La Calabrese Italian Restaurant Lunch and Dinner — Restaurant in Gold Coast City

An update for the delusional and defensive owners: It is very low to resort to accusing your customers (two females and a 11 year old boy) trying to feed their sick mother and 4 year old son upstairs of being aggresive toward your staff when we  came there amicably to explain our problems with the order but automatically you were rude and dismissive so naturally we were frustrated, we wanted a cash refund as we needed to look at another dinner option straight away. It seems by the many other reviews below that we are not the 1st to bring similar issues to your attention or to recieve the same defensive attitude. My mothers hardly ate as she was genuinley disappointed when the food arrived. It was a miniscule  portion. The 'prawn' or rather shrimp was barely present which is why we came down. As for my review I explained to you before we left that we would leave it as your service was far from professional. I give credit & praise when its due and have left many positive reviews , in fact 3 of the 5 most recent were 5 stars however our experience with your business was FAR from that and this is a platform to share experiences so others have that information to go off when choosing where to dine.

Original review: We were staying at the Meriton for the air show and paying over 1000 for a room so we expected that the service and standards in all aspects would be above par including dining options. Whilst there is nothing to fault with the rooms, the restaurant and delivery to room/ customer service was just a MAJOR disappointment. I ordered/ expected parpadelle pasta but got spaghetti instead and the spag bol was less than average, I could literally make a better one at home. It was also exactly the same as their childrens spaghetti just the portion was slightly more, obviously the palette of a 10 year old is different to an adult so this should reflect in the taste and quality. My mums pasta dish which featured a prawn tartare had miniscule prawn/ shrimp, basically non existent & plain spaghetti that had no other ingredients and no flavour for 37 dollars, a complete waste of money! My mum being a chef herself, was shocked that they could serve that portion and quality for that price. Our total order was 145 dollars and even my 11 year old child who ordinarily eats most things, DID NOT enjoy or want to finish his meal. The pizza had its own issues as well, the only decent one being the basic cheese bread we got and the other missing chilli. But the WORST part of this experience was when we contacted them to explain there were problems with the order, we were told to bring it back to the restaurant, no one could even come check at our room despite us paying extra for the room delivery and then we actually went down, we were greeted by two ARROGANT and RUDE staff who instead decided to argue, did not want to listen to anything we said then proceeded as we were still standing there to switch from speaking english to italian. I again tried to explain that we never intentionally try to inconvience anyone or go out of our way to complain but we were genuinley just not satisfied with the meal and we also found it rude that they started speaking another language but again they still chose to still respond with attitude. There was complete disregard for the fact that it was now 8.30, we now had no dinner and two hungry children/ a diabetic to feed who needed to take her medication. There was complete disregard of our concerns/ problems with the food. A word of advice for those who work in hospitality, even if you do not agree with your customer, still acknowledge what they are saying, take note as you could actually work on these things/ improve for your future customers and most importantly do not stand there arrogantly and defensively arguing with your PAYING customers, treat them with curetosy and respect then simply move on. Just because you may refund a meal, it DOES NOT make our experience or your behaviour acceptable. We left completley shocked by their behaviour hungry and...

It was lovely looking out my window at the beach with big waves while my dad tried to find a parking spot. We ended up parking two blocks away and had to walk the whole way in the rain. I didn’t mind because I had a strong umbrella that held up well against the super-fast wind.

When we arrived, we went through the lovely spinning doors, which I love since they’re so rare. Then, we took the elevator all the way up to the highest floor 64. After realizing we needed to go back down, we took the elevator again, and my ears popped. At the bottom, we had two restaurant options: one was a seafood place, and the other was La Calabria. We went into La Calabria as we planed before hand, we were seated within five seconds of arriving.

The table was unique circular and made of marble. The chairs were also nice, and the glasses, plates, and cloth napkins gave a high end feel. One thing that stood out was the individually wrapped wipes they provided, which I had never seen before in a restaurant.

The waiter took away the wine glasses for my sister, exchange student sister and I because we are under 18 then asked if we wanted tap water. As always, I said yes, and she poured water into each of our glasses before leaving a full bottle on the table. The design of the bottle was unique, and the water temperature was perfect.

The atmosphere was pleasant, with upbeat and fitting music. The restaurant wasn’t crowded, with plenty of empty seats. The waiter took our orders and even gave my dad a special recommendation very well.

The menu wasn’t my favourite it had a lot of options and most of them didn’t appeal to me since I’m a bit picky. It was around a 7 or 8 page book, and every thing was formatted not great.

