08.15.2013 - California Pizza Kitchen declared it as National Pizza Day which means that if you buy any regular pizza, you get another one for free! Your choices for the free pizza are Untraditional Cheese, Garlic Chicken, Hawaiian, Wild Mushroom and Caprese.
We went to CPK Eastwood since it is the nearest branch for us. When we got there of course it was jam packed. We were told that we can sit outside but as soon as a table is free we can go inside. We were willing to wait in the name of free pizza so we sat and waited outside. After a few minutes of deciding what to eat, we ordered The Original BBQ Chicken and Garlic Chicken for our freebie. Their serving time was 40 minutes to 1 hour so we just sat down and waited patiently. Meanwhile, Geraldine took some pictures to kill time.
Here is the menu
CPK put up a tent outside for those who are ordering pizza for take out.
After about 30 minutes we were able to get seated inside the restaurant. The place was really small compared to their other branches. No wonder a lot of people were waiting outside.
Now here comes the disappointing part. As mentioned earlier we were told that our food will be ready in 40 to 1 hour. After an hour Geraldine was already being a little bit impatient. However I decided to cut them some slack because I figured it must be really a very very busy day with all these customers. Besides, their servers were really nice. They were all still smiling even though it was a very difficult day. It was also that branch's first National Pizza Day. A waiter even gave an order to the wrong table and only realized it after a few minutes. Lucky him, the girls at the table did not touch the food yet. A Chinese mom beside us was also getting pissed already and ranting to her son "how long does it take to make my pizza?" She has been there before us so I get why she is getting all worked up.
However, after an hour and a half has passed I started to be a little bit irritated. Different waiters/waitresses would approach us and ask what our order was to follow up. Don't they have a record of all those orders somewhere??? Five different people followed up on our orders but still no pizza. Geraldine ordered fries because she was starving already. The fries, which by the way are not good, was served in less than five minutes. Finally I snapped so I called a waiter and asked him how many more hours until they serve the pizzas because we have been there for almost two hours. And of course, he asked us again what we ordered. My voice was a little loud already because I was really pissed. I think I even scared the really nice girl who took our orders. After about two more minutes they served the much awaited dinner for the day.
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| Homemade Fries - Php95 |
They served the Garlic Chicken first. When I had my first bite I was even more disappointed that the pizza was not hot. How come Pizza Hut delivers HOT pizzas while CPK serves cold ones for dine in?? I did not even bother to ask them anymore. It was sad because this was actually a good tasting pizza. If you would ask me, this is actually a HIT if it was served with the right temperature considering we waited for almost two hours.
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| Garlic Chicken |
Next up is The Original BBQ Chicken Pizza. Same thing. It wasn't hot. I really don't get why. This was really disappointing considering that this is CPK's best because of that BBQ flavor, giving the pizza a smoky and sweet taste. Nevertheless this is still a HIT. CPK undoubtedly serves great tasting pizza.
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| The Original BBQ Chicken (Regular) - Php375 |
While we were eating another family was also complaining already about how much longer would they have to wait. The dad even asked the waitress, "Miss ilang oras pa? Sabihin mo lang" in a sarcastic manner. A waiter also approached us and apologized for serving our food late.
I really do hope that CPK Eastwood improves their system most specially during National Pizza Day. They should have anticipated the number of people coming in that day and devised a plan to handle everything. Maybe they can offer on-the-house appetizers for their guests.
Despite all the problems we encountered that day I would like to commend their staff for being very customer friendly. From the beginning of our stay until we left the restaurant they were still smiling and very attentive.
California Pizza Kitchen is a must try! Pizza lover or not you will love everything they have to offer. What about you? What was your experience during National Pizza Day? Share it with us :)
California Pizza Kitchen
G/F Eastwood Mall Veranda
Libis, Quezon City
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