Review Ciccio Italian Cafe - Rotorua

Amazing Italian style keto food. Beef bone broth is cooked for 44 hours before serving which is pretty damn impressive. Very friendly service and there’s a great selection of keto desserts to go.

Extensive keto menu. Excellent food even for the non-ketoers, and the vegetarian. Noticed they gluten free options too. The lovely young lady who served us throughout the evening is a gem. Thank you.

Great to have a keto menu although we didn't order from it. Standard menu seems fairly expensive but portion sizes are huuuge! Enough to have fed me for 3 nights! Got to try the italian hot chocolate and a slice of cake from the cabinet.

If you are on a keto diet this place is Fantastic with a great variety of keto food which is also available to take away Actually both keto and non keto food is very enjoyable The atmosphere is very chilled and relaxed with fast service and freindly staff

Food and milkshakes looks good. Customer service was awesome and the staff are friendly. But don’t go with high expectations on milkshakes, you will be disappointed

Wow! Wow! Wow! My friends and I went to hunt out food 'challenges' first was the 22 scoop ice-cream challenge at Pokeno and this time we came to Ciccio to eats donuts AND milkshakes - Wow! They tasted AMAZING. Highly Recommend! Great staff too :)

Great service and fantastic food, Keto options are the best Ive come across!

Tasty food and great service. Perfect for lunch before joining the Hobbiton tour opposite.

Very nice lunch to be had here. Slightly on expensive side. The service today was a bit slower because there was a large group dining there at the same time but given the circumstances that was fine. They made it clear to us before we ordered there would be a 30-minute delay and we accepted that and enjoyed a lovely wine while we waited. All in all a very nice lunch experience.

Came here as a group of 8 on a Friday night, and had great service throughout. The servers got to our table quickly and were helpful accommodating the need for a gluten free meal, even double checking with the kitchen to confirm. Serving sizes are very generous! Finished with one of their freak shakes for a perfect end. They also had a great selection of cakes in the cabinets.

It is a little bit expensive but the food is worth the cost. Do not be put off by the interior decorating. Their servings are generously sized and the food is delicious. They have awesome gluten free, dairy free and keto options. Vegetarians might have to try elsewhere though.

Amazing! Their keto food is delish! Will definitely be back.

Amazing food, and the friendliest people! We came in right at the end of lunch time and the kitchen was actually already turning down, but opened up for us especially. We very much appreciated the lovey service. ... and did I mention the amazing food!!!!

LOVE that this place has so many amazing Keto options! A whole Keto menu, and half the treats in the cabinet are Keto too! Not to mention the amazing Keto frappes! The two younger staff we had were so welcoming and accommodating with our toddler daughter. One in particular was predicting what we would need for her before we even asked! It made such a huge difference to feel like bringing a toddler wasn't a burden. The older lady server was less welcoming and a bit prickly (to us and other staff!) but the younger waitresses made up for it. Maybe the older lady was having a bad day 🤷🏽‍♀️ Overall, a GREAT experience!

The food is amazing!! The range of food they have to choose from between regular food and keto is mind blowing. Lovely front of house and staff. Such a charming place to eat and get takeaways from. Quick service aswell. 5+ stars! It is slightly expensive though, only down side.

Amazing menu, amazing service, amazing prices, perfect atmosphere! Absolutely cannot fault! So many options for everybody. This is definitely going to be our go-to lunch/dinner spot any time we're in town!

Very good. Friendly service and food is yum!

So good. They weirdly have lots of gorgeous keto food and freak shakes which are intense sugar hit. The freak shake is great but unless you have a massive sweet tooth maybe share one!

I had THE BEST Keto Chicken burger ever! The bun (which was made in house) was absolutely divine (light and fluffy unlike alot of other keto breads). The cheesecake was not as good but will definitely be back for the burger!

I am not promoting these brands but $5 pizza from Pizza Hut or Dominoes is way better than what we had here. Pizza was cold, no flavour. Luckily we ordered only one pizza for the two of us. Paid $19.9 lunch special. Not absolutely worth it.

Customer service non existent and if we hadn’t seated ourselves, we’d probably still be waiting to be seated. Even though there was a ‘wait to be seated’ sign and at least 3 waiters, and maybe 5 tables taken at the time of our arrival. <br/><br/>Once we grabbed a table, we were once again left waiting and had to go and get menues off another empty table. When we were ready to order we had to physically wave someone down because no one would come to our table.<br/><br/>Food was so below average it was unbelievable. The carbonara was bland and tasteless. And the pizza, which the waiter described as big and filling, came out as a pathetic kids size, 6 piece pizza.<br/><br/>Very disappointed, definitely wouldn’t recommend!

