it is not very often we dine out, so when we do, I expect to be impressed with food quality and/or service - hopefully both!
We have eaten at this establishment many times since it was originally Mama Carmella's and Cafe Palazzo and was expecting the good standards to carry on with the new owners - dining at Becco on the Parade was a disappointing experience.
We met up with Mr Fixit's brother & wife for lunch at our usual haunt Cafe Palazzo, on The Parade at Norwood. When we first walked in, we were pleasantly surprised to find it a bit quiet considering it was a Friday - we should have realised then something was amiss.
On selecting our table and perusing the menu (complete with ????? on some of the prices) we realised that our favourite restaurant had recently undergone a name change, and presumably a change of management.
We were all in the mood for pizza, so we ordered 4 pizzas, 3 soft drinks, and 1 glass of wine. After about 10 minutes, the waitress came over to advise that they were out of Moscato, so I requested a Rose. Another 4 minutes or so passed, where I could actually see our drinks on the counter, but no staff to bring them to us. It was then I realised that there was only 3 staff on duty - 1 to take meal orders, 1 to make drinks and 1 to bring deliver food and drinks to the tables (and quite badly I might add). I witnessed this obviously new waitress walk all around the cafe attempting to deliver an iced coffee whilst dribbling every where she went :( When I did eventually get my drink, they also came over to offer a refund .......... as they had inadvertently charged Mr Fixit for a bottle and not a glass :( Mr Fixit was quite relieved when they mentioned this, as he thought the charge was a little on the high side LOL
From where we were sitting, we could see the pizza maker madly making pizzas - they certainly seemed popular :) and the smells were wonderful, becoming almost painful as we waited for our meals. In the end, we waited 30 minutes for our pizzas - the wait made even more frustrating when we could see our pizzas out of the oven and sitting on top ready for waiting staff to bring it to us :( (I timed it from the first moment I observed the pizza on top and it was a full 5 minutes before we got it - I have no idea how long it was out of the oven before I saw it)
Everyone agreed, the pizzas were very nice :) but a bit dissatisfying for Mr Fixit as his was a bit cold :(
We ended our meal with desserts and coffees - the coffee was nice, but the dessert was a bit disappointing - I got the Snickers/Picnic Cheesecake - not very sweet, and not very cheesecakey :( and I had to unwrap it myself! they left the plastic protector on it when serving!
Surely this plastic protector is for transport and storage ............... shouldn't it be removed just before serving?
All in all, a bit of a disappointment really :( looks like we will be on the hunt for another place to get a good pizza on The Parade. Anyone have any suggestions?
Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.
Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.
