La Fenice

La Fenice is a good Italian restaurant.

However, it has all the makings of a GREAT Italian restaurant if it could succumb to a few simple tweaks.

I went there with friends recently. The vibe of the places squeals 'style', the friendly smiling attention of the servers likewise.

Then we we given the menus. The combination of low light, nothing specific illuminating our table and pale grey printing on the pages of the menu meant... well, it meant we couldn't actually see what was on offer! I am not making this up when I say to read it we had to spark up a smartphone and hold it over the pages and then lean in as a combined trio to pore over the contents.

So simple suggestion 1:- Quickly reprint the menus using good old fashioned black ink and save your diners the embarrassment and awkwardness of having to squint like a very squinty thing.

Simple Suggestion #2:- If you must play music over the speakers, please, please, PLEASE play something that is in keeping with the stylish vibe of the place. I will remember La Fenice's craptastic selection of horrible saxophone solos, cheesy light jazz rubbish, out-of-tune wailers and (at one point an utterly bizarre choice of) German oompah band music FAR longer than I will remember the food I ate there.

And the food is good. One of our party had a pizza which looked inviting and was polished off in its 14" entirety whilst the other two opted for the risottos (mushroom or chicken) which came out from the kitchen hot and steaming and very tasty indeed, garnished and accompanied perfectly. The food served to the tables around us all looked terrific and almost everyone seemed to be having a nice time... even if eyebrows did collectively raise when that oompah tune came on.

Le Fenice's website - just discovered - states that fish is their speciality. I wish I had known that on the night as its been a long time since I've had a good Italian fish dish. Sadly, the design of the menu meant I never even saw this kind of offering to choose it.

Like I said. A good Italian restaurant with all the makings of being a great one. Worth a try if you take along a flashlight/torch and a sturdy pair of music-blocking earplugs!

I love this restuarant! The staff are so friendly and helpful and are able to cater for any special dietary needs. The food is basic Italian, with a couple of English dishes (Steak etc). The price is very reasonable, and the size of the portions is huge! The lunchtime menu is especially good value for money.
The atmosphere and decor of Fenice is very clean and modern, it's quite small so on busy nights you might need to book. I reccommend this place 100% it's lovely in every aspect!!

Love it! I'm half Italian, my dad's an Italian chef, and this is the best I've found outside Italy so far.