La Trattoria, Swanage

Great food,varied choice of dishes,friendly and efficient staff,lovely ambience- a great meal enjoyed by all three generations of our family group;so much so that we went back for more within two days during our weeks holiday!

What an awful place!We went there last Friday when on holiday and because we've got the gourmet society card which we purchased for a considerable price so we could enjoy discounts in very good restaurants in the UK. Apparently the manager or the owner came to the entrance(with a strong Polish accent) and I asked if I could use my card when I havent booked on the phone before (as stated on the conditions)which i thought it was silly as we were so close to the restaurant. Anyway, we could have called as we both have mobiles and free calls.... The restaurant was very quiet and she was very loud that even some people inside were watching us as we had Tesco vouchers in our hands or something like that. She said that we haven't called before and for that we could only use one table in the corner which I think for her it was the worst one. Also, she said that we could stay there if we put our baby outside on the street because they needed to go through( we were in the far corner table close to the wall and the street and there were more clients with the pushchairs inside!). If it wasn't enough, when she brought the menus she was still very upset and loud and she said that we had to go for desserts and pay for them as we haven't called before and she was doing us a favour. In that point, I was thinking to leave the restaurant but because i felt so embarrased, we stayed. With the gourmet society card we are always treated as VIP people , this is the first time we were like beggars.

La Trattoria,Very cramped - staff regularly brushed against seating - no apology

Portions small and hence over-priced.

First time in years I didn't leave a tip - thought about leaving name and address and get them to sue me for the bill

Go to Old Brick restaurant opposite - much nicer

I would go again any day at any time. We went 3 times in one week! Pizzas are the best, my favourite ever.

Salmon, the best salmon my dad's ever tasted.

Pasta, my brother absolutely loved it, I did aswell

We go to La Trattoria for all our special occasions, and would recommend it to anyone visiting Swanage, as it is the best local restaurant.