Don Giovanni At The Leatherne Bottel

I decided to celebrate my 40th birthday in this restaurant and i couldn't choose better place. The location is absolutely stunning and everything was perfect from the beginning till the end. The food was authentic delicious italian food and the service was absolutely attentive, they made me feel like home . Strongly strongly recommend! Meal type: Dinner

Should be on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Because the service and food will certainly be giving me nightmares. Ludicrously overpriced for poor quality dishes/ingredients. Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: £50–60 Food: 1 Service: 1 Atmosphere: 1

Unfortunately, we have had a very disappointing experience at this restaurant. A group of our family have got together for my mum 's birthday, and have all traveled quite far to have a lovely meal with my mum at a seemingly high end restaurant. My stepdad had chosen this restaurant with thought to make the day special. I am vegan. My stepdad had called in advance to ask if the restaurant can cater to a vegan diet, and they said yes. My mother and grandmother are both vegetarian, but lean more towards a vegan diet if the venue caters to it, which the manager assured us in advance they did. So they both chose the vegan option in this instance. I would like to note that the rest of the party are full meat eaters. When we arrived, we were assured that the chefs have prepared something vegan that we are sure to enjoy, but it was secretive as to what it was. Now, this is a high end Italian restaurant with beautiful seafoods and meats, and not with a cheap price tag. I would like to note in advance, I am not a fussy eater whatsoever, and understand that if I am to go out for a meal with my omnivore family, I will sometimes have to accept a more basic meal that chefs have kindly put together for me for my requirements. I would never contend this, and do fully understand that sometimes my options will be limited. On this instance however, I feel like my dietary choices were used against me as a personal insult. We were each served a plate of frozen vegetables, boiled with no seasoning, straight from a freezer bag. Our other plate we were each served was straight from the freezer as well, consisting of two frozen vegan chorizo sausages, three frozen fishless fingers, and a chicken kiev filled with dairy cheese. All atop a bed of sad, limp lettuce. Now, imagine those were all standard meat products, and try imagining that as your surprise constructed meal at a restaurant that charges no less than £20 for a plate. I asked for the manager, who showed me all the freezer packaging and confirmed in fact yes it is dairy cheese. He was not concerned or sorry at all. Luckily for me, my diet is only a preference and not an allergy. Be warned if you have allergies, these guys have zero concern. The manager was totally dismissive. I am sure plenty of closed minded people will read my review and think I am the problem for being vegan. Honestly, if a very expensive Italian restaurant cannot imagine the very basics of: Basil, pine nut and olive oil pasta Avocado salad Creamy mushroom pasta (with coconut milk or dairy free cream) Spinach ravioli Pizza with no cheese and a couple of veggies Then I am slightly embarrassed that the restaurant is able to put a £14 pice tag on a dish consisting of nothing more than four prawns cooked in butter. The manager was condescending and had no intention of apologising or learning from mistakes. He said he can have a free drink on our next visit as if he expects us to visit again. This was my mum 's birthday dinner. As I have mentioned, I am not a fussy eater. But the food we were served was insulting and frankly embarrassing for a group of people who call themselves Italian chefs. I cook more exquisite Italian food at home with my discounted Lidl ingredients and 3 minutes of searching on Google recipes. Again, if you are a meat eater and think a plate of two chorizo sausages, three fish fingers and a chicken kiev served on wet lettuce is your idea of fine dining, please, buy a cook book and use your imagination. I am really not the pretentious vegan character that some reading this may think. I 'm easy going and relaxed about food. Wet broccoli and a sad fishless finger just wasn 't in my mind for my fine dining Italian meal which the manager had confirmed a week in advance could cater to a different diet. All together, we still spent £170 a couple of drinks, and a couple of mediocre meat based pasta dishes. Who knows what it would have cost if they wanted us to pay for the authentic Italian Tesco freezer items too. Happy birthday, mum.

Situated in the most idillic location you could wish for overlooking the Thames and countryside. We were blessed with a perfect sunny day and enjoyed excellent food combined with friendly, efficient service. Service: Dine in Meal type: Lunch Price per person: £30–40

As a riverside location there are few better on the Thames. Don Giovanni's occupies the old Leatherne Bottle and has created a fantastic riverside restaurant with outstanding views and food. Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5