LIVIA Forno e Vino — Restaurant in Vancouver

I would like to preface this with coming to Livia Sweets I had high expectations and never have I left an establishment with a feeling of such disdain, anxiety and utter disappointment. I am a chef with over 8 years of experience and pride myself in going to establishments with great food and service. I am a regular customer at the Down Low Chicken Shack, and immensely enjoy the potato buns that Livia Sweets produces from them. When I heard that Livia Sweets had open a coffee shop and bakery, I made a mental note that this place would be a must visit.

Me and my sister decided to have lunch at Down Low today, however before that I suggested that we stop by Livia Sweets for some coffee. We arrived at approximately 1:10 pm. We looked at the menu and the baked goods, they all looked wonderful, and I was sure I would return and enjoy the baked goods another day, for today it would just be coffee. I order one cappuccino for myself and my sister inquired if she could have an iced cappuccino, the cashier had a perplexed looked on his face but assured us it would be possible and proceeded to ring us through. The bill was 8 dollars and I left a 20 percent tip. As the chit came out on the side where the barista was working she looked at the chit and said out loud to the cashier, "Really, that's stupid."

To which the cashier said, "I know, its just one of them that is iced though." All this was said within earshot of us and we were no more than a meter away from them. We were shocked and in disbelief and the cashier must have noticed our faces because he quickly told us about the evening menu to change the subject. I thought no way that they were talking about us... because this is not how you treat customers...

We decided to let it go and grabbed a seat by the window and tried to catch up, but we both just felt a weird energy about the situation. The barista arrived at the table and slammed our cappuccinos on the table causing the iced one to overflow into a messy blob on the table. She pointed to the iced cappuccino and sternly said "that's the iced," and walked away.

At this point we realized what transpired earlier was not our misrepresentation of the situation prior and that the barista genuinely did not like us. My sister was overwhelmed by the situation and was not able to drink her cappuccino, I had mine and it was actually rather good, with a great balance of creaminess and good amount of foam. However it lingered with a strong aftertaste of disappointment.

My sister at this point was feeling highly anxious and wanted to ask the cashier if something was wrong with the way she ordered her drink. We approached the cashier and told him of the situation and how we had perceived it to be. His name was either Jas or Jess. He quickly understood that we had picked up on what had happened earlier and told us there must have been a misunderstanding on our part and that they had not meant anything by it. He also said that he sometimes just puts funny emojis on the chits to let the barista know about mods, and she wasn't directing it at us. We felt otherwise. At this point the barista came over and told us that she was not upset with the way we ordered our drinks, and BOH orders iced coffee all the time... as for the slamming of the drinks on the table and it overflowing, she accredited it to her not seeing it and that it was a common occurrence for drinks as they were usually quite full. The cashier (Jess/Jas) then offered us a full refund to which we politely declined because money was not the issue. He also offered for us to comp our drinks the next time we came back, however no apology was tendered.

After this experience I decided to do something that I've never done before; to write a review, only so the owners of this establishment could be made aware. For a city that prides itself on inclusion and acceptance of everyone and their personal beliefs and choices, we never felt more out of place than our experience at Livia Sweets. I would not recommend coming here unless you want a side of condescension with...

Disappointing experience. I was walking past, saw the place for the first time, remembered having read that it was opening, and thought I would pop in to buy a loaf of bread. I walked in and was instantly impressed with the beautiful decor, the atmosphere, and the smells of good food wafting around. There were two people ahead of me in line; I reckoned on a regular wait time based on this. However, the first person took a little under 10 minutes talking, and the second stepped up and the conversation between her and the server seemed to be going the same way. I think the conversations were detailed accounts of the menu - I was hearing snippets of it, and it all seemed to be about the food. This is good if there are enough staff to handle it, but I only wanted a loaf of bread! I wanted to nip in and out, not wait for others to hear a detailed account of the menu. I also noticed that there were staff during this time who were putting on coats to take a break, another person who looked like a manager acknowledged the people in line with a smile but then walked right past us to have a chat with someone. The main server behind the counter was pleasant and smiley, and did acknowledge us waiting in line, but I felt maybe her hands were tied. Was this because there is a very limited menu available to read while you're in line? I couldn't see much of a menu beyond a small list of drinks, so I reckon maybe people have too many questions when they get to the order point. This could be easily solved by having a printed menu for customers to browse - then if they still have questions, the server can instruct them to browse while they serve someone else. Was it because half the staff seem to be milling around instead of serving customers? Maybe it's because staff haven't been given sufficient training in how to efficiently manage a line of customers. Maybe they only have one payment station, so the onus is on one person to manage one whole line. Maybe they need a separate "pop in" station for people like me who just want to grab and go. Anyway, I didn't have the will to put in 20-30 minutes to wait for a loaf of bread, so left without having ordered. This was disappointing. If Livia can get their wait times sorted out, they have a chance of not alienating...

The pricing, ambiance, and service at Livia left much to be desired during my recent visit. My craving for carbonara led me there for lunch, hoping for a pleasant atmosphere to enjoy pasta and a latte while getting some work done. However, the reality fell short of expectations.

Firstly, the price discrepancy was frustrating. The carbonara, listed at $24 on the menu (already a very high price point), ended up being even more when the cashier charged me $28 at the till. Paying over $32 for such a small meal was disappointing, especially coupled with being told not to help myself to water because the server would bring it. (More on that later.)

The atmosphere was chaotic, with packed tables, difficult to navigate through. I found myself at a skinny bar table on corner of the patio behind a hanging glass barrier, which with every gust of wind would nearly push my glass, plate, and laptop off the edge. This made both eating and working impossible, which was incredibly frustrating, adding to the dissatisfaction. (The neighbor patron agreed.)

Regarding the food, the portion of carbonara was surprisingly small for the price, and the dish itself was overly salty. Additionally, the promised water service never materialized, further detracting from the experience.

Choosing Livia was intended as a treat, but it turned into a rushed and unpleasant affair, leaving me dissatisfied. So after my $33 little portion of spaghetti, I squeezed my way through the crowd & off the patio… feeling less relaxed than when I came in, and still hungry… not a pleasant feeling when leaving a restaurant.

While I appreciate the ambiance of Livia, the pricing, chaotic environment, and lackluster service call for improvement. Sincerely, a disappointed...