Came here as I heard it is one of the few places with a Keto menu. Ordered the chicken and camembert burger which was delicious. The pork rinds were a bit hard and a little over salted but nice. The watermelon drink I ordered was nice and refreshing and the side bits were a nice touch (peanut butter fat bomb!). I also ordered a cookies & cream and a peanut butter cake to go which were to die for!<br/><br/>I took .5 off because a few dishes on the Keto menu were just normal dishes with no carb sides which is what I order at normal restaurants anyway. I thought there may be Keto pizza or pasta seeing as it was an Italian restaurant but no.<br/><br/>Another .5 because the fat bomb I bought was nothing like the fat bomb accompanying my drink. Overly salty and near inedible.<br/><br/>Totally enjoyed myself though and thank you for providing a Keto option. Anytime I come through Rotorua, I will come for a Keto kai.

We went here for lunch 2 days in a row while we were in Rotorua for the weekend. Amazing staff, they make you feel like you're at home. The food is incredible, the flavours are on point and with every bite you want more! The portions are generous, we even got the fancy chicken morsels and chips for our 3 year old and there was enough for lunch and dinner so we got the rest in a takeaway box for dinner for her. This is also the first "normal" restaurant that I've seen add in a full blown keto menu and the cabinets at the front are filled with keto treats. They make every keto element of your dish from scratch including the burger buns to make sure they know what goes into their food. I'm actually surprised the keto food doesn't cost more! The curly fries - omg- so much deliciousness and perfection and literally SO MUCH CURLY FRIES. Also a must try is the Italian hot chocolate - wow!! We didn't have room for dessert so we ended up taking a chunk of cabinet cake home and it was the most amazing tasting Ferrero Rocher cake I've ever eaten!

Such friendly staff, really knowledgeable. Great service. Delicious food too!!! Freakshakes were the best!!!! After trying to go there 3 times in the past and it was closed, so happy to finally experience the magic.

Weve been here a few times and its always been good. Food always hot, fresh and tasty. Staff are friendly. Not really a fan of the freak shakes as they are way to sweet, but the pasta is really good and the calamari is nice too. If you like a bit of heat try the jalapeno poppers!

Have eaten here twice now and highly rate it if you love Italian food! A huge menu to choose from that caters to all tastes, and a dessert cabinet to die for! A very indulgent and delicious meal both times. If you book ahead there is no wait and the service is great.

Been wanting to come to this for a long time after seeing it's freak shakes all over Facebook! Came here for brunch on Sunday. <br/><br/>Got super excited over the freak shake. I chose "unicorn dreams" cos why not? And honestly it was very good - the shake itself. Was a blueberry shake. Something different. Thoroughly enjoyed it even thought it was way too much sugar on top but it is what it is!<br/><br/>Also got the "creamy herbed mushrooms" cos of the Kumara rosti. I love rosti. It wasn't bad. The rosti wasn't very crispy though. Overall it was still quite nice and super filling. <br/><br/>Would love to come back for dinner!

Avoid! Don't spend you time or money here, it is a waste. Good cakes and ok food at a step price. The worst thing about this place is the service. Unbelievablly bad service. Slow staff. Lazy staff. Just not worth the hours I wanted in waiting for this poor experience. Avoid!

Went to Ciccio Italian Café just for dessert based on review around month ago.And I must say, it was one amazing freak shake that I ever had and portion was massive! It had great variety of sweets keep coming out one after another as I digging through them.Highly recommended for those with sweetmouth (warning! sweetness overload) or for those who want to try out something crazy for desserts.P.S. Staffs were very friendly even though we went close to closing hours and gave us very friendly welcome. ;)

Went here for a birthday dinner and were not disappointed! It was quite busy but the staff were so lovely and always around to help, I had to spinach and mushroom risotto and it was AMAZING. Also the choice of dessert is incredible. Left feeling very full and impressed.

Review based on dessert.<br/>Talk about wow!! From a $19 shake in Auckland Parnell Casadel Gelato to a $12 one from Ciccio, a little less on the intense side compared to the similar shake in Casadel and a better shake for your buck. Why you must be asking? Just not intense as in you can take your time to eat it, you will also be able to finish the whole shake. Every spoonful was a delight and the shake was enough to feel full but a "that was just enough" full not a "that was way too much" full. <br/>I love my desserts and a big fan of thick shakes so I am(with my wife and sister) very satisfied and very very happy. <br/>Flavours we tried were <br/>- I did it for the cookie<br/>- Butterscotch Bad ass<br/>- Chocky Wocky Freakout<br/>If you are able to pop in for a dessert please do. <br/>Service was fast and very friendly. <br/>Pretty stoked right now!

