Love Italy Restaurant & Bar - Surfers Paradise Beach — Restaurant in Gold Coast City

We had the Arancini Balls, Fusilli Pollo E Limone, Fettucini Gamberi, Lemon Lime and Bitters and, for the child within me, Sweet Potato Fries.

I don't often eat Italian as I have previously been disappointed. I prefer a cream based pasta over tomato sauce based, and I have found on too many occassions the flavour just isn't there. We took a chance on Love Italy and are pleasantly surprised.

First of all the staff are friendly, efficient and pleasant.

Second the atmosphere was good; Love Italy has a rather quirky, in a good way, feel to it, from the lighting, which had a spidery feel, to the ornaments and signage, and right down to the wobbly looking dishes. The only downside was the busker outside seemed to think he was there to entertain everyone within a 3 mile radius, i.e. he had the music a bit too loud for conversation inside; but that is not the fault of Love Italy. Shortly after we left, he packed up and a woman with a great singing voice started up, she would have been an addition to the atmosphere if we had been dining about 40 minutes later.

Most importantly the food. The Arancini Balls are very much what I would have expected, crisp, tasty, and generally pretty good. Fusilli Pollo E Limone was my dish and the tomato and lemon added a nice subtle flavour. I like a bit of sour in my food and would have liked a bit more lemon as well as more fresh tomato, but it was a quality meal. The prize however goes to the Fettucini Gameri that Tina ordered, it was flavoursome and the pasta was silky. Tina was worried about how hot the dish was and the waitress advised some people are surprised by the heat, and she then suggested the chilli could be served seperate so Tina could use it to her liking. Good idea from the waitress and a lovely meal. As mentioned above we also had a side of Sweet Potato fries for the child in me, and that was crispy and just about perfect. Even the Lemon Lime and Bitters had a good amount of bitters, just the...

Walked in, stood and waited for any sort of service, asked if a table was available and got put onto a table that someone had just left, still a complete mess and a half bottle of water on the table, waited and eventually someone came over and asked if we wanted some cups for our water with the mess still on the table.... brought back some cups and started pouring from the last tables water bottle until we pulled them up on it, we had cleaned the table ourself at this stage. Waitress came back with new water and filled up our glasses but then walked off with the bottle?? At this point we were ready to leave straight up after having to find our own menu to look at, finally someone came and we took the gamble on ordering and lost out big time. First part of the order came.... no plates to eat it from, we used napkins. Had to ask for plates, she brought 3, for 4 of us. Again we waited for the rest of the food which came surprisingly quick afterward but it was mediocre at best, cold toppings on the pizza and a watery carbonara sauce. Asked for more water and finally got a bottle for the table. People at other tables were experiencing the same poor service (I’m guessing they were untrained and probably under staffed). When I asked for the bill, it never came, the others left the table and I sat there writing this review until another waiter asked if everything was alright 20 mins later. On both occasions I was asked if I wanted to pay cash or card without knowing what the total was. I asked why would it matter to which the reply was that they charged a surcharge for credit card and had to apply it first?? I didn’t know what the total was and whether I had enough cash so the waiter said he would generate two receipts for me. The bill came, I paid cash and left as quick as I could. For a restaurant I’d say this is the worst service I’ve had. Please...

Went to this place last night. I got one of the pastas and a chocolate mousse. My partner ordered a tiramisu to come with the main meal, and we had an Aperol Spritz each.

The atmosphere was okay, a little bit dark though.

The French waiter was very nice, he seemed new as he had some troubles with locating tables and handed us somebody else's meal. That's okay, I've been there.

The pasta wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't restaurant worthy. The staff failed to give the Tirumasu with the mains as requested. I was half-way through my pasta when I finally asked for the Tirumasu to be brought out a second time.

The cocktails weren't made correctly and were missing ingredients, not a big issue since we actually liked them.

Tirumasu was alright according to my partner, but the real killer was the chocolate mousse.

The mousse was sour... and hard... they gave me an off mousse. I was given a replacement, which is fine, but I've had diahorea since last night's visit...

I have had terrible stomach cramps and pains since about 5 minutes after leaving. And we were there for about an hour and a half.

Needless to say, I don't have an intention to return to this place.

This restaurant clearly doesn't catalogue their food since I was given an off mousse. I was not offered compensation for the terrible experience and paid full price of just over $70.

This place is dangerous and could end up putting somebody into the hospital if not gone unchecked.

I really hope this review is taken seriously, I have worked in restaurants, cafes, and hotels. I have a strong understanding of food safety and restaurant etiquette.

Campylobacter is a serious issue, and I think the owners need to take this...