While in Leicester, my family and I visited this restaurant for a celebration. My niece had chosen it because when she was researching places to eat, the menu and the restaurant’s appearance had caught her eye. The website was good, and it also allowed us to book efficiently online in advance. The booking system also asks if you are celebrating an event.
We arrived early for our reservation, hungry. The courtyard-like area housed several eateries and bars, and the picturesque 1573 building was very attractive and appealing.
We were greeted by a friendly lady who seated us and took our drink orders. Her friendliness and attentiveness were truly impressive, and all the staff were fabulous. She even acknowledged that she knew we were celebrating an event and wished us all well. For this alone, I highly recommend the 1573 Bar & Grill. You can never underestimate the power of excellent customer service, as we experienced the opposite at the nearby Frankie & Benny’s restaurant earlier this year in Leicester (review here). They were not only rude but also never acknowledged our complaint, despite our attempts to contact them. This experience (F&B Leicester) highlights how crucial customer service is, and it’s why we didn’t even consider visiting Frankie & Benny’s. Thankfully, we stumbled upon 1573 Bar & Grill. The service before we even sampled the food was so great that I knew it would be a positive experience, and we definitely plan to go back.
The spacious restaurant was clean and tidy, with a very well-presented dining area. Two food menus were available on the day of our visit: a lunch menu with offers, ala carte, and a drinks menu. We opted for the lunch menu and began with their small plates offer (three for £15). We ordered garlic bread with cheese and two portions of Brie wedges, which we treated as a starter. The time from ordering to arrival was as expected and relatively well-timed.
It would be helpful if the venue listed calories on the actual menus in the future. However, I didn’t ask about this and a separate menu with calories may exist or the info may be available on enquiry.
Menus can be viewed here.
We all had different main courses. I had scampi and chips, while the rest of the party ordered cheese beef burgers and two Cajun chicken burgers, one of which had cheese.
The food was presented well and the meal was enjoyable. The scampi and chips were as you would expect as it is what it is. The burgers were decent in size and the portion sizes were good for the price. A salad salad accompanied the meals, and dips were offered.
When it was time to leave, the bill arrived without any errors. Everything was calculated as expected as attention to detail was spot on in this restaurant. As with most venues these days, a service charge was added. I don’t mind that if the money goes to the staff, and the lady serving confirmed that it was always split amongst the team.
We had an excellent experience overall and will definitely be returning. The food wasn’t necessarily the most amazing, but it was exactly what we expected and our niece enjoyed the experience and they helped us celebrate our event. For a lunch and drink, we would definitely go back. Thank you to the staff at this venue.
****
Four stars out of five
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