Vitalia's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Queensland

Every year we fly to Cairns to celebrate our daughters birthday who lives there. This year was no different. So last Friday 29th Aug, we all went to Vitalia's, as we have done in the past and thoroughly enjoyed it, most especially the birthday girl. Last year was seafood tower plus others. Then our daughter enquired if it was still alright to come in and eat and the kind male waiter stated he'll check with the kitchen first and it was approved, otherwise we would go somewhere else. No issues with all of us whatsoever. We were then seated, quickly ordered both beverages and food. Beer and wine were brought by a middle aged waitress, who didn't seem happy at all with us, so no interaction whatsoever. Though we politely thanked her. Food arrived. Our daughter tried to catch the attention of the young waitress who was wearing shorts with tattoos all over her legs and thighs as she was just fiddling with things, to request some condiments, but to no avail. All we received as she goes past us were condescending, angry looks. So I got up and took it from a nearby table. Next our daughter went up to the counter and requested more bread if possible, as she liked to sauce from the Fregola dish, but was told none left. Then she wanted a spoon for the sauce, again tried to get this young females attention but kept avoiding us. I decided to go up to the bar, this middle aged waitress just gave me this side look, as if to say, just go away, kept her hand and head on the cash register, didn't engage at all. I stood there looking at this waitress but she wouldn't move and eventually the young male bar tender asked if he could assist me. I just politely requested a spoon, which he gave me straight away, again I thanked him. We would liked to have ordered more especially drinks, but couldn't. My husband went up, paid and asked me if we were to leave a tip, which we usually do as a sign of our appreciation. From the way we were treated when we arrived until we left by these two waitresses, I just flatly said no. Such a shame, no need for this kind of treatment. We've all worked with people, our daughters have also worked in hospitality and always advised them, you treat everyone just like how you would like to be treated whether you like it or not. It is called respect towards one another. And a simple smile never goes astray, no matter how we feel. We just think it's a very appalling behavior that were dished to us. As we said we could always go elsewhere. I think when we go up next year we will go somewhere else. I usually take photos to post with a review, but in this case there was nothing nice about our encounter. Though we...

Came in with high expectations, but was sadly disappointed by a large range of faults. Expected a five star venue but ended up at a basic tourist venue that was well below expectations.

Firstly, the food was poor overall. The serving of Ravioli was miniature and not filling, a sad look of disbelief fell over the table as the plate was served.

We ordered a Calzone that was served incorrectly. We ordered a Calzone with no mushrooms. Unfortunately they had served the Calzone with no ham and only mushrooms. When the server was asked about the lack of ham, they offered to heat some ham and put it onto the side of the plate, being fairly dismissive of our concerns in the process and not offering a replacement.

The lemon lime and bitters was also well off the mark. It seemed as though the bitters were non existent. Food is one mistake to make but ruining drinks seems like a pretty difficult task.

The wait staff seemed to have zero enthusiasm in their work. Dismissive to patrons and displaying an obvious lack of care for work. The chefs and owners were aggressive around the restaurant. A reason staff may seemingly dislike working there may be due to the fact that they are docked 15 minutes of pay every 5 minutes they’re late. This is on a sign that is clearly visible to patrons. A very poor look for a business.

Hopefully this is taken in a constructive manner instead of the rude, smart responses that have happened on other negative reviews.

Edit: Also forgot to mention that there was a hair within the Calzone. A family member that ordered the Calzone was not able to eat it due to all of these issues. There was no offer for a replacement or compensation for a completely incorrect order, still having to pay full price for an uneaten meal. A sad display of “Italian Cuisine”.

Response Edit: It is very admirable that you try your best, but it may be more beneficial to actually do well.

It is very unprofessional of a business owner to insult and make attempts to threaten patrons. My review was made in good faith as is evident from the end of my review but I’m not sure with your obviously narcissistic nature you read that far.

We did actually mention the hair but the wait staff refused to return to our table after the issue.

So as evident in this response and in other responses you do not tell the truth and refuse to take any accountability for your mistakes.

It is a shame a business owner is attempting to make a tough act over the internet, but judging by your previous examples I did not expect much else.

I would wish you a happy new year but I have no interest...

Table of 10 people: 4 Adults & 6 Children

Disappointing Experience at Vitalia's - Booked 7:00 PM Our recent dinner at Vitalia's, booked for 7:00 PM, unfortunately fell far short of expectations and resulted in a frustrating evening. While we were looking forward to a pleasant family meal, the service was significantly delayed and poorly managed. The children's meals, ordered promptly, took an unacceptable 30 minutes to arrive. Furthermore, no additional kids' meals were offered or seemingly ordered, leaving some of our children waiting an extended period. Drink refills were also incredibly slow, often taking another 30 minutes between requests. The entree, a meat and cheese platter, finally arrived after an astonishing hour and a half wait. To add to the disappointment, the portion of bread provided was woefully inadequate for the amount of food on the platter. The situation worsened as the evening progressed. The second round of kids' meals didn't appear until 8:45 PM, a full hour and 45 minutes after our initial booking. Our main courses arrived shortly before, at 8:30 PM. Sadly, the flavour of our mains was underwhelming, failing to compensate for the lengthy delays. Throughout the evening, the lack of communication from the staff was a major issue. We were given no updates on the status of our food, and when we inquired, no clear timeframes could be provided. This lack of transparency only added to our frustration. Overall, our experience at Vitalia's was deeply disappointing. The excessive wait times, particularly for the children's meals, the slow drink service, the inadequate accompaniments for the entree, and the uninspired main courses made for a very unsatisfactory dining experience. The lack of communication from the staff compounded these issues. We hope that Vitalia's can address these significant shortcomings in their service and food quality to ensure future diners have a more...