Papa Tazio in Rotorua

My Fiancé and I dined here last weekend on a trip to Rotorua, celebrating our engagement. The atmosphere, location, and design seemed great however our experience was super disappointing and left us wishing we had gone literally anywhere else. Our Waitress took our order, only to return 10 minutes later advising that my choice of meal and my partners drink selection was not available that night. Not to worry - it happens, so we chose something else. She then returned another 15 minutes later as she had forgotten our order so needed to reconfirm. We then waited nearly 1.5 hours for our mains, despite being the third table in that night (arrived just before 6:30pm). I finished my glass of wine and was not asked if I wanted another despite trying multiple times to catch the Waitress attention. So about an hour in I went to walk up to the bar to order another glass where I was met by another Waitress who took my order. No glass of wine ever arrived. We were then approached by our initial Waitress to ask if we wanted dessert before she remembered that we actually hadnt received our mains yet. Finally our food arrived by yet another Waiter who I enquired with about my missing glass of wine and he said he would go and get it. We finished our food... Still no glass of wine, and to be honest by this time we were more than over it. Tables around us were getting angry and we didnt want to add to the tension so we went to pay the bill but had to correct it as it had the ghost wine on it. We were asked how everything was and we politely complimented the food as it was not bad, however pointed out that the wait was quite disappointing. We left and noted that as we walked through the restaurant, every single table was food-less with visibly annoyed guests. I would like to point out that even on a disorganised, understaffed night with extra long waits, all it takes is for a Manager to come out and simply apologise and/or explain the delay to the tables, or even better - offer a small discounted rate such as a beverage on the house. This would have no doubt eased the irritation and even rectified the whole situation. We were not impressed that we noticed they were accepting new groups in all night long even though we were sat there waiting a ridiculous amount of time for our meal, and what was worse was that others around us that arrived around the same time of us hadnt even got their meals by the time we left 2 hours later. Not cool!

Fantastic food. Really enjoyed everything we had on the menu. Would recommend the Kumara Gnocchi.

Only put one star as no zero!Dont go. Waited over one and a half hours for a main course lots of promises and offered to give meal free when our meal finally arrived it was not what we ordered .....never again

Great service and food, warm place surprise cake for my daughter birthday. Thanks

My daughter loves Italian and we went to Papa Tazio for her birthday dinner. The food was yummy and service was par excellence. The surprise complementary birthday dessert was a very thoughtful gesture. Would highly recommend this place to all.

They were very busy when we arrived and gave us an option to sit outside while we waited for a table inside. They turned on one of those gas outdoor heaters for us. We had a hot chocolate, the pulled pork pizza and the Sicilian beach pizza. The hot chocolate wasnt anything special, however the pizzas were a whole different story. The pizzas were both amazing!! The flavours worked well together, and the pizza crust was so good. We ended up staying outside despite several people having left the restaurant while we were eating. The server didnt offer us a table inside until we were finished. Though that wasnt a biggie because the pizza was so good.

While we enjoyed their simple cheese pizza and the banoffe-like dessert, unfortunately the arancini were super gross. They were in fact closer to potato croquettes and lacked any flavour. Serving them with sweet chilli sauce seemed like the restaunt’s admissions of guilt over their lack of quality and expertise in crafting and presenting this dish. Also the atmosphere was a little dingy.

Not a fan. Went for dinner, waitress staff were friendly but the the meal was average and very expensive for what we got. Im sure the bread starter was some buns from the supermarket........second time round ordering a craft beer and got something we didnt order. Few guys standing around looking like they were waiting to kick us out......wont be back unfortunately.

A group of 8 of us dined here last night, we have been here before and have had great service and meals , but last night they were well off their game! The place was so dark that you could barely see the menu.We ordered 4 entrees to share and 8 mains - not Rocket science you would think! The mains came out before the entree - they didn’t try to rectify the problem and gave a really poor reason for the mixup and didn’t give us any sort of compensation- I would think twice about returning there.

