Euro Cafe — Restaurant in Fountain Hills

We have been coming to euro pizza cafe for years. Everything was good up until today. My sister is deathly allergic to dairy and we expressed this to the server when we asked him to remove the feta (she is also allergic to this because of the milk protein). We made this clear to him in a very kind way and he reassured us he would take it off. The food came and there was feta. Luckily I noticed in time or if she would’ve taken a bite she could’ve died. We told the lady who brought our food the situation she ran to the kitchen to get them to make a new one. Our server finally came over 10 minutes later and asked if our food was good knowing my sister was sitting there without her food. We asked him what happened considering he reassured us it would be taken off. He said “oh yeah I forgot to put it in that she’s allergic, they are going to make a new one” we were very shocked by this answer as there was no apology or anything. I then noticed that my Greek salad was missing pepperochinis, a main ingredient in the salad. I asked our waiter if I could get some since the kitchen forgot and he said, “well we ran out so I can’t get u it.” Again we were surprised so we asked “is there anything else you could offer me instead of the pepperochinis” he replied “no only more bell peppers.” He then walked away before we could reply. So we called him back over. I then told him that I wouldn’t have ordered the salad if this key ingredient was missing and that he should’ve notified me. I then asked if there was anything we could do since my dish didn’t taste the same without them. He then replied “no” and walked away.

(I work as a waitress myself and understand how the food industry works and understand being busy and things slipping your mind but the utter rudeness, lack of attention with an allergy, and disrespect was horrible. Not to mention there was never a manager that came over to talk about the allergy or apologize. Which is standard protocol at almost every restaurant.)

We asked for boxes and waited for our check for 15 minutes. Hoping there would be some sort of grace on the bill for the messed up orders and the horrible service, we received the bills with full price items. We then took the bill up to the front and requested to talk to the manager.

We explained the situation and she goes “oh yeah you’re the one with the allergy” not even apologizing. We went into more detail with the situation and all she could continue to say was he was a good kid and he made mistakes. (He looked 25) it was obvious she is also his mother. She kept defending his actions and downplaying the situation and eventually only gave us a 20% discount. We weren’t even that upset about the money just concerned about the lack of attention to allergies and the unsafe environment that creates. I’m not one to write reviews or tip badly, but this was a horrible experience.

I’m sharing this to bring caution to others and hopefully help prevent this in the future.

Something needs to change!

Our server...

Summary: Pizza terrible. Tastes of the worst pre-made frozen fast food. The "dip" sampler gives you one pita to fight and share among a table and a meager handful of chips. Server was fine once we had one. If you bring dogs, prepare to sit at the worst tables and told only after you sit. Food takes forever.

There were many things wrong with this place.

We visited during lunch after the holidays. They were not terribly busy. We had dogs and one person from our party went inside requesting if we could sit at a specific table outside. The table was cleared and we sat down. We waited...and waited...20 minutes. We finally got up asked about our server only to have our server tell us because we have dogs we have to sit at the old tables along the outside patio. This would have been nice to know before hand or have someone come talk to us before sitting for 20 minutes. (Perhaps a sign?!).

Once we got a server, we put in our orders. Food took FOREVER to come out. Salads did not come out before the main dishes (a large pet peeve of mine). The Dip sampler was good IF we had enough pita bread. As mentioned above, there was one pita cut in small slices to make it look like a lot plus a handful of chips to somehow accommodate three larger dips (salsa, Tzatziki and hummus).

I ordered two slices of pizza..being a pizza place and all. It was undercooked frozen cheese pizza. I barely ate it. It was fake tasting. I don't have high standards for pizza but if you are calling yourself a pizza place, don't serve me what i expect to get at local soccer tournament's food cart.

Our other orders were not correct either. Don't expect to ask for a dish with no onions and get what you request.

I wouldnt go back. The view and patio is...

To preface: I am nitpicking good meals!

This place is mimicking street fare but doing too well a job of Americanizing. They no longer capture the dishes' cafe-vibe, and instead are overworked or styled with additional fluff. (Which I'd argue detract instead of support.)

Ex1: My lamb dinner was a kofta Kebap except with rice. My Lamb wasn't at the same level as the rest of the dish, almost as if designed to crash into the Tzatziki (side CUP) as a quality cover up. The flavors weren't all organized to balance into one bite, so it just made me crave the Kebap style all the more. Ex2: On separate occasions the kitchen staff drizzled balsamic, orange vinaigrette, or whatever sauce to the edge of the plates, smearing onto silverware if ever rested. The choice to decorate isn't the problem. Save the sauces for my food and paterns within the lower section so my hands don't get messy (please.) Ex3: The Piadinas were deconstructed for the desired upscale effect, but the flatbread is much too thick & the mound of salad too large. I'd experienced Piadina as a hand salad, but this whopping plate is loaded up without a press or cook action to compress the innards into the bread. It instead becomes a salad served on a bed of bread. Good, but not a Piadina, which is what I ordered. +These are my recommendation anyways. Very good salads on flatbread!

The food is good, I just wish the fusion styling equalized a bit closer to the street-fare cafe roots. These dishes are world famous...