Ace Pizza, Highgate

Ace pizza has a retro feel with neon green lights inside the restaurant and brightly coloured decor to match. The waiters and waitresses try to act funky and had shirts with letters of the name of the restaurant. The restaurant contained mainly couples and families. It's open seven days per week 5:30PM till late. It is crucial for you to make a prior booking before dining in this restaurant. The owner of this restaurant Alex Cucciova also is a co-owner of Cantina 663 and El Publico.

We called up and had not made a booking earlier however, the waiter said that they could accommodate for us. When we arrived however, we were told by the same waiter that we could sit on the couch situated near the front door on a cold winters night as the bar was fully occupied and had limited seating. It was late and we were hungry so we decided to dine in. Despite this, there were empty tables which had already been reserved earlier that were vacant for the entire time that we were placed on the couch which were never offered to us until we had finished our main meal.

As we waited for our meal, other customers who had not made a booking were offered the same option as us, to either sit on the couch or at the bar. Some declined and left the restaurant, it appeared to be a regular occurrence.

It was dark and uncomfortable to sit on the couch to have dinner. It was also cold with the door having to be closed manually every time a new customer came and didn't shut the door after them. This was annoying as there was a regular flow of customers.

There was a limited range of pizza's available and they only make one change as stipulated on the menu, no anchovies. So I guess it's too bad if you have certain allergies or intolerance's if you come here. The two pizza's that we ordered were the Lincon Lady and Godfather. I felt that these wood fired pizza's were a bit plain and that the toppings were minimal. The pizza's were very salty probably due to certain ingredients i.e. anchovies and olives, I could only consume it with drinks. The pizza's were edible though and were okay if you wanted to have a ordinary night out with some pricey pizza's.

The base of the pizza was thin and somewhat unsupported by the base, so we had to use cutlery to eat the pizza. As we didn't have proper tables to sit at, the toppings were falling off the pizza as we held them with our hands.

A jar of chili was offered to us as an addition to the pizza which we could help ourselves to but we decided against this.

Lincon Lady $20 (Front) - Hot salami, black olive, anchovy, mozzarella & san marzano tomato

Godfather $22 (Back) - San daniele proscuitto, san marzano tomoto & mozzarella

Tiramisu Donut $5

When we finally were offered a table we had finished out pizza's so I ordered dessert, a Tiramisu Donut. I felt very bloated by then but I couldn't resist not ordering dessert. The donut was very sweet and contained a liquid interior which didn't contain a strong Tiramisu flavours. I was only able to eat half of it.

This was an average night out and I was somewhat displeased overall as I know that the majority of restaurants would treat patrons as though they were important to the business. This experience made us feel like the restaurant treated us like they were doing us a favour by allowing us to to dine in and suffer the consequences of not making a prior booking. I just hope that improvements will be made to the service in the future. I would however, give it another go.

Menu: http://www.acepizza.com.au/menu/ACE_FOODMENU_WEB.jpg

Pastacup, Canning Vale

What could me better than freshly made pasta by hand? There is an option to pick a size, sauce and pasta. There are also specials, combos and mains available. This place has great tasting pasta and when purchased as a take-away meal it comes in a cardboard box of varying sizes. The dough is put through a machine when you choose which pasta you want. There are samples of the pasta at the counter from which you can choose from. The are different sizes for meals:

• Small $11.45
• Regular $13.45
• Large $15.45
• Family Size $29.95
• Kiddies $5.95

I had the beef lasagne as a take-away meal and the pasta was cooked al dente and there was a substantial amount of minced meat however, I was considering of asking for extra sauce in the future as the meat flavours overrode the sauce for my liking. However, the sauce was really nice and fresh and had the right amount of salt unlike other lasagne's that I have tried. The family size box is very large and would be enough to feed two to three people.

On the other hand, I was not particularly keen on the cannelloni which was quite dry and the ingredients seemed like they were over processed, I will not be trying this one again. This time round the pasta was slightly undercooked.

As for my dining-in experience, this was not so enjoyable. None of the tables are cleared until a new customer is seated and awaiting for their dish to arrive therefore, the tables were cleaned as you waited. All the surrounding tables contained dirty dishes which was unappealing. When we had left we were the only customers and the tables still had not been cleared. We received two pieces of complimentary sour dough bread and a small container of parmesan cheese. I tried The Angry Sausage one with Fusilli and the other with Chilli Fusilli pasta. The pasta was slightly undercooked in both dishes. The dish with Fusilli lacked sauce and was a bit plain. The dish with Chilli Fusilli was quite heavy, spicy and contained more sauce. The Chilli Fuslli seemed thicker than the standard Fusilli. We struggled to finish our dishes and felt full.

Although I have mixed experiences with this place, I will be back and could see this place as a regular take-out joint as a healthy alternative comparable to other take-away places or even as a casual dining in experience. It comes down to who the cooks are on the night and what you order.

 Family Size $29.95 (Take-away)

 Family Size - Special of the day - Two combination's (Take-away)

Beef lasagne (Take-away) $13.45

Complimentary sour dough bread and parmesan cheese

 The Angry Sausage with Fusilli pasta $13.45

 The Angry Sausage with Chilli Fusilli pasta $13.45

http://www.pastacup.com.au/menu/

Roman Palace Italian Restaurant, Cannington

This place has wonderful ambience and a unique water feature in the middle of the restaurant. I always feel at home here because it is a family owned Italian business with wonderful owners who are very friendly and welcoming. It's a good place to go to when you're out for a peaceful dining experience with your family and also for an enjoyable take-away meal.

For entrées the Pane Con Aglio (toasted garlic bread) or Bruschetta (toasted Italian bread with tomato, basil & olive oil) is nice and light. For pasta I can recommend the Lasagne Al Forno (lasagna with three cheeses & meat sauce), Spaghetti Con Polpette (pasta with olive oil, fresh parsley, tomato & meatballs)  and Penne Pollo (pasta with chicken, sundried tomato, mushroom, broccoli & a creamy white sauce). I normally order these meals as take-away meals which are very substantial with rich flavours that are accentuated through the sauce. The pasta is always cooked al dente.

During my dining experiences I always go for the Zampi Di Agnello (roasted lamb shanks with a port & shiraz sauce). They provide two very large lamb shanks and the meat is tender and falls off the bone quite nicely. However, the Bistecca Alla Diavola (aged scotch fillet with a fiery black pepper sauce) is a winner too and cooked well.

Most meals come with a bit of a side salad similar to the Greek Salad (a chunky salad with fetta, olives, cucumber, capsicum, tomato & red onion). If you're keen for a bit more then it may be good to order an extra salad to share.

They do provide desserts however, they vary from time to time which are okay. This place is value for money and I highly recommend coming here and bring your friends and family too as it has a family oriented culture and feel to it. Also with the spacious design it is ideal for large functions or gatherings.

DINNER : Tuesday - Sunday: Open from 5:00 pm
LUNCH : Friday: Open from 11:30am - 2:30 pm
Monday - Closed

http://www.romanpalace.com.au/OurMenu/tabid/61/Default.aspx