Sofia Restaurant

We started to go here about once a fortnight for a cheap night out. It gave the kids a chance to play while we could talk at the table and still keep an eye on them. The food was as expected, not top class, but large serves and fair quality. Things have changed since then, though. We ordered a lasagne, which turned out to be lots of sheets of pasta with no meat in between at all. When we complained, the manager had a noisy fight with the chef in the kitchen, who then came out to our table to ask us about our replacement meal, and he asked us to tell the manager that the second meal was okay. He criticised her to us.

The manager has gradually become less friendly towards us, and the last time we went, she turned her nose up at my husband and ignored his question completely.

We will not be returning, which is a shame, because it was a good value break for us, which is rare.

The more times we go the worse this place gets.
The last (and final) time I ordered a veal parmagiana. Now I know at the price they're charging it's not going to be milk-fed veal but I did expect to be able to get a knife through it. It was so tough and you could literally hear the knife trying to cut through the gristle! It was also a tiny serving...it was a joke.
I sent it back and decided it would be safer to just share the pizza already on the table than risk getting another meal made.
The pizza itself was bland, tasteless, oily and the base was far too thick and heavy.
Another thing is the service...they have a lot of young/er kids working there, obviously they're cheaper, but the older/more superior staff think nothing of berating these poor kids in front of diners and there's just no need for it.
We felt quite uncomfortable as a young fellow was told off by the manager right at our table all for just asking if we'd finished with a glass.
As previously mentioned the grubby play area is bordering on revolting and the coin operated ball machine so strategically placed outside the play area fence, not to mention the big coin operated ride inside the fence, is a nice touch to just send kids over the edge as they beg their parents for money. The fencing of the play area is made of wooden pickets (think outside fencing) so you can't see your child in there.
And just when you think you've made it out of there without the children contracting 'pink eye' and/or having a huge fit about the machines you have to walk past two more coin operated game machines to get out the door.
But if you're still keen to go after reading this then just let me give you a suggestion...don't let your children go anywhere near the huge fish tank in the middle of the restaurant...no sooner do they go near that thing than a lady, who I assume is the manager, will be on top of them hassling them screeching, "Don't touch the glass! Don't touch the glass!"
Honestly, bigger does not mean better...the restaurant is huge and there always seems to be a lot of people in there but if it's a great pizza you want bypass this mass produced junk and head next door to La Porchetta. Their pizzas are brilliant and let's face it, kids don't always need a play area...we all managed to survive our childhoods without one. ;)

We went there because they advertise a children's play area!! The "play area" was a very small area which contained some very grubby looking soft toys, a small play gym and the are is open ended so children, of any age can run in and out as the please. The play are is also opposite the front door which is a little concerning.
We ordered a couple of pizza's which were honestly the worst pizza's we've ever had!! Greasy, sloppy and with too much tomato paste. The garlic pizza we ordered was also very average.
As a kid I used to eat at the original Sofia in Hawthorn at least once a month as a special family treat and it was fabulous. So to go to the Croydon restaurant and find it soooo incredibly disappointing was a real let down.
I would not describe it as kid friendly and the food was terrible.
All round very disappointing, especially considering the original restaurant used to be so fantastic.

Great, high standard in all areas. Food was great, piping hot, good hearty sized servings. Mary, the lady in charge on the night we visited, has a personality that lights up the whole place....she is bubbly and friendly without being in your face...fabulous with customer service... A great place to go for a quick meal or for a family dinner, well worth the visit especially with teenage boys who are BIG eaters. The menu has something for everyone, even our Gluten Free teenager. This place makes dining locally a pleasurable experience.

When this first opened it was great, the food was divine and the staff were really nice. Now....well where do I start!.. The food doesn't have any taste to it whatsoever, the hollandaise sauce on my meal was like curdled milk, all stuck together and hard. Our waitress was quite nice, however the woman in charge treated the staff like crap and didn't care if the customers could see it. The kids play area they advertise is ridiculous. It's a small sectioned off area with about three toys in it. How they could call it a play area is beyond me. One of the staffs children was playing in there and threw a truck on my 2yr old sons head. When we went to the 'lady in charge' she tried to deny that it was a member of the staffs son, even though he was wearing a sofias t'shirt like the rest of the staff. We asked the kid himself, only to be told that his daddy worked in the kitchen. To be honest we used to love going to this place years ago, now I wouldn't put the food served there into a pigs trough.

The food tasted like it had a bucket or two of salt in it. The girls come to your table and ask how everything is if somethings not right ( like the bucket of salt they served me) i told them they did nothing and came back with no feedback. WHY HAVE THEM COME AND ASK?? They are all dopey and dont care at all. We have been going there for years but it is not the same anymore they dont care about the customers, and the place is not as clean as it used to be. Their new bar area is noisey and stupid , its a FAMILY RESTURANT NOT A PUB!! The chef was staring out at me the whole time making me feel very uncomfortable. They are all VERY RUDE WHO WORK THERE. Stay away and dont waste your money!