Al's Pizza Eltham — Restaurant in Melbourne

Eltham store has only been open a bit over a week or so. Thought we'd give them a go. Pizzas were ok, nothing to write home about, a bit like Domino's. Fresh easy to eat, not a lot of topping or sauce. Prices are pretty good, $12 for a large. But I didn't have an issue with the food or prices as much as I did the service. Placed an order online for pickup, filled out all sections of the form, added my Pizza's including extras. Received an email confirming my order, which also said I'd receive a text with a pickup time. Text never came. Half an hour after my order was placed, I called the store to see if they received it, because they had taken the money for the order only to be greeted by a reasonably unfriendly staff member who didn't seem to know the system. When I told the person on the phone I was ringing to check if they'd received my order, I was told they had, even before she asked my name or order number. I asked, how do you know if you don't know which order it is? She then asked my name and asked if I wanted her to check on my order then went off to check. When she came back, I was told it was in the oven and would be ready in 5 Minutes. Luckily, I don't live far from the store. I then told her I was supposed to receive a text with the pickup time. She said, Oh I don't think that's the case. I told her that was what the email I received from them said. She said, I don't know about that. But the best part was, I did eventually receive a text at 8:21pm informing me that my Pizzas would be ready to pick up at 7:50. The text was sent half an hour after the pickup time and after we had finished our meal. If I hadn't called, I would have been given cold soggy pizza. I would not have taken it and asked for a refund and quite possibly never to return. Not a great start to a store open only a week or two. Maybe the staff are just learning the system. However, this store is not their first I guess you get what...

Meh. Very much a 'Dominos' with the sparce, raw toppings. The 'hot and spicy' only offered salami, capsicum and jalepeños as actual toppings (apart from the standard cheese) so I asked for them to add mushrooms, olives and anchovies. Subsequently I was charged $1 for what amounted to 3 olives, $1 for not quite 5 slices of mushrooms and $1 for possibly 1 anchovie - broken into pieces. Without these 'extra toppings' it would have been even less of an offering. Service and timing was good and it actually tasted nice....but maybe incorporate more toppings into the original pizzas so we don't have to pay silly surcharges for practically nothing, in a vain attempt to improve what you are originally offering. Unlikely...

Last week I went into this shop at around 7 pm to pick up my takeaway pizza. I was really uncomfortable when while waiting for my pizza I overheard the way the older man, who I am assuming is the manger, spoke to and was treating his employees, especially the younger girls who were greeting the customers. I overheard swearing, raised voices and blatantly inappropriate comments no employer should ever make to their employees, especially young teenagers who have just entered the working world. While the food was great, I would not come back to AL’s pizza based completely on the experience that I...