The entrees arrived quickly. I only had a little bit of the focaccia, which was very hot and tasted good. I also tried a bit of the black garlic butter, but I wasn’t a huge fan. No one else at the table liked it either.

For my main, I ordered a Margherita pizza since I didn’t feel like anything else. The waiter cleared the entree plates in two trips and brought fresh cutlery for three of my family members, but not for me—probably because I ordered pizza.

The restaurant itself is beautiful, but it doesn’t really look like a traditional Calabrian restaurant, which is a bit odd given the name La Calabria.

The mains arrived in two trips, super quickly about ten minutes after the entrees. My Margherita pizza was thin like it should be for this type of pizza , including the crust, lt was very crunchy and snapped easily when bent. The basil melted slightly into the cheese and mozzarella. The sauce and mozzarella. were well balanced, and overall, it was a good Neapolitan pizza. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but I’m not an expert, so I can’t say exactly what it was missing.

The waiter replaced our empty water bottle without us asking.

I finished my whole pizza comfortably, which was great. My family enjoyed their meals but wasn’t overly impressed four out of five of us finished our dishes, but they wouldn’t go back anytime soon.

The location and infrastructure were excellent. The waiter cleared all our plates and cutlery in one go, which was impressive.

They brought us dessert menus, but we didn’t even look we had other plans, so we just paid the bill. I felt a little bad for not considering dessert, but it was understandable.

For five people, with two starters and no drinks, the total bill came to AU$212. Given that this was a fancy restaurant inside a 60-story hotel, the price was reasonable, and I’d say the food was worth it.

Would I recommend it? Definitely! It’s stylish, not too expensive, and worth a try. The food won’t necessarily blow you away, and it’s not the best in the city, but it’s still a solid choice. The restaurant wasn’t overly busy, as I mentioned before, but that could be a good thing if you’re looking for a more relaxed...

What a disappointing response, below, from the owner/management team here. The assertions below are incorrect, which is why I am again taking the time out of my lovely Gold Coast holiday to write this - there was no unacceptable behaviour on our part, only valid criticism (we then paid and left). And the innocent customer nearby was not encouraging calm or attempting to ‘diffuse’ the situation - he was expressing his kind support of us!!!!!!!

Clearly La Calabrese cannot accept any form of criticism - there appears to be a pattern here, if one considers many of the other negative reviews below (criticisms are offered by patrons; La Calabrese then appears to become defensive; disingenuous assertions are then made in respect of the patron’s behaviour etc).

Absolutely appalling treatment and response.

“La Calabrese Italian Restaurant Breakfast and Dinner (owner) 18 hours ago Hi Michael, As we mentioned to your friend Ben under his review, we understand your frustration over the unavailability of gluten-free pasta. However, your behavior towards our staff and the innocent customer nearby, who simply encouraged calm, was unacceptable.

Our menu offers a variety of gluten-free options, including 6 entrees, 3 appetizers, 2 mains (please note the chicken roll was removed weeks ago, not just yesterday), 3 sides, 14 gluten-free pizzas, and 2 desserts. Despite these choices, you and your friend insisted solely on the gluten-free pasta, which was unfortunately sold out that evening. While we are not exclusively a pasta restaurant, we take pride in offering a well-rounded selection of gluten-free dishes to accommodate a range of dietary needs.

Our staff made every effort to explain the situation and offered alternatives, but your reaction escalated unnecessarily. The customer waiting for takeaway kindly tried to diffuse the situation, only to be met with rudeness.

We do not tolerate such behavior towards our staff or other guests, as we strive to create a positive and welcoming environment for everyone.

We hope you find a dining experience that better aligns with your preferences.”

If you require gluten-free food, BEWARE - only very limited options are available here DESPITE what the menu describes. You also cannot rely upon staff to clearly articulate what is/is not available. We made a booking based upon the relevant menu, which was then different to when we arrived (prices also appeared to be different). A gluten-free Tagliata as well as a GF Chicken Rolle - all no longer available as the menu that is on the website is no longer relevant and also less expensive. No GF pasta was available. We were not advised of any of this, when we sat down, in respect of what was/wasn't available.

Note - if you currently download the dinner menu, it WILL be incorrect as at this time/date.

We were clearly disappointed with the offerings available - we then paid for what we actually could have and left. Despite this, the staff at the front desk were too busy bickering and gossiping - not a care was ultimately...