As far as I’m aware the Don Beni Italian restaurant phenomenon is unique to the Home Counties. Over the past years I have visited Don Beni’s in Englefield Green, Winkworth Row and Windsor, usually for friends’ birthday parties and the like. Last night I ended up eating at the Wokingham branch with my new mate Daryl after failing to get into, well, every other half decent restaurant in Wokingham.
The restaurant played to the now familiar Don Beni formula of huge portions, noisy Italian waiters and even noisier clientele. On the plus side, the pizzas are a notch above Pizza Hut- the base was reasonably well made if a little bland, the toppings on my four seasons just about passable given the reasonable £7.50 asking price. The pizza is always advisable over the heavy, starchy pasta. The anaemic sliced pale tomato in the mixed salad reminded me of an appalling tricolore (mozzarella, tomato and basil salad) I ordered a few years back at the Englefield Green branch. The lifeless tomato was accompanied by mozzarella that was just entering sourness and the basil didn’t make an appearance.
A decent atmosphere can compensate for such culinary short comings, but unfortunately Don Beni's fails here too. The battered lit up fridges scattered around the dining room, noisily chilling half eaten, suspect puddings and the odd pint of milk does not make for a pleasant dining experience. Nor do the sticky chairs and the corny Chianti bottles covered in patriotic red and green candle wax. But all that having been said, most customers seemed to be having a good time.
Time seems to have past Don Beni’s by. The lamentable food and dining experience might have passed muster in the 1980s but the world has moved on. The Zizzi and Strada chains both offer far superior Italian grub and ambience for similar prices, as do a host of independent Italian restaurants including the tasty and fun Bar Centro in Guildford. Not recommended.
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