce was very runny, for a baked dish it would have been nice to have had a cheesy topping and a thicker sauce."
• "Compared with Prezzo it looked like a starter. Far too small and far too expensive for the price."
• "Food is ok but certainly nothing special. The cheese 'fondu' is nothing more than a ramekin with melted cheese and bread slithers."
• "Overall, totally disappointing, poor service and overpriced."