Billa's Italian Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Wales

We have been to this restaurant before, approximately a year ago, which is why this review is all the more upsetting to write as previously the experience was unbelievably amazing.

We visited today on Valentines. We do not live in Wales, however made the effort to travel back, specifically for this restaurant and the amazing memory of it. My partner booked the table. As we entered immediately there were young children sprinting around the restaurant, which was concerning but not totally off putting. As we sat down on the table we noticed we were also missing forks with our cutlery. Normally these things don't matter but all these small things started to add up.

We then ordered drinks and food and had no issues with our initial server. We thought we were then past all of the negative bits of the night... it was valentines day, so it was busy as expected.

One of the servers, she appeared brand new and really really nervous. Which is no issue at all. However, she brought the first cocktail over to the table and whilst on route from the bar to our table, she continuously spilled the cocktail leaving a mess on the floor and a puddle on our table. She then sat the drink down. Normally I wouldn't have any issues with this. However, it was the fact she did not say a word but look on in absolute despair before departing the table quicker than a gun shot. Leaving the puddle mess on the floor and the table for us to clean up... she then continued to bring another drink over in absolute silence before walking back to the bar and just standing as still as a statue as if she was a hostage in the establishment.

Moving forward... we finished our starters which was the bread and olives and the meatballs. These were actually really good. The olives were soaked a bit too much in oil. Bit of overkill but nonetheless the starters were good. The horror then continued as an hour + passed and our mains were still a no show. Our previous drink glasses has been cleared with no offer of more drinks or even coming back over to check. I even went to speak when the glassws were collected, however the waitess had left half way through my first word. I had to walk up to the bar, after a good 15 minutes, just to order two more drinks which were then brought to the table in utter silence. This just created an awkward atmosphere that just did not set the mood for me or my partner.

Another thing to add to the atmosphere... or not to add was the absence of music... that was just a bit weird.

Since waiting over an hour for food. Hope seemed to be on the horizon when a dish was brought to our table.... which turned out not to be our order. This appeared to be happening all over the restaurant. This was exemplified by running members of staff who were literally sprinting through the restaurant.

In the end me and my partner decided to leave and he went up to cancel our dinner and pay. However, he was told the food was then coming out straight away. My partner then paid for everything and we waited for our food. Initially our side dishes come out first then followed by sauce and another couple mins for our mains. My partner got a medium rare steak which come out rare. As if it was rushed by the kitchen leading to the thing not being fully eaten. I ordered the Parma pizza... however it appeared that a normal margarita pizza was just used and the rest of the toppings such as mozzarella and tomatoes were thrown on without going into the oven first. The pizza was cut in slices... but the toppings perfectly in tact making me beleive it was just shoved onto someone else's margarita to get the food out the kitchen quicker. I had one slice.... and left, as the toppings were cold on a hot pizza. For example the mozzarella had just been taken out of the fridge and sprinkled on.

Overall this experience alone I wouldn't go back. And we weren't offered any discounts or price cuts - which we weren't expecting, However, the staff appeared aware of our discomfort and nothing was...

We booked a table here on Saturday evening, when we arrived the outside seating area had been overbooked so we were sat inside the restaurant - this is currently not allowed under Wales' guidlelines, and to be honest I wish we had just walked out at that point, there ended up being 15 people seated inside. I genuinely felt so sorry for the 3 staff working there that evening, there was no manager in sight to help them serve customers both inside and outside, and they were running around like headless chickens receiving multiple complaints from every table inside about slow service, order mix ups etc - they clearly had no table plan for inside (since we were seated last minute) and as a result the wrong food was given to the wrong tables. One couple got up and left before their food was served. We waited 45 minutes for our drinks, which arrived after our starters. Again, I want to stress that I do not blame the three staff at all, the blame lies fully with the non-existent management who overbooked the restaurant and left them to deal with the mess. My partner ordered a calzone, and when this was served it was completely raw on the inside, he sent it back and asked for carbonara instead as this was quicker to cook. The food overall did not live up to the standards of the previous owner. Finally, when it came to paying the bill, the calzone was still on it, when the staff had said they would remove it for us. My partner went to the bar so this could be corrected, and the owner spoke to the staff member who was re-doing the bill, he told her to charge us for the carbonara that was a replacement for the raw calzone - some people may disagree, but I believe that if you are served RAW food at a restaurant or take away etc, then that meal should be replaced free of charge! In total we wasted £59 on a subpar meal. I am thoroughly disappointed in Billa's, it has clearly gone down hill since the change of ownership, and I shall not be eating here again and will tell others to steer clear. It's such a shame as Aberdare itself has so few...

Arrived at 19.15, 3 of our mains finally came out at 21.20. .. My partners came out 20 mins later after getting the order wrong twice, 2nd time bringing out a meat dish when she can't eat meat for medical reasons. 3 tables also came in after us and got served their meals a good time before us, shambolic. Raised my issues with the waiting staff who agreed we had not had the best night and offered free desserts and drinks in fairness but we just wanted to leave by this point so I asked for our experience to be considered when preparing the bill. The bill came with no discount applied and when I questioned this with the owner he was extremely rude and aggressive, apparently waiting 2 hours for your main course is normal... Finally when I told him I was not paying for my partners meal he said it would have to come out of the waiters tips... I really hope this didn't happen as I do believe the place was understaffed for a Saturday night. Disgusting behaviour from mgmt. and the food was mediocre in comparison to other Italians I've been to, definetly avoid the scallops. Won't be...