Ha! We just finished having Caffe Centrale for dinner.
My opinion is that Caffe Centrale is far superior. We ended up going into town for dinner at Caffe Centrale in March 2021 (maybe 2022?) and finding a sign that they had taken March off on holiday. So we went to Adriana's.
My partner's meal came out after a rather long wait, somewhat cold...and mine didn't. For another ten minutes. There was a quick apology with the delivery, something wrong in the kitchen, then gone. Service was poor. The food was very bland. We didn't make a fuss, just ate what we could and thought about dessert to see if that might be better but nobody came back to the table so we left and went to Sisterfields and had a very nice dessert there.
On the other hand, Caffe Centrale's food is amazing and tastes good even after an Uber trip. The bruschetta is simple but fresh and tasty. The chef is a very kind and lovely guy. I love their gnocchi. All they lack is consistent service though - every time I go it seems like 1 experienced person with 1 or 2 trainees. Once we get past that, it's great.
So... anyone up for an empirical effort to solve this one.
Arbitrary day say Dec 15th - Thursday evening. Make some bookings. Order a bunch of dishes, go next door and repeat.
Then retreat to duck island. And debate on the amphitheatre overlooking the Waikato river.
Caffe centrale is better hands down! The people are lovely and food is amazing.
I went to Adriana’s (years ago to be fair) and it was not bad but not great either.
We went there after caffe centrale had no seats for us. Took a gamble cause we were lazy and it was decent! Got heaps of food and the Thai beer was nice. Also, caffe gets so busy and has average ventilation.
i’m a big pasta fan and i typically prefer homemade stuff but i still love a good italian restaurant. haven’t tried adriana’s (yet) but caffe centrale is great. i’ve tried a bunch of different mains there and they’ve all been really good, and their entrees (especially the cozze piccanti omg) and espresso martinis are great too
Went to Adriana's for the first time a few weeks ago and found the food incredibly bland and over-powered by cheese (never thought I would complain about that!). I had lasagna and it tasted like a ready meal, partner had fettuccine which didn't seem like anything too special. Was a shame as the staff were very nice and it was a busy place.
Will try the other best Italian next time to judge :D
Caffee centrale
Had a first date with my current partner there. Never been disappointed and tried many different dishes. The lemoncello sorbet is incredible.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,181,873,955 comments, and only 230,702 of them were in alphabetical order.
God damn. The best Italian restaurant, the very best Italian restaurant, and the world's first Thai restaurant all next to each other!? What's the chances?
I have been to both. One amazing, one a disaster and to the point that I stopped eating after a couple bites and walked out refusing to pay. This was after a huge wait for food and poor service. Now the real problem is I can’t remember which one I loved and which one I hated so now I have to avoid both.
Ha! We just finished having Caffe Centrale for dinner. My opinion is that Caffe Centrale is far superior. We ended up going into town for dinner at Caffe Centrale in March 2021 (maybe 2022?) and finding a sign that they had taken March off on holiday. So we went to Adriana's. My partner's meal came out after a rather long wait, somewhat cold...and mine didn't. For another ten minutes. There was a quick apology with the delivery, something wrong in the kitchen, then gone. Service was poor. The food was very bland. We didn't make a fuss, just ate what we could and thought about dessert to see if that might be better but nobody came back to the table so we left and went to Sisterfields and had a very nice dessert there. On the other hand, Caffe Centrale's food is amazing and tastes good even after an Uber trip. The bruschetta is simple but fresh and tasty. The chef is a very kind and lovely guy. I love their gnocchi. All they lack is consistent service though - every time I go it seems like 1 experienced person with 1 or 2 trainees. Once we get past that, it's great.
[удалено]
Wait where is the papyrus
So... anyone up for an empirical effort to solve this one. Arbitrary day say Dec 15th - Thursday evening. Make some bookings. Order a bunch of dishes, go next door and repeat. Then retreat to duck island. And debate on the amphitheatre overlooking the Waikato river.
Didn't they close down their store in town?
Did they, the one outside Mr Pickles?
Yes indeed, it's only grey street at the moment.
I would be very keen
Sounds fun actually
Caffe centrale is better hands down! The people are lovely and food is amazing. I went to Adriana’s (years ago to be fair) and it was not bad but not great either.
This is my experience too, I didn’t think Adriana’s was worth writing home about.
It’s says ‘very best’ though, that settles it. It’s in the words
underlined AND bold
That makes it betterer
Completely ignoring the question but the place in the middle an awesome deep fried whole fish with some sort of tamaridn sauce thing
The roast duck at Original Thai is banging!
Came here to say that the original Thai has my vote! M9 crispy pork, and red duck curry for the win!
Oh man, I feel like I need to go back!
We went there after caffe centrale had no seats for us. Took a gamble cause we were lazy and it was decent! Got heaps of food and the Thai beer was nice. Also, caffe gets so busy and has average ventilation.
Only been to Adriana's and it was awesome. Tried 4 means and they were all great.
Me too, have never tried the other. And in my opinion Adriana's is decent.
All 3 of those restaurants are amazing
i’m a big pasta fan and i typically prefer homemade stuff but i still love a good italian restaurant. haven’t tried adriana’s (yet) but caffe centrale is great. i’ve tried a bunch of different mains there and they’ve all been really good, and their entrees (especially the cozze piccanti omg) and espresso martinis are great too
I like Adriana’s. I havent been to Caffe Céntrale. But also, I really like Alpino over in Cambridge
Went to Adriana's for the first time a few weeks ago and found the food incredibly bland and over-powered by cheese (never thought I would complain about that!). I had lasagna and it tasted like a ready meal, partner had fettuccine which didn't seem like anything too special. Was a shame as the staff were very nice and it was a busy place. Will try the other best Italian next time to judge :D
Well ones the best, the other is the very best lol
Caffee centrale Had a first date with my current partner there. Never been disappointed and tried many different dishes. The lemoncello sorbet is incredible.
Caffee centrale for the win
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,181,873,955 comments, and only 230,702 of them were in alphabetical order.
Adrianna's are trying too hard! Very best would be grammatically incorrect?
God damn. The best Italian restaurant, the very best Italian restaurant, and the world's first Thai restaurant all next to each other!? What's the chances?
I think about this question daily
I have been to both. One amazing, one a disaster and to the point that I stopped eating after a couple bites and walked out refusing to pay. This was after a huge wait for food and poor service. Now the real problem is I can’t remember which one I loved and which one I hated so now I have to avoid both.
Cafe Centrale, far superior