Came for dinner over the weekend, we got there pretty late and it was pretty busy so we had to wait a little bit but that was okay. Once seated the staff politely let us know it might be a bit of a wait because of a couple of big parties there, but we ordered and the wait was not long at all! They fit us in before the big party which we really appreciated. So we were really happy with the service. The food was also a hit, some of the best pasta I have every had! Not cheap but they hand make everything so understandable. Their cabinet cakes and things also looked amazing! Really enjoyed our time here and would definitely come back next time we are in Rotorua.

We had a great New Years Eve dinner at Ciccio with delicious food excellent service and very generous portions. Both the main and desserts were fantastic. The lasagne and pollo mignon were what we ate, along with a huge tiramisu cake and a massive donut to go.

We dined here a few times a couple of weeks ago and were very impressed! The quality of the food is world class.<br/>It is also has in my opinion, the most passionate and switched on waiters I've encountered in a long time.<br/>The Sicilian pizza ( a house specialty ) is faultless!!<br/>Guess what? We will be back.

The freak shakes were very impressive and very sweet, the pizza and chips were yum and the cabinet of flash cakes was amazing to stare at :)

Food was average for the price we paid after being told they didn't have half of what we wanted to order. Staff didnt seem to work together. one girl dropped something on the floor and they all  just walked over it for the next 15 minutes. Freak shakes were very cool looking but they are just milkshakes. Highlight of our night was the Size of the marshmallows that come with the hot chocolate. May go back we will see

Went here for lunch. Pizza was really delicious. Dessert choices are amazing. Had the best piña colada cake here a few months ago, so full of flavour. Lots of choice for everyone here.

Love-Hate this place. <br/>The food is quite good, I had a risotto and I really enjoyed it. The tiramisu was made in heaven.<br/>BUT, this is the second time I'm here and I just can't believe how rude was the girl the received us. It was 20:11, we asked for a table for two and she answered back "is that for a short dinner??? Because we are closing at 9 pm". No smile at all, no courtesy, nothing. We felt tackled by the biggest all black player. We asked for beverages to her and she "I dont do that, the other girls does", the worst thing is, this is the second time this very same girl treated us like that, and it was just water and a coke!<br/>Later, other girl, (Emma) offered us some desserts and she was really really nice, an smile on her face all the time, caring and helpful. She should be the first face you see when you come in!

last came here in 2008 and enjoyed the food , back in rotorua for 2 nights now and recommended to our group and most went back next day for lunch.<br/><br/>a great spaghetti and cakes to die for .<br/>will be back again next time we are in town

First off, I would like to note that closing the kitchen at such an early time at night is a turn off for a lot of customers, it was late as I had just arrived in Rotorua and my partner and I were going out for a meal, as we arrived we were told the kitchen closes in half an hour. Working in an Italian restaurant I was surprised by this because the Italians I work with are very welcoming of people who come in at any time of the night. I had a dirty knife which I asked for a new one, they didn't seem too apologetic. We were pushed to make decisions rather fast and I ordered the calamari and my partner ordered the ravioli. My calamari was bland and had hardly any flavour and the rice that was served with it was worst. Absolutely no salt must have been used in this !! The waitresses were not very attentive and when asked about my meal and I said I was disappointed she didn't seem too surprised. The ravioli however was rather pleasant, would not come back and there is also hardly anything Italian on the menu to choose from! I know authentic because it's on the menu I have worked with, highly disappointed.

It says it is children friendly and when we arrived we said we would like a table for 4, 2 adults and 2 children... We were seated and given 2 adult menus and 2 children's menus... Still all good. Ordered our food and our 2 girls (4 and 2) as well. The girls started playing around the couch area. We took off their shoes and they started playing a hiding game on the couch. We made sure they didn't jump up and down, not to loud etc when the older lady (owner maybe) came over and said to our girls. "Now I need you two to sit down and listen, you are very lucky to be here as we don't normally allow children. If you behave yourself then I will give you a treat" No consultation with us and pretty much left us speechless. That pretty much was the end of our enjoyable night out as all we could think of was those comments made to our girls. Maybe they could have a couple of colouring in pages to keep children occupied or even say when we came in "No Children" The other staff members were great.

Ok so sometimes your service may be a bit iffy I have been here numerous times and the food is always EXCELLENT if the service was consistent then it would be a five star, but if you want the best risotto in town and the best desserts then this is the place to go.<br/><br/>The pizzas are also delicious especially their authentic uncooked italian one - love it.