Service was amazing. I felt sorry for them. The food is not Italian in the slightest apart from being squirted with tomato puree or smothered in cream with lashings of blue cheese in it. Not an Italian in sight and very over priced as a result.

Solid 1 star experience. Arrived during a busy period and invited to wait for a table at the bar. No problem. We wanted to order a drink but were then solidly ignored until I politely approached bar staff. We then seemed to be forgotten about as a number of ‘walk ins’ came in after us and were given tables.I very politely enquired why we had not been seated yet and the bar manager told me to ‘just sit down’ from across the bar. Unbelievable.We were then seated and given menus. Another 15 mins elapsed before our order was taken. The waiter couldn’t take our order without us physically pointing to each individual item. We waited nearly another hour for a small salty pizza with a strange after taste and a raviolli dish consisting of about 4 raviollis and a piece of bread ‘pre-dunked’ for us. We received our mains at 8pm having arrived at 5:50pm.Suspect this place has changed hands at some point - there is nothing authentic about this place.

My girlfriend and I choose this place For dinner and we expect some nice Italian food. We tought because was busy it’s gonna be an amazing dinner sadly it wasn’t like this. We ordered seafood plate and it was horrible, like it come out from the Package. ForMaggio fritto came empty and frittelle di gamberi without gamberi.I will not recommend this place ever.Not even one star.They have the best position for eat street in central Rotorua and they don’t deserve it.

There are better Italian restaurants in Rotorua than this one. Slow service and below average food. The old man behind the bar was absolutely rude, dont know if he is the owner or a staff. A Grubbiest rundown shack in Italy probably makes better Italian food that this place. Not recommended at all.

What a wonderful experience. The staff were excellent from the moment of entry to the end service.Polite, professional and answered my questions.They supplies us with two pasta dishes full of flavor, cooked perfectly and totally enjoyable. Their MOCA was well made and though simple in presentation it was excellent in flavour.The food came in more than adequate time, and the desert was simple but great.A very pleasant experience and yes I would without hesitation recommend this friendly warm restaurant to you.I thought the pricing was reasonable as well.For family, a friends night out or maybe a moment with the other, come and check it out.

Nice service, great food we enjoyed our time. It would be nicer if the man in the bar was smiling as I was paying. But young waiter was very nice and helpful, so I give 5 stars!

Had lunch here, the pizzas were very tasty. Staff was friendly and service was good.Been here previously for dinner and enjoyed that night as well. I recommend the place for both lunch or dinner.

Went to the restaurant last night and got food poisoning after eating a chicken and pepperoni pizza. I had nothing else to eat all day. Have been vomiting all day

I m giving 1 star bcoz there is no zero option. Never ever recommended this. Had dinner last night with friends. Staff was polite and good. No issue with that. When we went to pay our bill, the old man (may be owner or managerwas so rude, he didn’t know how to behave with customers. we felt so bad. Decided never come back again. Food was zero quality. nothing special, better to eat in pizza hut or other shops. Zero value for money. No customer value. Waste of money.

Lovely and chill place to have lunch, came a couple of times when visiting Rotorua. One waitress was lovely and proficient, but another was maybe very new to waitressing and/or struggling with a language barrier, didnt seem to understand some of what we said and didnt offer water/drinks. Pumpkin pasta was lovely, and the baked cheesecake was delicious. Would come back just for those two things!

Had lunch here. Language barrier immediately was a problem. Restaurant was cold. Wish I read the reviews first. Spaghetti bolognese was nothing like I have ever eaten before. Pizzas were tasteless. Absolutely not an Italian restaurant. They have a cheek to even advertise that. I am not a fussy person but totally do not recommend

Love this place. Its our favourite restaurant. The food is tasty and the prices reasonable. The service is friendly. Highly recommend.

We loved this gorgeous restaurant. Sat by the fire on Avery chilly night. Lovely service and excellent cuisine.

