Che! Ristorante Italiano (C.C Zenia Boulevard) Local R128 — Restaurant in Orihuela

This would have been less than 3 stars but thankfully we had a lovely waitress named Lucilla (apologies if that's spelled wrong) who made our experience that bit better. When we first arrived I explained to a different waitress, that I am vegan and my 2 kids are vegetarian (hubby eats meat). She told us that was fine and they had options and to take a seat. Then Lucilla came over and explained how it all worked and took out drinks orders. The premise of this restaurant is they bring food out to you, offering portions of whatever dish they have in their hands and you pick and choose. (If you have tall kids, like we do, be warned that they judge the cost of a kids meal on how tall your child is, rather than on their age).

Starters were brought out and put on the table without choice. These were quite nice from what we tried. Then the waiters started to bring out choices of food. I explained again about our dietary requirements, as the dish was ravioli and I was asking if it had meat inside, but the waiter didn't seem to understand. So Lucilla came to the rescue and was able to tell us what was in it. I then explained again, this time to her, about our dietary requirements and she straight away explained there were no vegan options (contrary to what we'd been told on arrival) but that she could get the kitchen to make me a vegetable pizza with no cheese and pasta with veg. Great! After a little while a waiter arrived with the pizza but instead of giving me the whole pizza he just offered me one slice, and a slice each to all of us. My husband tried to tell him to give me all of it but instead the waiter gave me another slice then walked away with the rest of it.

Lucilla brought out the veg pasta for me and apologised for the mix up with the waiter not giving me the full pizza. She then realised that the kids didn't have anything to eat so asked them what their favourite pizza would be. I thought this was a nice touch rather than just telling them what they could have. Both said margarita but my little girl couldn't decide if she wanted mushrooms on or not, so Lucilla suggested half with and half without. Again, a nice touch. Both kids were happy with that when it arrived.

Unfortunately the veg pasta did not taste nice at all. I tried to eat it as I knew it had been made especially and I didn't want to seem ungrateful but my son and husband both tried it and they agreed it was inedible. In fact it made me feel sick. I hadn't expected it but another whole vegetable pizza came out for me, to make up for the previous mix-up. This was nice enough to eat and great customer service, but I felt bad not being able to eat it all as I'd already had the earlier slices.

During the meal my husband tried several different dishes. His perspective was that the pasta dishes weren't very nice but the pizzas were tasty. We also ordered a second lot of drinks from a different waitress but these never arrived. There was a table over from us who also seemed to be having trouble with the staff about a drinks order not appearing. Most of the serving staff seemed very vague and unsure. Lucilla seemed about the only one with any sense, confidence and understanding. This would have been a 2 star service rating without her. I appreciate the effort she put into making sure there was something...

This is our second visit here. The first visit did not go well but there were a couple food items that we liked, so we thought we might try it again. This second experience was even worse. We arrived 30 min after opening and there were about 7 tables total with other patrons. To drink, we ordered a Coke and a lemonade. Both from a drink dispenser station. It took 21 min to get these drinks. The service did not improve throughout the visit. They left a second round of salad and bread basket on the table after I told them we didn't want it. After about 45 min, the server finally came around with the pizza we really came here for, and they only brought 1 slice. My son asked about more of that pizza and they said no. For a buffet Italian restaurant, you get what they bring and you don't get what you want. This was an extremely disappointing experience and my American readers will not enjoy this place. In fact, a German family at the table in front of us got up and tried to just leave because the service was so bad. The restaurant wouldn't let them. In my 14 years of living in Europe and many years in Germany, Germany has the worst customer service throughout Europe. And if Germans are getting up and leaving, that should tell you something. 2 stars just because 3 food items were actually really good...... if you can get...

A chain restaurant with an interesting concept: a buffet which comes to your table.

Nice ambiente as soon as I entered the restaurant, I felt being in Bella Italia. Good vibes, too, mostly from the staff - because I came to an almost empty place. No wonder about that - I had dinner at a crazy time when the Spanish have hardly risen from their lunches. Anyway, I got a discount of €2 for my early-early bird.

First appetisers: A Caesar salad, olives, tomato and mozzarella, fresh baguette and soft cheese with herbs.

Then a never ending procession of dishes arrived at my table with very short intervals, alternating between pizzas and pastas, all different, all delicious! Quality food, freshly prepared in the kitchen and sent out in handy portions with a friendly young waiter who spoke Spanish, English and German (and, who knows, Italian too?)

Now Italian cuisine has always been one of my favourites, I am not a foodie nor a chef, but I swear: it did taste authentic!

You accept or reject each dish as you like, no questions asked. There is always offered more, within a shorter time than you can reasonably finish a dish, you eat as much as you like - and probably more than you had planned.

I had no space in my expansive belly for dessert, but, mio Dio, I will return next week with tutta la mia famiglia in tow. It...