Ristorante Bari, 15 Shambles
Location, location, location. Sadly that is pretty much all Ristorante Bari has going for it. Nestled half way along the Shambles, York’s most historic and atmospheric street, this ‘authentic’ Italian seems to offer a lot, yet sadly delivers little.
After a longer than acceptable wait, my trout cooked in a parcel of fresh seafood arrived as a bland trout wrapped in tin foil with a few over cooked prawns which I can only assume came straight from a freezer bag. The side dishes that accompanied it can only be described as bizarre- roast potatoes & boiled carrots. Who expects to be served roast potatoes in an Italian?
My girlfriend’s choice of smoked chicken, ham and mushrooms in a white creamy sauce defeated her after half a plateful. At first this seemed like her usual food cowardice but when she rushed to the toilets to vomit I suspected the potent Italian sauce could have been the culprit!
To be fair this little place offers reasonably priced Italian staples, with pizza and pasta dishes from £6, but when your date spends most of the time in the toilet and you are stuck in a corner with a loud Yorkshire women smoking away in the non-smoking section, that doesn’t seem count for much.
Reviewed by Jamie Merrill
