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Here at Chester@Large it has become something of a mission for us to
champion the underdog, the quirky, low-budget one-offs that struggle to
survive against the onslaught of the mega-corporations. Ristorante Sergio (for many years known as Mamma Mia) is just such an operation. We want it to be good. It should be good. It has the good fortune to occupy premises which could only ever be a Mediterranean restaurant, so well suited are they to the purpose. It is well established and very popular. It offers all the old trattoria favourites.
So it seems almost churlish to start carping about the shortcomings. Like
the mediocre food from a menu so long that its eagerness to please
stretches the resources of the kitchen beyond breaking point. Or the lack
of air conditioning so the smoke hangs thick - and, man, do the customers
here love to smoke! Or the way the waiters are so busy you have to ask
them twice for everything and the food takes ages from ordering to eating.
If it is true that the starters are the litmus test of a restaurant, then
you won't have to wait for the main course to see our point.
The average age of the clientele is high, but they have come here for a
good time. The atmosphere is pure Torremolinos and the mums and dads have
perma-tans, smoke their heads off and wear their holiday frocks. This is a
place to forget the humdrum of our every day lives and to pretend we are
once again being warmed by the rays of a Mediterranean sun. So long as
we're not worried too much about what we're eating.
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