Cafe Giardino — Restaurant in Taree

The Sicilian or Cafe Giardino as it is now called has become a joke. We have been dining here for 5 years and even had our wedding reception dinner here over 4 years ago we loved it that much. However since the new change it has all been downhill. We tried it for the first time since the makeover about a month ago & my husband always orders the Chilli Garlic Prawns and the flavour is completely different to what it used to be plus the portion size has more than halved with the dishes. After that experience we weren't going to go back because who wants to pay good money for small portions & food that hasn't stayed true to it's original flavours? But we have always loved it there so much we decided to give it another go. We start off by ordering drinks, the girl was taking awhile but I did see there were a few people dining so I let it go and put it down to being busy, another waitress comes along and asks if we are ready to order with which we replied we were actually waiting for our drinks if she wouldn't mind checking on those for us but yes we will order whilst she is there, so we order a Surf & Turf & an Arrabiata, so specifically mu husband says "NO prawn tails on the prawns please" the waitress relays that info back to us & the cynique in me says "There will be prawn tails", knowing that the last time we asked for no prawn tails the request was denied. Some time passes & we are enjoying our beers when our food is delivered & there are absolutely no prawns in my Arrabiata & prawns with prawn tails on my husbands Surf & turf. He shook his head and I couldn't not say something, how do you go from asking for no prawn tails and not putting any prawns at all in the dish when it is advertised with them?? So I go to one of the girls at the bar and let them know, she comes over to our table and collects the plate apologetic. Now I step away from the table for a moment to unwind & I see the original waitress bring over my plate & hands my husband another plate, I go ask him what that other plate was and he shrugs and says he doesn't know and that maybe it is complimentary for the muck up in our order. As i go back to the table the waitress comes over and is visibly confused & says she thinks she stuffed up because the chef confused her, I told her I hope she doesn't get in trouble because at this stage she had tipped my husbands half eaten original Steak into the new plate & taken away his old plate and had begun eating the dish, she shrugs it off and says "Oh no, they'll be fine", I said I hoped she doesn't get yelled at, and again she shrugs it off very casually like everything was fine. So I sit to begin eating & realise my cutlery was taken way with my original prawn-less dish, so my husband goes and gets me some more cutlery & within 30 seconds of him returning to the table the waitress runs back over & says "I am so sorry, I am so sorry, I have to take this back, grabs the plate from beneath my husband and scrapes his original bit of steak on the ENTREE PLATE we ate our Garlic bread off!!!!! She apologises again quickly and leaves! Now at this stage I am furious! My blood is boiling and I do NOT want to be there at all! My husbands informs me he saw the owner having a go at the waitress when he grabbed my cutlery telling her to go get the dish back. What they were going to do with it is a mystery, whether they were going to serve it to an unsuspecting customer or just throw it in the bin I'll never know but the customer service was absolutely disgusting. We spent over $100 for dinner and we usually spend more because we stay for a couple of drinks but I couldn't tolerate being there so we finished up wen tot the counter and paid, I told the waitress at the counter who served us that we were never returning again, after 5 years of being a regular customer who not only loved the food but the service used be amazing, it has now turned into Customer service care factor is Zero! Never again Sicilian, Cafe Giardino or whatever...

I am always curious when I see lots of positive and some negative reviews. Any restaurant can have a bad day or maybe the customer is the one having a bad day. I like to find out for myself.

Just yesterday I was travelling south on the Pacific Highway. My wife and I decided a rest stop was in order. We did not expect much in Taree on a Sunday afternoon however we had a pleasant surprise.

Courtesy Google maps we chose Cafe Giardino and these guys are serious about catching the trade being open with a full menu offering mid Sunday afternoon.

The fee of this cafe is charming - a slice of Southern European cafe vibe. The outside seating is nicely shielded from the Victoria Street traffic.

You can find the menu elsewhere on this Google entry. There were plenty of interesting choices.

My wife reported the salt and pepper calamari was deliciously tender and flavoured. My Nana’s Falafel was slightly crispy with a tasty moist falafel mix inside. I thought I chose well.

The pictured cool drinks were a hit. Described as home made sodas, the pink one is strawberry/mint and the green one is called Persian cucumber and mint. Both were so much better than commercial soft drinks. I recommend them.

The exciting surprise for me was the coffee. I ordered my usual macchiato (my barista test) and my wife a strong small long black. She reported positively straight way. I was not so enthusiastic until about half way through my macchiato. Because the flavour was not bland, it grew on me until suddenly the rich, caramel flavours hit me. I had the most pleasant coffee after taste for an hour. These Amanti beans combined with their barista were a winner. I can now say the coffee was a 9/10 for me.

I do not normally review toilets. I have seen a lot of terrible toilets. The male toilets were OK however I loved the antique tap - hence the photograph.

Now I know this place exists, I might just ensure I detour to Taree when I normally give it a miss. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed a our visit to Cafe Giardino. The service was attentive and quick. Could not...

If you have dietary restrictions GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! They DON'T CARE enough to make sure your food isn't contaminated! And they certainly won't refund your money after you are sick from it!

My first dining experience at Cafe Giardino will be my last. I found the menu expensive compared to other places and threw up after my meal because there was gluten in the meal, despite me spending half an hour explaining that I cannot tolerate gluten! If I could give a 0 rating I would!

I spent time going over the menu to find a suitable Gluten Free meal because I cannot tolerate gluten at all. I chose the Mediterranean hommous which was a small finger bowl of hommous and one slice of toast. I paid an extra $7 for the one slice of Gluten Free bread (I can buy a whole loaf of Gluten Free bread for $5). I was not informed of the extra cost when ordering. I don’t mind paying a few dollars extra, but $7 extra for one single piece of bread is exorbitant!

I barely made it home when I violently threw up, which is the symptom showing I’ve ingested gluten. I rang straight away after cleaning myself up to advise them. They took my name and number.

I went in the next day, the message wasn’t passed on. We finally figured out that the culprit was the hot chocolate, of which I was not informed had gluten in it. Finally, reluctantly, I was given a refund for the hot chocolate, but unfortunately when I react to the gluten, my stomach doesn’t differentiate and throws up everything.

So I had a very expensive meal that I couldn’t keep down because of lack of duty of care. Again my name and number was taken, yet no-one bothered to contact me over my dilemma, so I feel I have no other option but to give a poor rating, which is based on customer service and price rather...