Highly recommend. Im a picky eater and I love the food here. Also has great service and polite waitresses who take feedback on the quality of your meal. Amazing!

Food was average, nothing special about it. Place is pretty cramped, not much room to move between tables inside. Waitstaff were mostly standing around not doing much - could be due to over staffing.Older man possible owner/manager was talking to staff very rudely which we had a direct show of, also watched him slamming things around at the bar. Very uncomfortable to watch while meant to be dining out and paying good money. Wont be back.

Food was equavalen of italian pub grub. Good for a meal but not the place to wow a lady

Wonderful location in Rotorua, Papa Tazio is located in Eat Street. Food is wonderful, staff so friendly, well worth a visit.

A shockingly disorganized and all around terrible experience.The waitstaff although polite, understood and spoke limited English which made ordering very hard. We ended up having to just point on the menu what we wanted. After initially ordered we received absolutely no service. We didnt get given water or utensils. I tried to flag down a staff member to get a drink, she just emptily nodded at me and walked on as she had no idea what I was saying. I had to ask a couple waitstaff before I got a drink. We were brought the wrong meal and drinks several times and the whole thing just seemed chaotic.The food ranged from average to uneatable. The pasta arrived missing ingredients and without sauce. It tasted of plain boiled pasta. My dish included mash potato, that somehow was runny and included clumps of un-mashed potato. I was asked how my meal was by one of the waitstaff and I mentioned the pasta was clearly missing ingredients and wasnt great. This was met with silence before she awkward walked away (maybe due to language barrier). Not at all what I would expect for the price.Like I said, staff were as polite as they could be, but their inability to understand English made the experience very bizarre. And the food quality meant we left most our meal on the plate.

I got food poisoning last night- I ordered Fettuccine Europa and drank one glass of bubbles. I am certain there are other people who got good poisoning who ate the same food or same drink. Worse experience that will leave me about Rotorua for the rest of my life. NOT recommended.

Excellent food, excellent value, they are currently running a lunch time noon until 5.00pm special, pizza.pasta and gourmet burgers for just 13.90We took a group on Saturday, we all thought it was great

This is my #1 place to eat on Eat Streat.The menu is great. My wife loves the Eye Fillet Steak and the Fettuccine Tuscany. I go for the Huntington Pizza most visits.Until Leonardos changed ownership this was the best place on the Street to get a pizza.The crust is very thin and crisp.Without hesitation I will always tell people to go here if they ask.

Mushroom pizza promised several varieties of wild mushroom but it was just a plain pizza with button mushrooms. Rest of food was pretty basic and not how it was described on the menu. Ive never left a review on anything before but this restaurant is misrepresenting itself so much. Staff were nice but thats about all.

We ordered garlic pizza to start...it was pale with raw garlic. We politely asked for it to be cooked longer. We were given another one...but it was just as bad so we sent it back and said we would have our mains. We were approached by the owner who we thought was coming to apologise but instead was very agitated and said he was concerned that we would send our mains back as well. We were basically intimidated and he was implying we should leave. I have never experienced such a shocking reaction to a polite complaint. Would not recommend.

Service average. Portion sizes poor. Found deep fried fly in with my chips. Didnt bring out side orders and still insisted on charging for them. Rude staff when going to pay.Would definetly avoid. A disgrace to eat streetWould give it a 0/5 star review but the lowest i can do is 1/5

The is awful. I whis we had read the reviews before we went as we wouldnt have gone . The waiter was abrupt the food was poor. I would not recommend.

Place was ok. Not bad for kids. Food was ok, nothing special, some dishes ok, others not. Probably wouldnt go back.

Wow derful food and service. Great lunch time menu and dinner time menu.highly recommend.

Wish we read these reviews earlier. Male waiter was abrupt and rude, when we went to pay the grey haired man was just as rude and abrupt. Gave them $50 and they gave me change for $40. Looking for authentic italian pizza, youd be better off at Pizza Hut.

