Doppio Zero Sunninghill — Restaurant in Gauteng

Reviewed by: Vishay Sarjoo Date: 19 January 2015

I decided to visit Doppio Zero - Chilli Lane yesterday for a little Italian lunch. I have often walked/ driven by, and admired the vibe and imagined it to be a delightful little restaurant.

The reality was that my experience at Dopey's (which the name should be changed to) was far from delightful. I will be as brief as possible:

To drink: Peach iced tea: Thank goodness this comes out the bottle!

Gin and Tonic: Served with no lemon slice, which arrived shortly upon request. It tasted slightly amiss. I only realised why this was so when I received the bill. My service co-ordinator rang up vodka instead of gin. Gin... Vodka... they're both white spirits so what's the difference? Some of my favourite not-so-famous shebeens get it right though. Just sayin'.

To eat: Aglio Olio Pomodoro: As far as I am concerned, this is a simple, authentic, typical, classical Italian dish. When prepared well it offers a taste of Italy in your mouth. It can be so good... that on one occasion I nearly broke out in fluent Italian after a few bites. Now, this was not the case at Dopey's. I ordered spaghetti aglio olio. What did I receive?? A 80/20 mix of linguini and spaghetti. Yes, the spaghetti was in the minority. The cook or chef was too lazy to prepare a fresh portion of pasta to satisfy the requirement so the bugger thought he could 'make a plan'. According to the manager.. "It was a mistake". I rate the wilful mixing of 2 pastas in one plate is intentional. Further, where was the fresh, aromatic, chopped basil and parsley?? The wilted rocket seriously had no business garnishing my plate. But it was there. The overall taste and presentation was severely lacking to be fair.

Chicken Pasta (with the extra cream option): OMG what a friggin' shocker!!! Firstly, the chicken was not even cooked to order!!!! Come on Mr Dopey?!?! What gives? Don't your customers deserve a particular standard of quality? Don't you want to be proud of your product? Reputation clearly means very little eh? Old, chewy bits of chicken breast mixed in a sauce that appeared to have been prepared in a concentration camp. Absolutely shocking! Frankly, those microwave pasta dinners from your local supermarket turn out better.

There is a plus. At least the dining room was pretty empty at the time. It would have been exponentially annoying if it was busier and we had to wait for crappy, shoddy food.

As a matter of courtesy, I had to bring it to the manager's attention. He profusely apologised saying that it was a mistake and I must return to give the Dope another try bla bla bla... The only mistake was me going there. He did offer me ice cream or a slice of cake. I suppose it was to make me feel better. What!? Do I look like 4 years old????

Personally and professionally, I do NOT recommend anyone go waste their time at Dopey's. It looks like they spend more time ironing their lovely, white, table linen than focusing on the product that staggers and limps out the kitchen.

Bad form guys......

My partner and I live in Sunninghill but almost every weekend we went to Doppio Zero in Fourways because they make such amazing cocktails and they had a great cocktail special. Since this branch in Sunninghill opened after renovations I have been there 3 times. They have a lovely set up, the decor is really nice, I love the music that they play, the waitress are pro active and the Manager is extremely friendly and always checks up on a person. In terms of customer service they are doing a great job but my issue is with their cocktails. I had a issue once with my meal but it was late and I am sure the stuff were rushing to go home. The bar tender is absolutely clueless. He does not know how to make proper cocktails. The manager has always apologized but there is no improvement. The first time we went we were told "his new". I had to explain how to make a mojito. Just by looking at it I could see it had not been prepared correctly. He is not infusing the ingredients together before adding the dash. He throws everything into a shaker. The ratio is totally out. It is to sweet, not enough citrus flavor due to him not crushing the ingredients together first. The second time I went I had the same issue. Last night we and I asked "how was the mojito? Any improvements"? The manager said "people are enjoying them". Once again I got a terrible drink. It tasted like a non alcoholic sweet soda. My partner had a long Island tea and was happy with it. I called the Manager and told him "that the drink was horrible and it's clear the bar tender is not infusing the dry ingredients". The manager replied "they are learning". If I was the owner I would be fuming. My bar selling cocktails by a incompetent bar tender. My partner then ordered the passion fruit caipirinha it was terrible. Full of crushed ice, sweet, to much syrup. Definitely not good value for money regarding cocktails. They need to send their bar tender for training. I understand it is a restaurant but if you are going to put cocktails on your menu at least have the decency to provide a decent cocktail as they are not exactly cheap drinks. I will rather drive to Fourways in the future as I know I will be satisfied...

And once again I have ordered from this restaurant to receive a pizza with both gluten and cheese after paying extra for a gluten free vegan pizza.

Thanks for making me sick - why is it so hard for you to follow orders????

Yet AGAIN after already talking to them about this before I have had a bad experience with this doppio.

First I ordered breakfast. I put order notes on the item and in the general notes saying that I am gluten and dairy intolerant, and added gluten free bread. I somehow received an order covered in cheese.

The next day I ordered a pizza When you order takeaway you pay a surcharge for vegan cheese which you don't pay in store. They didn't have a large gluten free base so offered to make me a medium and give me a dessert which I can't eat before eventually making a plan with a banting base. The pizza arrived ice cold AND they missed the order note adding chicken.

Sure, they offer to refund. But that's not the point, after waiting at least an hour for your food you expect to at least be able to eat it

I really don't think it is that hard to follow order notes. Doppio has my favourite pizza - it's just that the Sunninghill branch doesn't seem to be able to manage to read order notes or cater for dietary...