This is definitely my favorite restaurant in Rotorua! The mains are delicious, however in the past few years my favorite dish, the "nuts about chicken salad" has been taken off the menu which i am not happy about! besides form this, i would definitely still recommend Ciccio to any friends looking for a decent Itallian restaurant, with friendly staff and a relaxing environment, with particularly decadent desserts- definitely to share with a friend.

So pleased we chose to go here for dinner. It was excellent. Great friendly service and delicious food. Amazing cakes as well. Might even be our new place for coffee and desserts on our girls night out.

My partner and I were inspired to go to Ciccio's as it was one of the restaurants in 'The Entertainment Book'. <br/><br/>Overall the experience was good, the service was good, the mozzarella sticks with plum dipping sauce were delicious, and my partner really enjoyed his chicken breast with blue cheese sauce (Pollo azzurro). <br/><br/>However, I was disappointed by the spaghetti and meatball main dish. The sauce was delicious and the spaghetti cooked perfectly, however the 'meat' in the meatballs tasted as if they were made from meatloaf or sausage meat (rather than ground beef or suchlike). I was especially diappointed with this considering the price of the dish. A disappointing addition to what could have been an amazing dish.<br/><br/>Also, although the dishes on the menu all looked to be interesting, it would be a stretch to call it "traditional Italian".

We expected a little more from Ciccio Cafe. Reasonably steep prices an quite underwhelming. First choice on the specials wasn't available and service was fine. <br/><br/>The restaurant proclaims to be traditional Italiano, however the risotto was full of non Parmesan cheese, the chorizo was salami and the was hefty amounts of salt. The puttanesca was awfully<br/>Salty also and there was very little flavor throughout. $80 for a very low class Italian dinner was hard to stomach really. There are better options in town. Try them!

Very much like walking back into a 1980's Italian restaurant.<br/><br/>The service was very quick and friendly at the table with the food arriving in minutes.<br/><br/>The pumpkin soup of the day was a winner.<br/><br/>Worth a try if you would like a trip back into the past.

The look from the road is fine but once you enter it is just a big empty box filled with tables and a couple of plants (but the fireplace is impressive if not relevant in summer)<br/><br/>Tables where a bit small and the staff pleasant enough but not engaging.<br/><br/>The food was unimaginative, ok if you are hungry but not a dining experience, especially for the prices.<br/><br/>We would try some where else before going back

I have been to this place alot and every time it just keeps getting better, even when they are very full they always treat customers extremely well, really well priced for real Italian food and those cakes are simply amazing, also best coffee in Rotorua by along way,

Visitors to Rotorua. Family of five. Food Okay. Service started off okay then went bad. Seated at a table too small for us, when meals came out had to move empty bottles of drink to the floor to make room for the entrees (they were not cleared from the table by the staff). Entree's not cleared away before the mains came out. We were pretty much left to ourselves after the last lot of food came out.. NO offer of more drinks, dessert... No standard courtesy questions eg. how was your meal, did you enjoy yourself..... Will not return there again.

Not cheap but the food was well worth it. The meals here taste great and deserve a visit for sure!

We visited this restaurant for the second time on the strength of the food &amp; wine. The service on our first visit was disappointing, the second time dreadful, 2 &amp; 1/2 hours for one course. We had to ask for our order to be taken &amp; weren't offered dessert or coffee It was Rotorua marathon day so understandably busy, but we were ignored long after most of the other customers had left. A great shame, we won't be going back.

Great food, reasonable prices and good service. We visit here quite often and we're never disappointed

Great food, good service, good wine, price is ok too.<br/>What else do you need to know!

Enjoyed the food although the servings were small and the spaghetti bol was lacking in taste and the actual spaghetti was just warm - could have been hotter.(But that is just a personal opinion and no big deal) Might have just been a bad night for staff but none of them looked like they enjoyed working there....although the service was good it was missing the "it" factor and staff just seemed to want to do enough to get by. The occasional smile and greeting does'nt cost anything......a bit of staff hospitality training would not go astray.

Eaten here 3 times when visiting Rotorua.<br/>Fantastic food, great choices, loved the Rissoto, staff are really friendly. <br/>Wouldn't bother going anywhere else as I'm<br/>looking forward to trying more ofthe menu.

This is my favourite place to eat when we visit Rotorua. The food is awesome and the staff are lovley. Our first visit was a breakfast, how good can breakfast be? Well at ciccio it was absolutely delicious and the hash browns are to die for. We will be back again, and again. Don't even want to try other places now!