I really hate to write this negative review. When you first opened for business, our lives were instantly so much better. Finally, we thought, a decent authentic delicious pizza at a reasonable price, clearly made with a passion for ingredients by people who really care. It was great and we were regular customers.

Then you announced that you were opening a restaurant just down the road from us. Great news!

Well, maybe not.....

Last night I made our usual order and was told that you were very busy. This has never bothered us. We always expected that with a small and growing business, things take a little longer than your average pizza chain. Besides the resulting pizzas were always absolutely amazing and definitely worth the wait. I called at just before 7.30pm and was told I would have to wait until 9. 'No problem!' I said. 'They're worth the wait.'

At 9.45 my patience was wearing a little thin so I phoned to see if a mistake had been made or something. 'No mistake', I was told, 'just very busy.'. My pizza was still going to be another half an hour. Being told that, I made a complaint over the phone. Nearly 3 hours for 2 pizzas is ridiculous really. The person on the other end of the phone was apologetic, but said something like 'What do you want me to do about it?' Which is quite unprofessional. It's not my place to tell you what to do with your business. I don't know. I'm not running a pizza restaurant, you are. If you need to ask customers for advice on what to do in such situations then you are already in trouble. Maybe offer a discount?

So I got an apology and the person on the phone wasn't rude or anything just clearly busy and flustered. I may have been a little rude in making my complaint, but I apologised and accepted that my pizza was on it's way. As I have said we love these pizzas and even at nearly 3 hours they should be worth it.

At something like 10.10pm the doorbell rang and I jumped up to collect my lovely pizza. And here's the final insult: the pizzas are about 30% smaller than before, AND when the delivery guy told me the price they are now more expensive! £20 for two pizzas. I have been ordering the same two pizzas (more or less) since we started using Alicia's, and the price has been increasing steadily from about £15 up to £18-something the last time I ordered. The last time I ordered was just before the restaurant opened, so in that time (a few weeks) the pizzas have gotten smaller and more expensive still.

I understand that premium pizza with authentic ingredients comes at a cost and the price wouldn't be an issue if the pizzas weren't smaller and taking nearly 3 hours to arrive. The pizzas were delicious, as always, but that just makes the whole thing more disappointing.

So here's the conclusion to all this waffle: you have lost a customer. Is is so disappointing I can't tell you. We were your most enthusiastic fans, telling everyone we knew and recommending you as the best pizza in Birmingham. I hope that this is just a blip. Maybe you ordered the wrong size delivery boxes. Maybe its all just teething issues. I hope so. But I don't know how I'll ever find out. I can't justify a 3-hour wait for smaller, more expensive pizzas, no matter how delicious they are.

Italian food is characterised by simplicity and generosity. This is what made Alicia's so authentic. Something has gone wrong and now, for us at least, they have lost this authentic spirit. Taking nearly 3-hours is chaos not simplicity. Making them smaller and more expensive is miserly not generous. A great shame.