Bar Gelateria Tolini — Local services in Como

Not a good experience whatsoever for my girlfriend and me.

There were three ladies who served us and two of them were very pleasant. With that said, the blonde haired lady with apparent facial cosmetic work was over the top rude.

We initially said we didn’t need a menu, but after a couple minutes of looking we asked to have one. This sparked apparent agitation. As we continued to look through the menu she approached us to ask if we were ready to order, but did so in a manner that made us feel like she was rushing us. For context, we ordered within 5-6 minutes of arriving and there were no other people in the restaurant the entire time.

Once we ordered, this lady told us it would be a moment before the food was ready, to which my gf politely responded “no worries, take your time.” The lady turned her back and mockingly repeated “take your time.”

As she was ringing us up, I didn’t know the name of the sandwich I ordered because earlier I had pointed to the one I wanted on the counter top (no name tags of sandwiches on the counter) and another server grabbed it for me. The lady became apparently agitated again as she grabbed a menu for me to point out my sandwich. All the while the server who actually grabbed my sandwich was behind her trying to help describe what I had ordered.

Finally, as we left the restaurant we sat at one of the tables out front. We didn’t realize the pricing was different for those who ordered takeout vs sit down, so we got up and left when this same lady informed us we couldn’t sit there. That part of the situation was understandable. What wasn’t understandable is the fact that we walked back by the restaurant (still in search of somewhere to sit) and I could hear the lady openly mocking me to the other workers as she made hand puppet signs, as if to say I was running my mouth/being yappy. This was at the front counter for anyone passing by on the sidewalk to see and hear.

My gf and I are Americans coming into Italy for the first time, so we are understanding to the fact we might not know all of the local customs and may do things “wrong” sometimes. With that said, we have been in the customer service/serving profession for over a decade each, and we are kind people. Even if we said or did things that wasn’t the norm for Como residents, it was very apparent that at the heart of things we were trying to be nice. This sentiment was not reciprocated though.

I don’t know if I’ll ever have the opportunity to visit Como again. If I do, rest assured I will not visit this...

Today I went to the gelato shop, and although I noticed from the start that the service wasn’t great, I decided to go ahead anyway because I was really in the mood for an ice cream. What happened next was beyond ridiculous.

It all started when the tall employee with light eyes (blue, I believe) was clearly annoyed and making faces because someone was ordering a gelato for a small child and asked to try a flavour. The employee rolled his eyes immediately. This interaction lasted maybe a minute, so showing some patience and basic attention would’ve been the minimum, but alright… I decided to let it slide.

Then, two girls were ordering, and the same employee was so eager to rush them that he didn’t even give them a spoon (and they asked!). They kindly asked for one one more time, and he responded quite rudely. Still, I stayed in line thinking, “I’ll just ask for my flavours quickly and this will be done in a second.” And yes, it was fast, but as he handed me the ice cream, he was looking and moving away! Where is the good education, like “thanks/ have a nice day”…

It got worse when I tried to call his attention, because I wanted a spoon! Three times! First, I said “hey, sorry”, and no reaction. Then I tapped on the glass and said “hello”, and still nothing. Finally, I said “hey?” and snapped my fingers just to get his attention. That’s when he suddenly turned around and started shouting at me, mocking me, and yelling “no!” repeatedly. I was stunned. He had been rude from the very beginning, and just because I snapped my fingers after being ignored several times, he completely lost it!! Raising his voice as if I had insulted him or something. All I wanted was a spoon…

This was an awful, and humiliating experience. I absolutely hated it. I wouldn’t recommend going back, and I strongly believe that many of the negative reviews on Tripadvisor or Google are about this person. It’s shocking that someone like this is allowed to represent a gelateria that actually serves good gelato. So disappointing! This behaviour taints the whole experience and ruins the...

Nothing wrong with the gelato itself, gelato tasted normal and good like you’d expect any decent gelato or ice cream to taste.

Problem was the staff was very rude and condescending. We had a group of four and each of us wanted to sample 1 or 2 flavors before fully deciding on what we wanted. I went first and asked for one sample and my friend did the same. When our 3rd friend asked for a sample they started saying each person can only have one sample when it’s busy. We said ok but then looked behind us and there was literally no one else in line. So anyways then the 4th person asked for a sample and they said no; when our 4th friend hadn’t even gotten a single sample yet. We asked why not and they said the same thing about being busy but we were the only 4 in the shop??? So anyways we politely argued until they relented and gave two more samples before we all purchased 3 scoops each (large sizes). So they ended up making such a big issue about some tiny sample spoons when we bought tons of gelato afterwards… never had this issue at any other place unless it was absolutely packed with people. Then we sat outside and one of the employees came and acted like they were working near us just to eavesdrop it seemed like. It was just a weird vibe all together…

Again, gelato tasted fine and they have some interesting non traditional flavors to try like Nutella, blueberry,...