Great Italian food value for money great services had meatballs for tea felt quite full eating 5 reasonable size meatballs lite spicy sauce.

Nothing Italian in this place apart from the name. Staff didnt want to be there. "Pizzas" were kids size at best. Honestly, avoid this place, youll be better off somewhere else, anywhere else...

I dont normally write reviews, but I feel a duty to the rest of humanity to help keep people away from this disgrace of an "Italian restaurant."None of the ingredients were fresh, it was poorly prepared, the staff did not want to be there (fair enough, neither did we after receiving our food), and it was a really poor value for money. It is by far the worst restaurant experience Ive had in ages.The bread selection was 3 mini baguettes that had been thawed and came with sides of stomach churning sauces whose ingredients were barely recognizable. The pasta alfredo was made with frozen or canned sauce, and came out as a "soup" rather than an actual pasta dish. Canned mushrooms, canned parmesan, canned veggies... Should I even go on?Go somewhere else... Anywhere. We wished we had just gotten mcdonalds after eating there.

Not really Italian despite the name. I would not recommend it.

Ordered the fettuccine europa and it was absolute trash. The worst pasta dish I have evere hadand it was $22.90. The dish was spicy and not at all like a fettuccine, I did not finish my meal. The service was bad and I will definitely not be coming back. Unfortunately I cannot give a 0 star review.

We had the worse experience in the whole stay in Nz. We stopped by only because really hungry, we deeply regret it. We had 4 pizzas and a kid pasta with 3 small beers and we paid 135$ that is a rip off. Call it Pizza is just an offence to the Italian culture , it doesn’t even taste like a pizza , it was a cracker with some tomato and cheese ( NOT MOZZARELLAon top. kid pasta was probably made with a “bolognese sauce” in jar bought at countdown. Service was not too bad but nothing special. I’m Italian and I’m feeling ashamed for this place that claims to be “authentic Italian “ .... They show off an Italian flag and play Italian music but the only Italian thing was the PERONI beer!I would give zero stars if I could.

Not a good experience here unfortunately. Both our meals were poor, starter and main course had a chemical taste to them and/or were freezer burnt. Nice ambience and good service but that was it :( Did complain but nothing was done

Very nice meals, all appear to be made from fresh ingredients,. All enjoyed their choices, being it pizza, pasta, fish and chips or lamb stew. Recommended and will go there again.

Disappointing meal. Not Italian at all and gluggy sauce on pasta. The meals tasted as though they were pre done and sitting in a warmer for some time. However, the service was pleasant, quick and efficient.

Great service, but the food was really not Italian at all. We had the Moroccan spiced prawns, which did not taste after Moroccan spice at all. The pasta was also disappointing. When it came to paying the old gentleman was rude, turning away from me while I was waiting and not communicating.

Papa Tazio, name change, is one of the best Italian restaurants I have ever visited. The classic Italian dishes are sprinkled with fresh local ingredients and cooked to perfection. The pizzas are wonderful. Great toppings and amazing crust. The salads, home-made meatballs, bruschetta, and other appetizers are great start to your meal. Local specials, like lamb McLaren, are perfectly cooked, well garnished, and incredibly tasty. Delightful desserts, and a very pleasant dining atmosphere, make Papa Tazios a must-visit dining experience. There is normally plenty of on-street parking near the restaurant, however, it is easier to find a space, and get your meal a bit faster, after lunch and before dinner.

An Indian descent waiter meet us and told us they dont do groups larger than 6. I asked if to confirm if were not welcomed there, he said yes.Must have been the rudest treatment we had in New Zealand.I hope the owner knows that he has an idiot on his staff!Dont go there for any reason!

Excellent food and table services. Could not recommended this place any higher. Only problem was this group of tourists on the table next to us were far too loud and immature. A classy and well established restaurant such as this shouldnt admit people of this nature. However, again, the great wait staff made this an unforgettable experience.