Alcatraz, Camberley

Went to Alcatraz as a party of four to celebrate anniversary and wanted something better than Zizi's but in hindsight we would have been better going to Zizi.

Waitress was poor didn't seem to understand our requests, we were given wrong wine, main meals arrived 5 minutes before the cold vegetables arrived, which were also wrong, one of our party ordered fish cakes and was sick all night. our meal cost £180.00 inc drinks and I felt was poor value.

DO NOT DINE AT THIS RESTAURANT

I am disapointed with the other reviews for being poor.

The food is very good and also the service. The restaurant itself is spacious, this in itself gets my vote. this is the only reason we found it, we were going to zizi's that night and you were almost sitting on top of the people next to you! Put it this way, I have not gone back to Zizi's!

Modern Italian which makes a real change from the big chain pizza n pasta places. Original dishes, daily specials and super fresh fish. Friendly staff and never busy so you can always get a table. Good wine list which can easily push the bill to £30pp but worth it for a treat and for something different.

What a dreadful experience. Can't fault the waiting staff as they did the best they could under the circumstances. Food came out in dribs and drabs. When questioned, the manager said that it was our fault as we weren't ready!!! I will not be passing through their doors again.

My wife and I visited this restaurant for the first time. We entered the establishment at 1.15 pm, and were the only people there.

We were quickly given the menus, and made our selection. Both my wife and I seleted minestrone soup with bread as our starters.

After half an hour we were still waiting for the soup. In the meantime a second diner had entered the restaurant, and had been served his first course before us.

Eventually the waitress came over and apologised, saying she had forgotten to give our orders to the kitchen staff, and promised us a free coffee (wow!) She also muttered something about staff problems. She also said the chicken and the salmon we had ordered was - wait for it - in the microwave!

Eventually the "soup" arrived. I have eaten minestrone throughout Europe and North America, and am also familiar with the tinned variety! I do not have the vocabulary to describe the muck that was served up - it consisted of a few pieces of uncooked potato and a few hard peas in a liquid the colour of dirty dishwater.

At this point my wife rose, saying the could not take more of this establishment, and we told the waitress we were leaving.

Perhaps my wife and I caught this place on a bad day. We will certainly not be in a hurry to repeat the experience.

I had eaten at Alcatraz, Camberley twice before back in 2005 and the food and service was very good. Not excellent but for this type of restaurant it was above average. fast forward two and a half years. We went back on a Saturday night. We walked in and gave our name as we had made a reservation. the waitress looked around the restaurant and then asked us to sit at the table nearest the front door. It seemed as though they hadn't reserved a table for us. As it was particularly cold and windy that evening I asked if we could sit away from the door and the staff appeared unwilling to accommodate us. The restaurant had only two other tables in use at this time. Eventually we were offered a table at the back of the restaurant and we gladly accepted it.

We were not asked for our coats and as there were coat racks right next to our table we hung them ourselves. Our first interaction with our (first) waitress of the evening was her coming over, we did not hear her even saying hello and she informed us that she would be moving our coats to different hangers because they all had numbers even though the tables weren't numbered and we had put them on the wrong hangers, as if we were supposed to know better. Two of our party ordered gin and tonics. two minutes later another waitress came and asked if we wanted to order drinks. The gin and tonics came in whiskey glasses and were ready mixed which was disappointing given the price and the fancy looking bar at this restaurant.

We ordered the mixed bread to tide us over while looking at the extensive menu with one waitress. again after ordering another waitress came up to us and asked if we were ready to order. I

remember the last time there were three types of Italian bread on this dish one of which was a lovely warm wholemeal loaf but this time we got two types, both white, cold and very plain tasting. No drinking water was offered so we had to ask for that. While we were reading the menu and eating the plain bread both waitresses came to the table separately to ask if we were ready to order. It seemed as though there was no communication going on between the staff.

We ordered our main courses (none of us fancied any of the starters) with one of the waitresses and as we were still drinking our aperitifs, asked if the red wine could be brought out with the main course. two minutes after ordering, the same waitress brings out the red wine and asks me to taste it as I'm nursing a gin and tonic. She fills up our wine glasses and walks away. minutes later another member of staff comes to our table and even though I was in mid conversation with my mother, appeared to interrupt to ask how she would like her tuna cooked. I think the waitress must have forgotten to ask my mother that. a few minutes later two waitresses return with the cutlery for fish and steak and seemed to lay it very awkwardly. the restaurant was filling up now and that seemed unnecessary; two staff for two knives. They didn't even take away the mountain of unused cutlery from our table.

So our main courses arrive, in a reasonable time I will admit. My fillet steak was a nice size and had a decent helping of pepper sauce, salad was plain and uninteresting. The tuna with king prawns also looked good although it was more well done than medium rare. Another guest had lasagna which looked very ordinary although I'm told it was tastier than it looked. There was no salt and pepper on the table and we had to ask for fresh black pepper, also there was no fresh parmesan which I think is sinful for an Italian restaurant.

Main course finished and cleared away we went through the double act of being asked if we wanted desserts by both waitresses, which we didn't but two Irish coffees were ordered at an expensive £4.20 each. after that we were left for 20 to 25 minutes in the far corner of the restaurant until we had to flag someone down to ask for the bill. literally within a minute another waitress who I had not even seen all evening came by the table with the bill in the little leather book and threw it down on the table as she walked off towards the toilets. I don't think that is the way you should ask for someone to pay nearly £90 for a meal.

We got up and got our own coats without anyone asking to help and we left without anyone really noticing. It was the first and hopefully only time I insisted to the group I was with that we were not leaving a tip for the truly awful service. This restaurant has the worst service I have ever experienced anywhere in the world.

Being British, I don't like to complain, so I only managed to send the first attempt at a starter back. The waitress at Alcatraz in Camberley was very apologetic, and the roasted vegetables which came with it were good.

The carrot tagliatelle which came with my main was also good, as were the vegetables. However, the vegetables (unexpectedly) came with two sorts of potatoes, so the French fries we had ordered as well were a starch too far.

I went to Alcatraz Italian restauarnt trying to see if what one of my friends told me about it, he said the food was fantastic and the service too.

It was true.

I do recommend a visit to this restaurant