Onlyrealreviews
Google
Nowadays I usually don’t leave Google reviews. I’m someone who travels around the world and shares food reviews on social media. For me, as a customer, not only the taste of the food but also the atmosphere of a restaurant and the kindness of the staff are extremely important. Unfortunately, I had a very unpleasant experience last night, which is why I’m writing this review.
I’m a Korean who has lived in Australia for over 9 years, and I speak English at a native level. This restaurant had great reviews, so I was curious and decided to visit.
We came without a reservation, but there were seats available. The male staff member who first greeted us said there was an indoor corner table available and asked if that was okay. We said, “No problem!” and were seated without any issues.
When it came time to order, a female server approached us with a bright smile and genuine kindness. She took our order perfectly, and everything was fine at that point.
However, throughout our entire time in the restaurant, I kept feeling uncomfortable due to the behavior and cold stares of a bald male staff member. I don’t know if that’s just his personality, but he looked extremely rushed, disorganized, and almost as if he was in a hurry to leave work.
Toward the end of our meal, he asked if we would like dessert. We were planning to go somewhere else afterward, so we weren’t thinking of ordering dessert but said would like to look at the menu once. After looking, we decided not to order anything, and he told us the kitchen was closing.
Throughout this entire interaction, I felt a strange sense of unfriendliness. Not once did he show even the slightest smile. His face was stiff the entire time, and all three of us felt as if he was giving off the message, “Hurry up, order, and leave.”
And then came the moment.
There was still pasta left on the plate, and without saying a single word, he suddenly reached his arm between us and tried to take the plate away.
Is this really basic service etiquette in Italian restaurants? When I visited Rome and Florence, this was absolutely not my experience.
When we told him that we were still eating, instead of apologizing, he simply widened his eyes as if he “understood,” put the plate back down, and walked straight into the kitchen. We then saw him talking to the kitchen staff. Throughout all of this, his expression remained cold and annoyed.
What made this even more confusing was that it wasn’t particularly late. While all of this was happening, new dishes were still being served to tables outside. There were about three tables outside still actively eating.
Because of this one staff member, what could have been a good dining experience was completely ruined.
We explained the situation to the kind female staff member and asked if that man was the owner. It turned out that she was the owner. When we told her that everything else was great, but that he had been extremely unfriendly the entire time we were there, she apologized sincerely.
As someone who also runs a business in Korea, I can imagine how stressful it must be to manage an employee like that.
After reading other reviews, I noticed that there are quite a few mentions of discriminatory behavior toward Asian customers. In this day and age, racism is not only unacceptable but also incredibly outdated and uneducated. It’s 2026 — I sincerely hope this establishment takes a hard look at itself and does better.
Judging by his accent, he didn’t sound Australian. If his behavior toward us was due to us being Asian, then that says far more about him than it ever will about us. I hope he takes time to reflect.
Just a reminder, karma exists.
Happy New Year.
