Pellegrini's Italian Orange — Restaurant in Orange

The food is just average. However we were having a nice evening with friends which was kind of ruined by the appalling comment our waiter made tonight. I think he was an Italian guy, but it was beyond rude to tell a customer that “you aren’t the only table I have to serve” when he was politely asked if he could take a plate away. It came off unprofessional and just rude. My friend wanted to avoid asking him for anything else all evening and was getting up to get napkins and forks to avoid asking for anything after that. It was quite upsetting especially as they were only visiting Orange for a few days and a really unpleasant way to end their stay. We also informed the manager (not sure if he was actually a manager but seemed to be on the night) of what happened but he didn’t really seem to care . Nonetheless would not recommend and wouldn’t come back based on average Italian food and rude service we received.

In response to your reply below:

Firstly, I would like start by clarifying some of the false statements you made- our group of 6 adults and 3 children were by no measure loud as you mentioned. If you have a problem with children or large groups just talking amongst each other, then maybe revisit your policy to not welcome groups and children if you can’t handle the noise that comes from such a group.

Second, no one was rude to the waiter. He was the one who was rude and it’s definitely not “funny” to say to that to a customer. The fact that you have tried to justify his rude behaviour as such shows that you have no idea what good customer service entails or basic manners to be frank. He could have simply asked us to wait if he was busy and we would have happily obliged. Also, we were definitely not demanding. We asked him to take away a side plate and asked for a fork and spoon for a shared salad bowl that was not provided as it should be when it was brought out.

Moreover, I will add that this is not the first time I have visited your establishment but it will certainly be the last. The first time I visited the food was equally average and the service was slow, but I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt and see if improvements had been made given the restaurant was new when I visited the first time, but it is very obvious from your reply that you have no clue what hospitality, customer service or good Italian food is.

Your reply is shameful and this is coming from a group who knows the hospitality industry very well and own restaurants and hotels. Learn how to take criticism and educate yourself on the very basics of hospitality.

Also, maybe roster another staff member so your waiter doesn’t feel overwhelmed and snaps at patrons for very basic...

Edit to add: We gave this place another chance on my birthday, but won't be back. They gave me a free glass of wine but then proceeded to forget some of our order, and didn't interact with us at any point during the meal. We had our children with us so we can now say that they provide pens/paper. Waitresses would've sold us more drinks had they come over and asked if we needed any. All but one appeared to take a dinner break at once and it was the same one with whom we experienced a language barrier last time. They were kind enough to give us a discount but for the money paid you'd expect things to be almost flawless.

Original: My husband had our first date night here in what was probably years. It was busy, being a Friday evening, and I recommend booking online. It has a good romantic setting and there is plenty of parking shared with the rest of the shopping centre.

I would go back for the antipasti section of the menu, particularly the mozzarella breadstick. However the mains, mostly the lasagna, didn't seem worth it especially for the cost. The drinks were beautiful and the cocktails were well made.

Where we were seated in the restaurant was perfect. While we couldn't see the open part of the kitchen we were in a more secluded area and it made conversation a lot easier. There weren't any children that I could see so I can't comment on how child-friendly it is.

Our waitress didn't really seem to understand us and she needed to go and speak with her colleague a fair amount. Dishes kept coming to our table that we didn't order and while once or twice is a mistake it started to put a dampener on what was meant to be a peaceful evening for us.

Not once during our meal did anyone ask if the food was okay, if we wanted more drinks, etc. We ended up having to leave with some of our pizza in boxes because we were having to flag someone down in order to order past our starters and it made us run late. I would return but not if I had something...

DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS RESTAURANT

I would not give this restaurant any stars however can't post without giving at least one. Made a booking on 28 Oct 2022 for 15 people (majority coming up from Sydney) for 14 Nov. I specifically asked the person I was speaking to if we had to have a set menu and was advised we did not. I tried to phone them (a number of times) on 14 Nov to confirm 6pm sitting, no answer. I then rang Pellegrinis Chatswood to see if they had another number to be advised by them phone was out of order for the Orange restaurant. I then sent an email. Being out of town and internet service isn't great I kept checking for a response. At 5.40pm I received a very rude phone call advising me that we didn't have a booking to which I tried to say that it was booked on 28 Oct. I was rudely spoken to saying they don't take phone bookings, well they did on 28/10!! and why I hadn't responded to their email they sent as we had to choose a set menu. I tried to explain it hadn't come through. We drove into the restaurant to try and resolve the issue to be advised that it is the restaurant's POLICY that 8 or more have to have set menu, to which I tried again to explain what I was told when I booked. At this time I had all our guests waiting outside. There was no resolution by very rude staff, not sure if he was the manager and a female who both obviously have no customer service, could not even look us in the face and she walked off. We did not eat there and proceeded to find somewhere who would take 15 people on short notice. We had a more relaxed atmosphere, great friendly staff who understood our circumstance and great meals, that we could select what we each wanted, and all our guests...