Britain has moved on from slapdash hospitality. Someone should tell Bodean’s
At a recent sojourn in Bodean’s, I was slapped again by a fact about the “casual dining crunch” that most industry experts never mention: diners voted with their feet. The food got too bloody casual.
Chains like Pizza Express, Prezzo, Jamie’s Italian and myriad others presented themselves as friends: there to do the heavy lifting on your social life and family occasions. And they abused that friendship. My love for Pizza Express dwindled over a dozen missing-in-action side salads; the waiter eventually brought me undressed leaves. And I am still murderous over a night in 2012 trapped at Prezzo in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, where the microwave’s ding heralded bolognese resembling the innards of a Whiskas beef-flavoured casserole pouch. Yes, Britain may arguably have grown more skint over the past decade, but its palate has become more refined. We’d rather eat Lidl prosciutto at home than have it hurled at a sharing “plank” by a surly teen in Jamie’s Italian, Guildford.
The burnt ends taste of jam and have the vibe of something a kidnapper might begin posting back to your parents
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