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Oct 06, 2023

Omagh restaurant owner says 'defence best form of attack' as he hits back at negative reviews

A common complaint about La Gondola is that Luigi only operates on a ‘pre-order’

A common complaint about La Gondola is that Luigi only operates on a ‘pre-order’ basis

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An Omagh restaurant owner has hit back at negative reviews which have been posted about his restaurant online.

Luigi Marcigot owns Italian restaurant La Gondola in the Co Tyrone town, and has been regularly sharing the reviews via the restaurant's social media channels, which he has received on a number of platforms.

A common complaint about La Gondola is that Luigi only operates on a ‘pre-order’ basis, meaning that customers must order their food in advance of their visit. For takeaways on a Saturday evening orders must be placed the day before.

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One review that the restaurant owner shared said that Luigi was ‘ignorant and rude’ when he rang to say they were fully booked and could not complete the order.

The review said: "I sent a text at 4.57pm today to place an order. I received a phone call from Luigi himself at 4.58pm to say ‘hello we fully booked you no place order ok bye’ and hung up the phone on me.

"He didn't even let me speak to say anything. He was pure ignorant and rude when on the phone and I will never be back. If this is the way he wants to treat loyal customers - he won't have many left."

Speaking to Belfast Live, Luigi said when it comes to responding to negative reviews, ‘the best defence is to attack’. He says that in order to have his food prepared fresh and to a high standard, pre-ordering is necessary.

"These people don't understand that when you get up in the morning you need to plan that day what you are going to be doing," the Italian native said. I have only one life - the restaurant. I cook with passion, I have a five star hygiene rating.

"People don't understand that they can't ring me at five o’clock and get their food at quarter past five. That doesn't exist any more. After 25 years I have enough customers to survive. I have had a lot of good reviews and important people have been to my restaurant.

"I have enough customers that respect me and love my food. It's too late to be rich, I don't want to be rich. People understand that you need to pre-order, and if you pre-order you get something fantastic. When you go to the supermarket you put food in your trolley for tomorrow. You need to plan. That is the same with my restaurant."

Customers commenting on the restaurant's social media posts with the reviews are split, with many praising the quality of food, while others are baffled at the ordering process.

"I love your food but rarely eat here because of the ordering process. As a family of 5 we often don't know what we want to eat never mind what time especially the day before or even hours in advance," one person wrote.

"Been eating out of here for 20 plus years and never once a problem and always beautiful food," another said.

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