I never rate anywhere 5 stars... Until now! This place is special, really special! They are on top of their game, know their business inside out, care about their customers, what they serve and are humble about it too! No pretense, Just extremely good, delicious food, excellent service and a relaxed atmosphere at surprisingly reasonable prices. The location is beautiful, overlooking the breathtaking San Nicolas Cathedral in the center of Alicante where you can appreciate the warm, gentle evening breeze whilst people watching on the terrace or have a quieter, more relaxed perhaps romantic experience inside the contemporary, air-conditioned restaurant. They serve a wide range of starters, tapas, fish, steaks, pizza's, paella's, desserts, specialty drinks, and coffees. On the increasingly rare event that I discover a place that I find difficult to criticize or think of an improvement for, I am usually surprised, thrilled and more than a little impressed. This is one such place. The friendly ethos of the folk who work here is amazing. I was served by superlative Irish waiter Mark and Italian Waitress Gaia and I personally witnessed Neal (The Manager) get to know each person he served, shake hands with every person dining as they were leaving thanking them for their custom and wishing them well as they headed off. Staff like this are hard to find and only good restaurants manage to hold onto them. Customers appreciate the personal touch in an increasingly commercialized world with chain restaurants and cafes taking over and it really shows. This place is busy but well staffed. Staff morale is difficult to balance in any job but is critical to the success of a good business. Especially those that are customer facing. When it is poor, it is obvious to the customer and affects the overall experience, when it is good, it is equally obvious and in this case, it is very obviously, very good! The manager noticeably leads by example and the staff clearly respect him. They are representative of at least 5 nationalities, many of whom can speak up to four languages, can very easily relate to many of the visiting tourists, outwardly enjoy their job, are always smiling, friendly and approachable. They are unsurprisingly visibly proud of where they work and the service they provide. They work well together evidenced by the fast yet unrushed food delivery even at the busiest times. This inert understanding of good customer service, strong working relationships and the quiet knowledge of the fact that "customers make paydays" should be obvious to virtually all business and establishments but unfortunately many just want your hard earned cash and seem determined to give you less and less in return. I am not ashamed to say I have revisited La Piazza on a number of occasions and will definitely visit again. The quality is consistent, The staff remember you and are pleased to see you, the food is always superb and the atmosphere is special... Really special! 5* read more
