Piazza Italia — Restaurant in Orlando

DO NOT EAT HERE. My Mother Nearly DIED from Their Negligence.

I took my mother to Piazza Italia for Mother's Day, and it turned into a nightmare that ended in the emergency room. My mom has a severe seafood allergy, something we made VERY clear to the waitress. Not once, not twice, but multiple times before ordering. We were specific about wanting to avoid any trace of seafood or cross-contamination, and the waitress assured us she understood.

When the appetizer arrived, we once again double-checked that it didn’t contain seafood. The waitress said, "Absolutely not." Based on that confirmation, my mother began eating.

Minutes later, the same waitress returned and casually said, “Actually, there might have been some cross-contamination in the kitchen,” and told us to stop eating it. But by then it was too late. My mom had already taken several bites.

Within 15 minutes, she was having a reaction and had to be rushed to the hospital, where she was barely stabilized in time. The doctors said if we had waited much longer, the outcome could have been tragic. The only reason she’s alive is because we were near a hospital.

But that’s not where it ends.

When the manager came to the table, the waitress completely denied ever telling us there was a risk of cross-contamination. She backtracked, and the manager joined her in being defensive, confrontational, and dismissive. Rather than show an ounce of accountability or concern, they both tried to make it seem like we were lying. As if we imagined the conversation or misheard everything.

What followed was an awkward standoff where they refused to give me the bill, almost like they wanted to keep us there to argue. I didn’t want anything other than to leave. But they wouldn’t even do that cleanly. It felt like they were trying to control the narrative instead of just letting us walk away from their reckless mistake.

This restaurant has zero regard for guest safety, food allergies, or basic accountability.

If you have ANY kind of food allergy do NOT eat here. They will ignore you, dismiss your concerns, and gaslight you afterward. My mother could have died. That is not an exaggeration. It is a reality that came far too close.

Dining here was one of the worst experiences I have ever had at any restaurant, and I say that without hesitation. Piazza Italia is not just careless. It is dangerous. The staff is incompetent, untrained, and worse, unapologetic when their actions nearly end a person’s life.

I will never step foot in this place again and I strongly urge everyone to stay away. You don’t gamble with people’s lives. Piazza Italia did, and they showed no remorse. Absolutely...

On Mother’s Day, I took my wife and our two children to Piazza Italia in Lake Nona. The restaurant was busy, but we were seated relatively quickly. Unfortunately, that was the only positive part of our visit.

It took nearly 20 minutes for a server to take our order. My wife chose the Mother’s Day special. Before ordering, we made it very clear to the server that we have severe shellfish allergies and that absolutely no cross-contamination could occur due to the risk to our health. The server reassured us that the dish contained no shellfish or contamination.

When the appetizer arrived, something seemed off. We asked again if it contained shellfish, and the server insisted it did not. However, shortly after my wife took one bite, the server suddenly came back and admitted there was in fact shellfish contamination—that the same oil used to cook seafood had been used for her dish. At that point, it was already too late.

My wife immediately began having an allergic reaction. She could not breathe and told me to take her to the hospital right away. We rushed to the Lake Nona emergency room, where she was treated immediately—she had begun losing consciousness and was in a critical state. By the grace of God, we arrived in time for the doctors to stabilize her.

Our eldest son stayed behind at the restaurant with our younger child so they could finish their pizza. When I returned to pick them up, they told me the manager accused them of lying about the allergy issue and treated them with complete disrespect. Instead of showing concern, the staff denied responsibility and acted as if we were fabricating the entire situation—despite the fact that our family was in the middle of a medical emergency caused by their negligence.

This was not just poor service—this was a life-threatening mistake that resulted from miscommunication between the server and the kitchen, compounded by unprofessional and disrespectful behavior from the management. This restaurant endangered my wife’s life and then had the audacity to treat us like liars.

I give this restaurant zero stars. The health department should investigate immediately. Allergies are not a joke, and restaurants must take them seriously. Piazza Italia failed miserably, and I would never recommend anyone with dietary restrictions or a family to trust their...

Piazza Italia is simply amazing! We just got back from Italy and we were craving some authentic Italian food. We thought we would give Piazza Italia a try on Mother’s day. We are so happy we did. From the minute we walked in we were greeted in Italian by Fabio. His very authentic and out going Italian personality made us feel like we were still in Italy. They sat us at a cozy little corner table for two. Our waiters, Michaele & Davide, were awesome! They provided excellent recommendations and their service was spot on. Fabio periodically stopped by to check on us. We enjoyed chatting with Fabio. For starters we had the Burrata Mediterranea. The homemade fresh mozzarella was to die for! I will order this every time we visit. We also ordered clams in a garlic, wine, butter sauce. The clams were fresh and it was served with fresh warm bread for dipping. It was incredibly delicious! For entrees I had the chicken marsala with pasta, and hubby had the fettuccine alla bolognese. Our entrees were fantastic too! For dessert we ordered Sorbetto al limone, and tartufo al cioccolato. Both were light and amazing. We thoroughly enjoyed our meals and dining in this very authentic and cozy Italian restaurant. After our meal we were not ready to leave. We were enjoying ourselves so much. It felt like we were in an Italian home enjoying our meal with the family. We stayed for awhile after our meal and enjoyed a glass of wine. In true Italian fashion we decided to order a light appetizer. We ordered one of the daily specials of prosciutto, melon, cherry tomatoes, etc. It was to die for! Nice presentation as well. Overall we had excellent food & service in the cozy authentic Italian establishment. This restaurant is fit for us foodies and our foodie friends. We will be back! Thank you Fabio, Michaele & Davide for a wonderful...