Valentino's - Wakefield

This place is well know throughout Yorkshire and further afield for it's food and great party atmosphere. I as so annoyed to repoprt it is now in new hands and has gone down the pan in lots of ways( Took the Family for Lunch a few days ago and was so disappointed in our visit. The place looks nicer from outside but the prices have gone up daftly, the special was really expensive and the food only average. The Service consisted of lots of in your face local Waiters, no Italian's in sight any more. They were so trying to get us to have more than one drink, despite our protests..... So annoyed and upset as this was the place for an evening treat, NOT anymore, and down go my stars....

Had a lovely meal here with my wife on the weekend, and can't really fault them on service. The food was delicious, the wine was great, the staff were friendly and attentive, but not overbearing. It was busy, but still felt intimate, and we had a great night. Only had two pieces of constructive criticism: the meats in the antipasti weren't cut thinly enough, and the waiter who put pepper on my pizza wasn't paying attention to the fact that I was in conversation with one of his colleagues and kept applying it until my wife noticed and asked if I'd got enough haha!!

Valentinos is my local restaurant, i often drive by it puzzles me why the carpark is always so full! Ok the food is .... Ok, tho more expensive than similar restaurants in wakefield centre! Service is slow, staff often grumpy, saying that, i've been quite a few times cos i'm quite happy to take my time over a meal the grumpy, sometimes arrogant staff just give us something to laugh at! Food poor choice of starters, i think, had the mushrooms last time which were bland boring , plenty of choice for the main course the fillet steak lovely cooked to perfection but the peppercorn sauce had a slightly strange taste to it! Chips are not what i call proper chips so cant comment cos i dont eat what i dont enjoy. Vegetables ok but slightly overcooked for my liking! Dessert never had one cos i'm not really a dessert person nothing on the menu to tempt me but my daughter had chocolate ice cream thats exactly what it was 2 scoops of chocolate ice cream she liked it tho! Good points.... Spacious room (tho this can sometimes mean no atmosphere, lovely decor we've never ever had a problem booking a table even at the last minute!

We decided to go to Valentinos for our Christmas get together. I booked a month in advance, a table for 6 people for 8pm. At 9pm we were still waiting to be seated, with the staff telling us they couldn 't say when a table would be ready. I asked to speak to the manager, who wasn 't interested in my complaint, was rude and dismissive. On being asked where his customer service was he replied if you find it let me know . We left. I am disgusted at his attitude and will never go there again. If you want customer service then don 't go to Valentinos.

I'm undecided about Valentino's. They have a great menu which is quite varied and the food is good with huge portions (last time I had pate as a starter, then BBQ ribs). However, it's big and busy and you seem to wait absolutely ages to get your food, which is a bit annoying. They obviously realise this as they've recently hired a magician to entertain bored customers! Having said that, it's always busy so they're doing something right! In terms of decor and cleanliness, I really like the place, and despite the slow service, the staff always seem calm and friendly.