Pizza Dough Co — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

This was our first visit since the reopening and it was a mixed experience. It was a Friday night and the restaurant wasn't busy. The decor and vibe was warm and pleasant. The girl who welcomed us, who was also our server, was polite and friendly. We ordered our pizzas and then waited a long time for them. A table that arrived after us and ordered after us, received their pizzas before us. When they came, the pizzas were excellent! Nice traditional thin bases with thick crust, such lovely dough. We ordered a margarita, pepperoni and Hawaiian. Plenty of toppings and all tasty. At the time of ordering our pizzas were hinted that we'd be wanting dessert. However our server was no where to be seen for a long time. Other tables were sitting with empty 'plates' too. When she did reappear she did not check on her tables. There was only 4 or 5 tables on her side of the restaurant. With there being a partition through the restaurant we couldn't see the other side, which was under the care of another server. Our server seemed more preoccupied with talking to the chefs and delivery drivers than attending to her tables. Once she came out of the kitchen area clearly chewing. I tried getting her attention several times but she avoided looking around the restaurant at the guests she was responsible for. I almost had to walk over to get her attention. Our concern was that we would be told that we can't have dessert because the kitchen is closed, despite us waiting approx half an hour to order them. Finally I managed to catch her eye and waves her over. Again she was polite and friendly, and helpful when I asked if she could recommend a dessert. It was helpful that she had tried the desserts I enquired about. Always good that the staff know about the food being served. We had the cookie dough and brownie - again excellent. Good portion size and delicious without being sickly. I'd like to return again for the food but the running of the restaurant needs some...

Ordered drinks which took nearly 30 mins to arrive and when they did half were missing. We then waited 20mins for those to arrive. It was an event for kids and the staff took the food orders for the entire room at once, well they tried but missed out several tables. Eventually all orders were taken but it was painful sitting waiting for the food to come out. The counter infront of the pizza oven was full to the brim with food which just wasn't being sent out. Eventually some started to be taken to tables but then they ran out of the wooden plates they use. We could see table which had finished their food but no one was collecting the plates. Our table got served over an hour after placing the order, even then it came out so slowly half had finished before the other half came out. Then we had a wrong pizza and missing fries. The fries didn't come out until my daughter had finished her pizza and we were ready to go by the time the replacement event correct pizza came out. I felt very sorry for the guy who runs the Lego event as we were talking to him and he was totally disappointed in the organisation. It wouldn't have taken much to take table orders a few minutes after arrival and start to make the food instead of taking 60+ at once. When I went to pay the waitress looked very embarrassed when she pointed out the service charge added to the bill. I have never had a service charge removed before but even she admired the service and organisatio had been terrible. It's a shame as when I walked in I already wanted to return, different feeling when I...

Before we visited, we took a good look at the reviews. We were kind of nervous but also hopeful, especially since we needed a place with a soft play area to keep the kids entertained, and this spot seemed like one of the few options nearby.

To our surprise, the service was actually pretty good, and the food was as expected, although the pizza choices were a bit strange. I wasn't a fan of the Chicken Tikka pizza, and my wife didn't find any lemon flavor in the Lemon Chicken pizza.

But our main issue was how kid-friendly the place was—or, rather, how it wasn't. The soft play area was tucked away behind a wall, making it impossible to keep an eye on the kids. And getting in meant signing a complex 18 paragraph liability waiver, which felt like overkill for a family outing.

The only changing facility was hidden locked away in a disabled toilet, and you had to ask and wait for a key which isn't ideal when all the other toilets were occupied and your child is about to wet themselves. The men's restroom was a hassle too, with only one stall that was always occupied when we needed it, and the sinks and urinals were too high for the kids to use comfortably. It just seemed strange that a place focused on kids' fun would have such inadequate facilities.

And don't even get me started on the online booking system. We thought we'd booked a slot, but it turned out to be just an "enquiry" that no one ever responded to. Good thing we called to double-check because the time slot we wanted wasn't even available.

Not sure we will be...