3.5 stars for the food, 0 stars for the service. And that 0 star for the service is a culmination of -2 stars for the maitre d' and 2 stars for our waiter. I'm generally non-confrontational but the attitude we received here was unacceptable, and I ended up storming out of the restaurant after arguing with the maitre d'.
SERVICE
Our buzzer device notifying us when our table was ready seemed to be a little bit glitchy, so I went up to make sure that we hadn't missed our turn. The maitre d' stared me down, and told me curtly that "if it didn't buzz, it's not your turn." I explained that I knew how the buzzers work, but wasn't sure if ours was working properly, and if she couldn't just check our place in the queue for us. With a thoroughly annoyed expression, she snatched the buzzer, and condescendingly demonstrate how the buzzer system works as if I was a naughty five year old that refused to learn. Whatever, we eventually got our table.
Upon receiving our check at the end of the meal, we realized that they had charged us CHF8 for mineral water. First of all, CHF8 for water?? I don't care where it's from, that's a scam. Second, we had specfically asked our waiter for tap water, which he had acknowledged. Understanding that there could be mistakes, we pointed it out to the maitre d' (you have to pay at the front, not at your table).
She refused to take it off our tab, saying that even if they did make a mistake we drank it and therefore would have to pay for it. She went on to lecture us that mineral water was better for you anyway (who is she to tell me I shouldn't be filling my own body with industrial water?!). Her attitude was absolutely deplorable, with her demanding "what do you want me to do about it?" and trying to dismiss our presence by turning away from us. We eventually called our waiter over and got our CHF8 back, but not without leaving a really bad taste in our mouths.
FOOD
It's really unfortunate that the food review has to be relegated to the end, but by the end of the evening, I barely remembered what the food tasted like. Which is all the more unfortunate, because when I dig past the horrible lady, I recall the food being really quite good.
We had two pizzas (a margherita pizza and a strombolli), and the dough was actually really good. the margherita had mozzerella cheese slices that looked really fresh, but in order for the cheese to keep it's shape, they had waited until the pizza had cooled, and it came out a bit lukewarm. The sausage on the strombolli was very flavorful, and I particularly liked that, despite the wetness of the ingredients, the dough didn't turn out to be overly soggy. My dish was the house-made gnocchi, which had a wonderful texture, but was otherwise simply good hearty pasta in tomato sauce and cheese that probably didn't warrant the CHF21.50 price tag.
The desserts were also wonderful, and absolutely huge. They're a bit pricey at around CHF10-15, but definitely big enough to share. I don't know what their policies are on number of orders per table, but as long as it's allowed, I would probably share a pizza/entree and go for dessert. But then again, service-wise, my experience at Luigia isn't something I'm looking forward to repeating anytime soon.