I decided to drop in for dinner and was quite disappointed due to the atmosphere. The service was reasonable. Food was quite nice. But with kids running around and screaming is a complete turnoff. Parents nor the staff had any intentions of controlling the kids. Will not be returning.

After a trek around Church St looking for a halfway decent place to dine, my friend and I finally stopped in front of Liana's on a Friday night. Despite acknowledging that people have had positive experiences at Liana's, I simply cannot agree.

Upon entering, we were greeted by the hostess… and then nothing. By ‘nothing', I mean that the hostess stared at me without saying anything. I found myself tongue-tied – I've never had that happen to me, and I was simply at a loss for words. After what felt like an eternity, the hostess finally asked whether we had reservations. This gaffe irritated me. It is basic service etiquette to ask your customers instead of expectantly staring at them. We did not have reservations, but eventually got a table after much consultation – and so the saga continues!

Liana's has really odd décor. Ambience is just an important part of a culinary experience as the food itself, and Liana's really doesn't do itself any favours here. It is a restaurant that presumably caters to families (evidenced by the multiple children we sighted), but this clashes with the bar area. There is a flat screen television, an aquarium, Christmas lights around the windows and carpeted floors. The menus are printed in Comic Sans and look childish. It looks ridiculous and is utterly confusing. Despite being an Italian restaurant, there is nothing that caters to that heritage and the physical space achieves very little.

I ordered the vegetarian pizza and my friend ordered the chilli pizza, and we waited for approx. 20 minutes – not bad, maybe could have been better. After the pizzas came out, I immediately dug in, feeling starved. We noticed an issue almost immediately. The tabletops have a slippery surface, so everytime you try to cut your pizza with cutlery, the plate threatens to fly away from the table. I'm surprised we managed to make it without any Walter White Pizza Tossing incidents (calling Breaking Bad fans?). Placemats have never been more appealing.

The pizza: my standard for pizza is incredibly high, given that it is a relatively simple dish. The pizza was warm when it came out, so it became stone cold halfway through. The base was undercooked as it was not crusty. There wasn't enough seasoning and the sauce was bland (salt? garlic?). I enjoyed the artichokes and olives on the pizza, but overall the pizza itself was a big miss. The chilli pizza fared better as the chilli gave it a discernible flavour, but there was still the same issue with the temperature and base.

The servers also seemed to muck around with our bill. We received the wrong bill twice and were charged for pasta dishes in addition despite making it clear what our order was. Human error I can forgive once, but twice? I won't mince words. $20 is a fair bit of moolah, and you expect to get quality food in exchange. Instead, Liana's offered a sub-par, cold pizza that tasted like cardboard towards the end. Italian nonnas are rolling around in their graves.

Approximate cost: $20

The food will definitely not let you down, especially for the price of the lunch specials, which are usually around $10. Their servings are quite generous and the service was quick and mor importantly, friendly.

They have great lunch specials that are fantastic value with decent sized portions and a varied menu. The food is really good however the service can be a bit erratic.

Liana's restaurant is excellent! The food is extremely tasty, the service friendly and the atmosphere is warm. The lunch special makes it extremely good value.

Approximate cost: $varies

I liked the look of the place but wasn't happy with the prices. I also ordered one of the most expensive meals on the menu and it came out frozen. I have not been back since due to this, and am very hesitant. The staff are very friendly.

Food here is always fabulous - though unfortunately service can vary - sometimes excellent, sometime just ok.

Definitely worth a visit for the food though!

Approximate cost: $20

Food was INCREDIBLE!! Great interior design, friendly staff and superb food. The meal was just a little too large and meant I was unable to try any of the mouthwatering sounding desserts. Definitely recommend you try it!

Approximate cost: $30

Liana's on a Thursday night provided a very good dining experience for two. The waitress was prompt, considerate and helpful without being overly attentive. The food (fillet steak) was very generous, cooked as requested and well presented. In fact the serves were so generous that we couldn't order the delicious sounding desserts after the main course. For Olive bread, drinks and main courses, $80 per double was good value. The Large street scene mural and huge fish tank are great for the atmosphere.

Approximate cost: $30

This restaurant served good food (fusion Italian). The serving size was generous and price was reasonable. Service can be improved to compliment with the good food and cost.

Approximate cost: $20