La Porchetta Restaurant Ballarat — Restaurant in Victoria

Recently ordered Pizza and pasta online ant La Porchetta Ballarat. Ordered the meat lovers but was unable to pick the sauce online. As soon as I placed the order I called the Ballarat store and requested BBQ sauce base INSTEAD of tomato base. The person I spoke with said there are no substitutes without a fee. This is absolutely ridiculous to charge customers to change the base! I’d understand it if I was requesting additional toppings or extra sauce, but to slap a bit of sauce on that right next to the tomato is a bit steep! I’d also understand it if ALL bases had already had the sauce applied or if I was requesting some special sauce! It’s literally the same amount of work, it does not take extra time or money…they are literally next to or near one another!! I bet if customers asked for no sauce whatsoever you wouldn’t deduct that cost! I’ve been to many pizzas restaurants and have never heard or experienced being charged for a different base! In fact most places give you the option of bases! After asking the worker for BBQ, I was advised they would do it once as a good will gesture but in future I will (and other customers) have to pay purely for someone to move their hand to the next container and slap the same amount on the dough!!! I understand times are tough for businesses but seriously this cost is ensuring you get every last drop that you can for something that doesn’t require additional work!!! Surely management would feel a little silly charging customers for something that isn’t a massive change or cost to the business. Additionally, I am confused as to why your menu prices in store differ to when ordering online…everything we ordered was at least $2-3 extra to order online, and had nothing to do with fees or other costs cos you’re already charged those too!!!

When it comes to management/owner of this restaurant, Ive consistently been met with abruptness and rudeness so I guess their decision to change customers just for the sake of charging isn’t all that shocking when I think about it. Please note, the waiting staff are lovely, friendly and welcoming.

It’s a shame that the service is poor and base sauce issue is even a thing cos the pizzas were lovely- carbonara pasta wasn’t great, barely any bacon and tasted like pure cream only- but I’d definitely not request extra bacon or garlic cos it’d probably cost me a kidney. Safe to say after this experience we’ll be looking for a new...

I was trying to find review I posted last night and I must of accidentally deleted it after thinking I had duplicated it. Anyway our experience was horrible. We were the invisible table and everytime I jumped up to place an order whether it be coffee our mains, drinks for our 2 & 4yrs old or dessert it was unpleasantly met with sit down. I am thinking the young guy working for them was put under the pump as he seemed awkward in saying it everytime. The fact of the matter is I in the end went up to the counter and said I wouldn't have to keep getting up if someone served us like every other table which surround us. "unbelievable" not "once. Then to make matters worse I decided to order a gelato cake which was on side menu which costed about $6.40. I have always wanted to try one and finally thought last night was the night. I picked the one which was described as peppermint, sugar top coating and rich chocolate sauce. After cutting thru the middle to break it up to share with my 2yrs old I realised that the chocolate sauce was missing. I was not annoyed with the flavour, I was annoyed with the description and what I was presented afterall they are tiny and expensive. I asked the waiter and he couldnt explain so he said he would speak to management. He was sent back been told that this is just how it is. I then called on another waiter I would like to see the manager and he returned speechless as he was shunned from the manager to just come and explain the same thing. We then told him that he should relay back to the manager that if he/she couldnt be bothered with customer service we wouldnt be paying for it. Finally she an older lady come to our table. From the minute she arrived she was dissmissive. She arrived carrying a piece of paper with a phone number telling us to call the manufacturer and complain and not her. Question on customer service it was "I've been doing this for 40yrs" 40yrs too long I'm thinking. I was so irate that I lost my cool. I have never ever in my life sworn and I too have customer service 24yrs of it. I said after she tried fobbing us off are "you f$%king kidding" I was astounded. My husband was astounded as he never had seen me react like this either. Anyway I will never go back there again whilst she is managing. Money grabbing woman. Unbelievable. We did not pay for...

Update 1⭐ because I've been awake sick all night! Oh and there was a small bug on my friends plate! 2⭐12 months ago I gave this restaurant 3 stars. Tonight I went back, only because an interstate friends was visiting. The waitress we had was friendly and helpful and that is why they have 2 stats; that and the fact my pasta was flavourful and a large portion. Dessert however was awful!

The toilets were reasonably clean but untidy, the volume of music was loud which meant straining to speak over it and my friends found the air con very cold. The chairs are also uncomfortable within half hour of sitting in them. My biggest gripe however, was the suprise on the bill. They now charge $4.90 for gluten free pasta surcharge! This is highway robbery, especially when they only offer low gluten so we are trusting that the people in the kitchen are doing the right thing by us (and given that I feel unwell I'm not sure they have!) As I said last time, that is more than what an entire packet of gluten free pasta costs. 1.5x as much. Disgusting, and this will be the last time I eat there. If I'm required to go there again I'll just have a coffee.

3⭐restaurant and toilets were clean; out-dated but definitely clean and tidy. The environment is not too loud so it is easy to chat which is nice. It was reasonably warm but the large open space makes it a touch chilly. The wait staff were great. Very friendly and attentive. The food itself was generous in portion and tasty. I do believe it is a little less flavorful than it was years ago and the prices have raised considerably over the years, but are still ok. Not a cheap meal anymore though. My main gripe is that if you need a gluten free option, the surcharge is excessive. $4 extra for an entree serve of gluten free pasta. I'm assuming a restaurant is not buying this pasta at retail, but even if they were, a 500gm bag at Safeway is $3.45. They would certainly get 2 servings out if that. Charging the customer more than double the retail price is unreasonable as they are still making plenty. For this reason i won't be ordering this...