"I think I have been spoilt abroad because in Berlin and Vienna, I not only had some of the best Italian food I've eaten outside of Italy, but I also had two of the best restaurant experiences I've had in my entire life, full-stop, out...of any kind of restaurant. When you find such an Italian restaurant, you want to go back, but sadly Berlin or Vienna is a long way to go just for Saturday dinner! Fast forward to a little getaway to the West Country, and we found ourselves next door to the pretty town of Tewkesbury so booked Salerno based on the great reviews. Being half-Italian myself, I am always going to be highly critical of Italian food, but I must admit that all the dishes eaten were very nice...we had a Caprese and Antipasti for 1 for starters followed by a Margherita pizza and Rigatoni Salmone for mains, all very tasty, decent portions and well cooked. The affogato finished my meal off nicely. This was all washed down with a lovely bottle of Lo Zoccolaio Barolo, which at £46 was a fair price for a premium wine. So far so good. Now, I accept that the restaurant was full and busy, and there are Covid concerns but my downside came from the service experience. While it is clearly a popular local restaurant and has a great reputation, whenever I go to an Italian restaurant they always pick up on the fact that I'm Italian, the obvious giveaway being my name when I reserved the table and when I first arrive there. I also expect engaging service at any restaurant, so that I feel loved and like I can have a bit of banter. And finally, as is so typical of an independent Mediterranean restaurant, the fun part comes when they offer you a free shot of something, whether it be limoncello, ouzo or grappa! Ultimately, it's the little thank you, that frankly costs a business around 50-60p at most, but gets loyalty and happy clients every time. Even a couple of shots of espresso would suffice which again would cost about 20-30p in total to the owners! Far be it for me to tell a business how they should run, but times are tough for any business, and it's these tiny little touches that differentiate a business for me, and frankly these are touches which could be integrated into the menu pricing anyway, just add 25p to each dish and nobody would even notice! Honestly, the service was cold, not especially attentive and frankly just disinterested...they didn't do anything wrong, and I'm still giving a 4/5 as the food wine was great and the atmosphere was nice because the place was full, but it still erks me overall as great family service is what Italian restaurants are all about, and if you don't have that, you may as well be a rubbish, soulless Prezzo or Pizza Express. Would I recommend the food here...absolutely! Would I recommend dining here or would I return myself...sadly no!"
