Everything becomes clear...
So... I'm a big fan of Aqua, not the crap band, but the restaurant on Gosford Street. Or at least it was on Gosford St. The more observant (and local) of you might have noticed that apparently, Aqua is still on Gosford St, however, that is in fact a lie.
Aqua has moved. They're now up in Earlsdon behind the Ramada Hotel by the Butts Colleage (as was), however, the owner of the old building has changed the sign from Aqua Mood and Food, to Aqua Lounge and Coffee bar and is still trading pretending to be the original owners of the business. Apparently the owner of the building wanted to turn it into a pub ('cos Gosford St is short on Pubs with the Cambell, The Oak and Whitefriars all in the same block) but then after Original Aqua had moved out, he stole the menu (literally, they're using the original menus...) wholesale and continued trading under their name. The main problem with that, is that I hadn't realised. I had noticed (and commented) that on the last couple of visits the food wasn't as good as it used to be, don't get me wrong, it's still pretty good, but it's not excellent, which it always used to be. The other thing which should've tipped us off was the complete change in staff and furniture.
Basically, the Aqua on Gosford St. hasn't been Aqua since the "refurb" in January, but a knock off copy of the original, while Original Aqua is now trading here.
From what we gather, there's an on going legal dispute over the name and they're trying to force the owner of the Gosford St. premises to change it.
Anyway, the long to short is... The owner of the Aqua business and the Brother/Sister team that used to run front of house are now spilt between the Warwick and Earlsdon sites.
The Gosford Street Aqua is NOT Aqua. Neither the food nor the service are as good.
Having been to the new location for Original Aqua, I've probably got to say the in all honesty, the location isn't as good, the building lacks the character of the old site. However, the food is (still) absolutely superb (even though the Italian side of the menu has been dropped) and it was more like visiting old friends than a restaurant. We had an absolutely fantastic meal. If you're in the area, and are looking for fantastic food, then I can't recommend Aqua highly enough. Original Aqua that is...
Skip the Gosford Street Fake Aqua. It's a poor imitation.
Aqua has moved. They're now up in Earlsdon behind the Ramada Hotel by the Butts Colleage (as was), however, the owner of the old building has changed the sign from Aqua Mood and Food, to Aqua Lounge and Coffee bar and is still trading pretending to be the original owners of the business. Apparently the owner of the building wanted to turn it into a pub ('cos Gosford St is short on Pubs with the Cambell, The Oak and Whitefriars all in the same block) but then after Original Aqua had moved out, he stole the menu (literally, they're using the original menus...) wholesale and continued trading under their name. The main problem with that, is that I hadn't realised. I had noticed (and commented) that on the last couple of visits the food wasn't as good as it used to be, don't get me wrong, it's still pretty good, but it's not excellent, which it always used to be. The other thing which should've tipped us off was the complete change in staff and furniture.
Basically, the Aqua on Gosford St. hasn't been Aqua since the "refurb" in January, but a knock off copy of the original, while Original Aqua is now trading here.
From what we gather, there's an on going legal dispute over the name and they're trying to force the owner of the Gosford St. premises to change it.
Anyway, the long to short is... The owner of the Aqua business and the Brother/Sister team that used to run front of house are now spilt between the Warwick and Earlsdon sites.
The Gosford Street Aqua is NOT Aqua. Neither the food nor the service are as good.
Having been to the new location for Original Aqua, I've probably got to say the in all honesty, the location isn't as good, the building lacks the character of the old site. However, the food is (still) absolutely superb (even though the Italian side of the menu has been dropped) and it was more like visiting old friends than a restaurant. We had an absolutely fantastic meal. If you're in the area, and are looking for fantastic food, then I can't recommend Aqua highly enough. Original Aqua that is...
Skip the Gosford Street Fake Aqua. It's a poor imitation.