Bari Pasta & Pizza — Restaurant in Santa Ana

I am writing to formally express my deep disappointment and concern regarding the unacceptable treatment I received today at your Santa Ana location of Bari Pasta & Pizza.

As a long-time and loyal customer, who has frequented your establishment at least once or twice a month over the past five years — and who is also registered as a VIP rewards member — I was appalled by the level of disrespect and humiliation I experienced during my recent visit.

Earlier today, I placed a walk-in order for lunch. Shortly after, two other customers entered the restaurant and placed their orders. After approximately 5–10 minutes had passed, I observed that both individuals who ordered after me had already received their food while I was still waiting. I approached the cashier station to politely inquire about the status of my order and asked if someone could kindly check on it. Instead of a courteous response, one of the two female employees abruptly and dismissively told me, in a loud and condescending tone, to "just have a seat" and that they were "working on it."

The tone and attitude used toward me were not only unwarranted but highly unprofessional and disrespectful — to the extent that other customers in the restaurant looked over in disbelief. I then requested to speak to a manager, lead, or supervisor, to which I was told that no one was available. When I asked the cashier for her name, she arrogantly replied that she did not have to provide it to me.

At that point, I was publicly embarrassed, insulted, and treated with a complete lack of dignity in front of a full restaurant during peak lunch hours. To further exacerbate the situation, when I attempted to document the incident by photographing the two employees, they retaliated by refusing to fulfill my order, denying me a refund, and threatening not to assist me unless I deleted the photos from my phone. This behavior was completely unacceptable, coercive, and indicative of a serious lack of customer service training and professionalism.

Left with no alternative, I contacted the Santa Ana Police Department. When officers arrived, the employees admitted to having misplaced my order ticket — an error I had suspected and which could have been resolved amicably had they responded appropriately to my initial inquiry. At the officers’ request, I chose to receive a refund rather than my food. Despite the entire ordeal, no apology was offered by either employee.

As a dedicated customer who has consistently supported your business and referred countless friends and family members to your establishment, I am deeply disheartened by this experience. I have always regarded Bari Pasta & Pizza as one of the best Italian dining spots in Orange County, which is why today's encounter was particularly mortifying.

Regrettably, after today, I will no longer patronize your restaurant nor recommend it to others. I hope you will take this matter seriously and use it as an opportunity to address the behavior and training of your staff so that no other loyal customer is subjected to the same...

I got the stoner skulls with the pesto two days ago. When I got home, I realized they were burnt. So, I called the restaurant back and the lady I spoke with gave no apologies whatsoever but I was asked to bring it back to “determine” if it was burnt. I also asked if I could get some form of partial refund and a new order of regular skulls since I waited close to 30 minutes to get the stoner skulls. They agreed on the new order of regular skulls and insisted I bring in my current order to determine if I’d get a refund.

This was after a long day of work. I took back the stoner skulls but the lady that attended to me started to argue with me that the stoner skulls was just dark and not burnt. I tasted a small part of it before I decided to call about it. There was no doubt at all that it was burnt. They ended up giving me regular skulls after a little back and forth.

I had paid about $1 more for the stoner skulls and ended up with regular skulls and wasted time. I was exhausted at the end of the transaction and they sucked the joy out of what was left of my day.

There were no discussions about any form of refund or not even an apology about having to come all the way back to Bari’s Pasta. At the end of the day, it’s not just about the money but wasted time and bad customer service.

I have attached the picture of the burnt stoner skulls. I hope the management does better with the quality and customer service. It wasn’t fair to go all the way home and be back exhausted due to issues from the restaurant.

Edit to respond to management: I’m not sure why the management feels the need to lie and gaslight. But, no, I didn’t keep the burnt stoner skulls (they were burnt and inedible). I also gave benefit of the doubt and took a bite that proved it was burnt. I went all the way back to the restaurant and gave it back.

There was also never a mention of store credit. I mentioned a partial or full refund over the phone but was asked to come into the store for them to determine if it was burnt. When I got back to the store, I didn’t bring up anything related to refund as I was exhausted and just wanted dinner. Yes, I was given regular skulls after a back and forth I seem to still be having on dark vs burnt.

Honestly, all of these would have just ended if the staff and management handled the situation better. I was treated and still getting treated like an inconvenience and not a paying customer. The fact of the matter remains that the stoner skulls were burnt as evidenced by the picture (they are even barely recognizable as skulls).

And, just like their stoner skulls and response from management, it seems this company enjoys leaving a bad taste...

I'm staying with ALO Hotel for about 1 year and I used to order from Bari at least twice a month (every time minimum 50$). But tonight it was the last time. Because for the past orders they always forgot something and they got greedy on ingredients. Last time I ordered 1 pepperoni pizza + 1 cheese pizza but I've got only 2 cheese pizza instead. Before that, I ordered Fettuccine Alfredo and I added extra chicken but I got pasta without chicken, just plain pasta with sauce. And other times I had 4-5 different items and I supposed to receive garlic bread for at least 3 items but they forgot to add it for all items. And even if you get extra extra meat to your pasta, you barely can find it. Their website is very silly and very tricky. If you want to add some other ingredients to your food, veggies or sauce or anything, you have to add "Meatballs, or something else" and then put a note and specify that you want Mushrooms or sauce or veggies, instead of that. One time I called them and I asked about the item "Chicken Florentine with Fettuccine" if it has chicken in it and she said no, it does not have, you have to add extra. 😂 I gave them 2 stars because their Cannoli is very good, and even their pasta is good, but only if you compare them with the other places around. And their place is very close to my hotel, and I always tipped the driver with 10$ every time. If you spend 100$ and ask them for a few extra small packs of parmesan cheese they won't give you any, you'll get 2-3 of them only if you tip the restaurant too. Tonight I ordered Cheese Pizza with mushrooms(it was decent), Pasta with Clams (good, but I was trying to find the clams), Cannoli(perfect), Calzone (just a sandwich bread with something inside, not good at all) and Chicken Parmigiana Sandwich (the worst one, no taste,...