The Palazzo Ristorante — Restaurant in Town of Rotterdam

The Palazzo: A Cautionary Tale

Let's start with the positives: the servers at The Palazzo are truly fantastic. Attentive, friendly, and efficient, they are the only reason this review isn't a complete one-star disaster. Unfortunately, the good ends there.

The owner, however, is a different story. An exercise in unchecked ego, their responses to legitimate criticism are a masterclass in sarcasm and anger. Forget constructive feedback; prepare for condescension. This alone should be a red flag.

The food itself is wildly inconsistent. One night, you might get a passable meal; the next, you'll wonder if the chef took a sick day and was replaced by a bewildered toddler. The prices, however, remain consistently high, disproportionate to the quality and, frankly, the health inspection warnings this establishment has received. One has to wonder if those issues were ever truly resolved.

Speaking of quality, avoid the seafood like the plague unless you have a penchant for foodborne illnesses. It's a gamble you're unlikely to win. And if you dare to call and place an order, prepare to be strong-armed into using their app, even while you're actively on the phone with them. Apparently, human interaction is too inconvenient.

The salad experience is another low point. Watery dressing served in a bowl so small it's practically a thimble. Investing in actual salad plates would be a welcome improvement.

Finally, the culinary travesty of grilled chicken on an a la vodka dish is an insult to Italian cuisine. It's a baffling choice, and a clear indication of a lack of respect for tradition.

The owner's refusal to accept responsibility and offer genuine apologies is the cherry on top of this disappointing sundae. Instead of excuses, how about a dose of humility? Everyone makes mistakes. Acknowledging them and striving for improvement is the mark of a true professional.

In short, The Palazzo is a place to avoid. Save your money, your stomach, and...

First time there couldn't wait since it's local Hamburg Street business well I reserved a table for 2 at 530 at the door nobody was there waited a bit asked if we could sit outside told don't think I have a table outside but there were all sorts of room well ok so they sat us in front of the band stand not so cozy went to the bathroom came back no waiter yet about 10 minutes before anyone notices us well got our drinks and ordered our food appetizer Gouda mozzarella sticks excellent came with sauce well my wife ordered the chicken palazzo special and I got a pasta alla norma well we got our salads right after appetizers notice other tables had bread well next another waitress dropped salt and pepper and created cheese next another waiter brought the wrong meals so we waited for our order when it arrived looks great curious about Italian with our bread so I asked forgot the bread well very small amount like French bread I butter pack and bowl of oil well I liked mine sauce was great my wife's chicken was hard to cut of course we had to take skme home and dessert to go carrot cake and Ricotta and Pistachio so overall nice place food was less for what the bill was 2 sodas 1 appetizer 1 special dinner 1 regular priced dinner and 2 desserts they were small totalled with tax $100.44 plus I gave a $20 tip well thinking I could go at least once a week not at that price it was an anniversary dinner new buisness o well they had cheaper options pizza and burgers and Panini I think that how i will go next time not being harsh but a reservation i should have been able to sit outside and we were sat under the speaker and A/C unit loud and...

This will be the 3rd time I have dined here. Twice in the dinner area, once near the bar. The third was after the Soft start. So I gave some time before dropping a review.

Pros: Primavera dish was good, Alla Vodka good, The marinara sauce is actually very flavorful and reminded me that I have broken the #1 rule of "always try the Chicken Parm at an Italian restaurant to gauge them". As a young new restaurant there of course will be kinks to fix.

Cons: The Chicken Marsala fell short, the sauce had a turkey gravy (gray) like appearance and tasted honestly from decent to bland. I was told it could be who made the dish, which indicated inconsistency in the kitchen. The staff is still having issues when it comes to timing and I noticed our waitress being stretched thin by tending to us (dinner area) and going literally to the patio side to tend to others. Big mistake! We had to bother another server to get the check after waiting a long time only to pay at the bar which leads me to the root cause of the way the staff is being managed. The "manager" ran our bill only to pass this off to the bar tender to give to us. The manager seems to choose whom to speak to. Again I have been there 3 times and not once has this manager come to my table to see how our experience went. I have been to many classic and well established Italian restaurants in the region. The Palazzo has potential and I wish them much success, but in order to reach that level they will need more time and learn how to address them. I will visit them again after some time has passed to see if they have addressed what I have experienced. Give them a shot, it really is a...