Scalini Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria — Restaurant in The Municipal District of Kilkenny City

We were excited to try Scalini. On arrival the wait staff were friendly but very clearly under severe pressure. We tried to order pizza and remove one item but were told the chefs don’t allow any modifications to the dishes. We were confused as they show all the different toppings on the menu. We then tried to order a fish dish and a few minutes after putting the order in we were informed there was no fresh fish on the menu. We tried to leave at this point but the wait staff tried to restore faith by offering the original request of a pizza without one topping and adding another topping as offered on the menu. When our food arrived no modification was taken into account and the toppings were still on the pizza. We also order pollo chicken dish which was poorly presented and lacked quality, creativity and flavour. We felt very sorry for the wait staff who were under a lot of pressure from the chefs and management. They really were trying their best but were up against all odds. We couldn’t wait to get out the of the place. The atmosphere was uneasy in the restaurant as there were other tables experiencing difficulties and unsatisfied. We were offered free dessert but quickly declined. When we received the bill we were shocked to see a service charge of 12.5% was on the bill. The wait staff kindly knocked off the price of our water and the service charge for our unpleasant experience. We really hope you can take this feedback into account. We would really love to see your restaurant flourish. It has great potential. We understand that at the beginning there can be teething problems. We wish you the best in your...

We ate at Scalini's on a Friday night and we're very disappointed. Although it is a new enough restaurant the decor needs a refresh with paint chipped and bathroom not the cleanest. The menu we were given had one option of red wine and one option for white wine, it said to ask your waiter for the wine and cocktail list but when we asked we were told they only could offer house red or white and there was no wine list or cocktail menu. We ordered a carbonara and a margherita pizza, the portion of the carbonara was tiny and there were only 4 small pieces of guanciale. It tasted nice but for 24 euro there should have been more to it. The margherita pizza was okay but it wasn't topped with fresh basil as stated in the menu. After our main course, the waiter cleared our plates and didn't offer us any dessert menu, we sat and waited for about 30 minutes until we caught the attention of one of the waiters. The attention from the waiters wasn't good and they were dressed casually in leggings. We were sitting beside the window, the staff seemed to check on other tables but didn't come near us. We ordered a tiramisu and a cup of tea. The tiramisu was nice but the tea was served in a tall coffee glass (similar to what they'd serve a latte in) which was a bit bizarre. The website also advertised live music which there was none. We were there from 7:30-9pm on a Friday night Wouldn't be rushing back - a few small improvements...

Very disappointing meal here over the weekend. The restaurant is cold, one of the bathrooms had boxes stacked high, the prices are completely off point - never mind the service charge which is completely disproportionate for what is offered here. Diners weren't notified in advance of being seated that the pizza oven was out of action, and one of the staff even shared a joke at another table that "ah yes we get people seated before we tell them about the pizza oven being broken" - a pathetic attempt of humour which was completely inappropriate. We saw three tables came and went without dining as a result of this - so much hassle could have been avoided by the restaurant ringing diners before their booking times. I felt especially bad for a couple with a young child who went to the effort of hauling a buggy up the steps and coming in and getting settled before the stage decided to let them know of their issues. Staff appear attentive but there was a mixup with our starters that could have been avoided if our orders were written down or taken on a tablet. Incredibly disappointing...