Scozia Restaurant — Restaurant in Centre Wellington

I recently visited Scozia with five friends to celebrate my birthday, and, unfortunately, it ended up being a truly disappointing experience. If it weren’t for the company of my friends, the night could have been a complete disaster.

To start, the restaurant itself is undeniably beautiful with a lovely atmosphere—but oddly, there was no music playing. It felt strange and somewhat empty, especially given how visually appealing the space is. Our server, an older gentleman who introduced himself as “Chad” (though he was in a Halloween costume, so who knows if that was his real name), was honestly terrible. From the beginning, he seemed rushed and dismissive. Every time we tried to ask questions or explain any issues, he would hurry off before we’d even finished speaking, offering no apology or acknowledgment—just a quick “OK” and he was gone.

What made it even worse was that the staff knew it was my birthday, but it was never acknowledged in any way. Not even a simple “Happy Birthday” or a small gesture, which would have been easy enough to arrange. This lack of care was really disappointing.

To top it off, one of my friends received the wrong order, and when we mentioned the mistake to Chad, his response was nothing short of dismissive. He didn’t apologize or even acknowledge his error; instead, he brushed it off with a quick response and walked away. It really felt like he just didn’t care about the experience we were having.

The food, sadly, was incredibly underwhelming. It tasted like something you’d find in the frozen aisle and then reheated. We chose Scozia because of its glowing reviews, but after experiencing it firsthand, I can’t understand where the praise is coming from. The restaurant was so busy that our food took ages to arrive, and when my pregnant friend politely asked if they could bring her a small piece of bread to hold her over, we were stunned to see they had actually charged us for it. I found that completely absurd.

Overall, Scozia was such a disappointment. With average food, a rushed and indifferent server, a lack of acknowledgment for special occasions, poorly handled errors, and unexpected charges, it’s hard to say anything positive. I really wish our experience had matched the restaurant’s reputation because, sadly, I won’t be...

My boyfriend took me here for my birthday dinner, he has been here previously, and raves about their fresh locally sourced butcher meat. To our surprise the menu has been completely changed and is no longer representivie of the previous establishment. We arrived and I was amazed by the atmosphere, the place is gorgeous, there is a lounge, vestibule and a beautiful patio. We were greeted by a friendly waitress, we were seated and presented with the most digusting, dirty menus I've ever seen at a so called fine establishment. We took a look at thier wine menu and soon selected the Malbec Trivent 1/2 bottle. The wine was nice and decided to looked up the bottle, to find out the bottle is only 15-20$, and we paid 30$ for half the bottle. We were hopeful on the limited selection menu, and got the rib-eye for 49$ and the lamp and sausage pizza for 23$. The steak was requested medium-rare, I would say it was closer to a medium -well, but did like the flavour on the crust of the steak. The mash potato was cold and so were the seasoned veggies. The pizza was soggy and I expected more meat but the flavour was nice. Overall wasn't worth the $$$ for the quality of the food, I expected better. We also got the crème brûlée, which was not set all the way, but tasted average.

I would not come back here. If you are going to charge almost more than keg prices, provide the keg quality service. Note - the out of the 6 apps, 5 are salads.

If you are in the area, go to the pub next door. It's better...

The wait staff and hostess were welcoming, but no music playing. A good Italian restaurant always has music in the background. My fiance and I visited for our first time for our 6th anniversary. The first two courses, bruschetta bread and salads were good, but definitely overpriced for what you get. My main dish was spaghetti and meatballs. I took one taste of the sauce and it tasted like it was dumped right onto the pasta from a can. I tried one meatball...any good Italian knows that you shouldn't need a knife to cut a meatball. When asked how the first bite was, I expressed my dissatisfaction. An offer was made by the waitress to have me order another meal. The dish was left at our table. No manager came to apologize for the subpar meal, so that tells you how much they really care about making their customers happy. I didn't order another meal and my partner asked for a container for his meal, which did look more appealing, and we promptly left after paying the bill. They did not charge for the meal I didn't consume. We got out quick and raced down the street to Gente Restaurant where we consumed the most Delicious and authentic Italian spaghetti and polpette dish you could imagine! We needed more garlic bread to sop up their homemade...