Pazzo Pazzo Trattoria — Restaurant in Edmonton

My husband has been to Pazzo's in the past and said the panini was great and the service was good. So we decided to go for a late Valentines Day meal. When we arrived one table was already eating and two tables of two each were ordering and getting their drinks. It took several minutes before the waitress acknowledged us with water and a basket of bread. She then brought us menus and after another wait we ordered, but after almost 1/2 hr I asked her when our food was coming. She replied it was just getting plate which I gave her a look of disbelief that it would take that long for a plate of meatless pasta and a pizza when the other tables already had their food. My husband also had to wait several minutes before the other server happened to notice his empty coffee cup and refilled it for him. By the time our food came out the two other tables were finishing up their meals. Ours also came out the same time appetizers came for a table that arrived after we had ordered to which I commented to the waitress about this. She immediately became defensive and said I was yelling at her, wouldnt let my husband speak, would cut him off and raise her voice to speak over him every time he tried to say something. I very calmly asked her , "was I yelling?" because she was accusing me of doing so when I wasnt. She didnt answer so I repeated myself to which she replied, "no but you might as well have been, you are so angry, the look on your face is so angry!!". I was appalled at the gall of her to say I might as well have yelled?! Yes I was upset at the lack of service from the get go after expecting much better from what my husband had said. She also said it didnt take that long....REALLY? When two other tables were already getting their leftovers boxed when we are just starting to eat? No apology, just excuses that they were busy; however, then it might be prudent to be prepared for busy dinner times rather than have some meals come out in a timely manner and other tables wait for proper service. However, what I wasnt expecting was the poor attitude and lack of any kind of good customer service from the waitress. After that she did not bother to come back to ask how our food was or if we needed anything else. The other waitress boxed the rest of our food and presented the bill. We asked her for the owner/managers (James) and the waitresses (Peggy or Penny) name. Peggy/Penny made a point of putting the owners card on the table and flippantly told us we could call him to which I responded we certainly would. Had she apologized for the tardiness and not been so offensive in her manner, we would not have blamed her for the food taking so long to prep. But that her immature, defensive attitude, raising her voice, cutting off the customer rather than listening and making excuses rather than acknowledging the situation with an apology is what cost her any kind of tip at all. That kind of behaviour really is a disservice to any business if they want to retain customers. We will call the owner to see how he handles the situation as some of his responses to less than stellar reviews show that he may not acknowledge the customer's complaints any better than the waitress. It may determine whether we will return to Pazzo's and what we will tell our friends and acquaintances as there is a lot of competition for any service business to have such a cocky attitude. We will post his response once we...

We went last night for my birthday with a group of about 12. They put us in a little side room in front of the windows so we had the area to ourselves which was nice.

SERVICE - Amazing! Our server was a lovely young lady who took great care of us. She was friendly and polite and nailed all of our orders without incident. My sister wanted to change her side order from a salad to something else (can't remember) and the server joked that the salad would be her dinner. It was just a nice experience and she was great! The food came out a little slow considering how empty it was, but as they say, good things comes to those who wait. We all enjoyed chatting and socializing while we waited so it was a good experience.

FOOD - Amazing! I was expecting great things based on the reviews and my father in law's comments, and I was NOT disappointed. My chicken and pasta dish was just delightful. So full of flavor, (not overly salty, as some comments had suggested). The salads were great, the calamari was great. The food here is really excellent and the portions, as noted, are large. I'm actually eating my left over pasta as I write this review at work lol. A simple penne with tomato and cream sauce but it's awesome.

ATMOSPHERE - Okay so yeah ,the place is a little dated, the walls are a little dinged up, but the place has character. The food and service are incredible so that's where your focus goes when you are eating there.

VALUE - Excellent! My plate was $32 and it was easily 2 portions. I got 2 pieces of chicken and I could easily split that and the pasta into two full meals for myself. So at $16 each it's great value. The beers are a little pricey ($8 for a domestic bottle) but booze is expensive everywhere these days unless it's a happy hour. I think the value here is very very high.

OVERALL - Just a really great overall dining experience. I give this place 5 stars based on the food alone. Tack on the great service and you've got yourself a winner. I'm going back soon to try something else on the menu. It will likely be for takeout and I'll have a couple dinners or lunches ready to go!!...

I honestly don't understand why some people are writing that the food is good here. Let me clarify: The food isn't gross or anything, it's just not good. The food is priced as if it's fine dining but it's not even at or near Boston Pizza quality which is no way fine dining. Last night, both my girlfriend and I went to Pazzo Pazzo to use a Groupon Discount. We also have a SUTP discount book and they have some coupons for Pazzo Pazzo as well. First of all, their wine list is a joke. They do have some good bottles but their house wines show that the person who made the list doesn't understand wine at all. We ordered Antipasto as an appetizer and I got a pasta dish while she got the chicken parmasiana. We often go out for dinner and order antipasto or charcuterie when at nicer restaurants. The antipasto was clearly store bought sandwich meat (they had basically bologna or something close as one of the meats, not even joking). It was just sliced sandwich meat and cheese just like you would put on your sandwich after buying it from Safeway. Listen, I get charcuterie all the time; this wasn't it. My pasta was $25 which is more than fine for fine dining. This, however, was clearly store bought noodles, stale overcooked chicken and a cream sauce that was far too salty and tasted like it came from a can. Don't get me wrong, I'll eat anything and it did the trick but it was a joke. Definitely don't recommend. If the mains were $10, it might be OK but I actually think food court pasta is better. The only reason I gave the restaurant two stars is because our server was very nice and accommodating. In retrospect, I can see why there are always discounts and coupons to Pazzo Pazzo; people aren't going because whoever made the menu doesn't understand fine dining. They went to a fine dining restaurant one day and said, "I can do this. How hard can it be?" Evidently, it's harder than they thought. If you're going to spend $25 or more for a pasta dish, go to Cibo (which is underpriced IMO) or Vivo Risorante. Won't...