"Visited here yesterday with my son, with great expectations after reading reviews on Tripadvisor. To say that we were disappointed would be an understatement. We were given a table for two overlooking the river, very pleasant, although on taking in the surroundings, the place looked a bit grubby and in need of some tlc. The second we had sat down a waiter appeared at the table asking if we wanted drinks. I requested a few minutes to look at the drinks menu, before ordering a Diet Coke, son ordered fresh orange juice and lemonade. Coke was flat. I ordered Thai fish cakes as a starter, son ordered potato skins. The fish cakes resembled a cork beer mat…about 1/4 inch thick and rock hard having obviously been overcooked. Potato skins were edible. Main course…lasagne and chunky chips for me, fillet steak with Diane sauce, chips and a side portion of onion rings for son. Lasagne was a thick, congealed, dried out, burnt mess on the plate. Clearly not freshly prepared and had been heated up to within an inch of its life in the microwave. Chips were not freshly cooked, looked and tasted as if they had been made days ago and reheated. I had two mouthfuls and left the entire meal. Fillet steak overcooked and sauce tasteless, second portion of ordered chips didn’t arrive, onion rings greasy and cold. From sitting down, to being served, starters and mains took approx 15 minutes…says it all really. At no point whilst eating did anyone ask if our food was ok, although two waiters appeared to be watching us constantly, making us feel very uncomfortable. On clearing the table I quietly and discreetly expressed my disappointment with the meal to the waiter with glasses, who apologised and agreed to remove the Lasagne from the bill, but the taller, bald waiter became very defensive and argumentative, to the point of being confrontational. The blonde waitress who settled our bill was pleasant and appeared understanding of the situation. To summarise, to anyone looking to spend their hard earned money, there are many food establishments in Newcastle offering a far better customer experience and superior food. We wouldn’t go back to Sambucca and wouldn’t recommend."
