Happy Italy Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht in Wijk 04 Sandelingen-Ambacht

We celebrated a birthday party for my daughter. Her first birthday party was on January 2nd. An adult also ordered pasta. There was no explanation of how the process would work. We patiently waited. The children were happily playing. The pizzas for the children looked amazing! The handling was terrible. I had a question about the bill because one of the children hadn't shown up and wanted to know if I still had to pay. The gentleman at the door who also escorted us to the table was downright rude and came across as aggressive. The adult who was with me also found it downright rude and inappropriate. My daughter was there! This was awful. I immediately confronted him about it. How arrogant! Without him, it would have gone perfectly. I won't be coming back.

What incredibly poor service; you're simply forgotten and ignored. Waiters see we've finished eating, see we're waiting for a dessert menu, and just walk on by. I really had to struggle to get someone to come to our table; we weren't in the mood for dessert by then. Then we had to wait another long time for the bill and could finally leave. The food was fine for the price.

The service is very varied. The food is okay, but the quality can't be compared to a real restaurant. This is also the concept (cheap).

We ate here on Sunday evening. We were seated right away. We didn't mind the crowds because we were comfortably seated upstairs. Ordering was easy using the QR code. The drinks and food arrived very quickly, and reordering was also quick. We received a large portion, but the pasta was a bit bland, but that was easily remedied with a little salt and pepper. Otherwise, we had a lovely evening.

This used to be always so good and now just awful, long waits, very watery food & I can't speak Dutch there, very unfortunate.

Quite expensive pizzeria, but the food is tasty

A nice location, but the hygiene regarding the food leaves much to be desired. For example, ice cubes are picked up with bare hands and placed in a glass instead of with tongs. This also applies to the pizza making. More attention to hygiene, please!

We were the only table upstairs because we were with a large group. It was very warm upon arrival, but that was immediately explained, and we could let them know if it was a problem. The service was very friendly and attentive. Even when we ordered something and wanted it with or without a certain ingredient, it was all fine. We had a relaxing time and a delicious meal.

The food wasn't good, and the quality wasn't what it was three years ago. A waste of money.

A quick bite to eat and then off we go. Don't book too late, otherwise the place will be empty on Monday. And then you notice the place is busy cleaning up. The staff makes up for a lot. Very friendly.

Unfortunately, after all the years they have existed, the quality has gone down so much, they sell food, but certainly not anything that can and should be called Italian.

We went there on Sunday at noon. Good food, good atmosphere, good service. Nice place for both indoor and outdoor dining. There's a play area for children. Highly recommended!!!! 11/13/2025: Delicious food. Nice atmosphere. Good service.

Very nice if you want to eat out with kids. The spicy chicken pizza was way too peppery. It was a shame, because the chicken and pizza were indistinguishable. (Really not good.) The rest of the food was okay. The staff was super friendly, which is great for that reason alone!

Every bite was full of goodness.

We ordered lunch. It was good but very busy with many children running around.

The starter was good, but we found the main course to be subpar. It wasn't particularly appealing to look at, and the taste was even worse. When we paid, we weren't asked if we enjoyed our meal, so this is probably common knowledge.

The food was good. The service took a long time. You have to pay extra for the cinema promotion.

I received a pizza with almost black edges and a black bottom. The server asked if everything was to my liking, and I pointed it out, but also that I'd already eaten a piece. Team leader Mo came over and asked if I wanted a new pizza, but didn't offer any apologies. He simply explained that it was due to the oven and not their fault. I then pointed out that I thought that answer was odd. If you leave it in the oven too long, the pizza does indeed turn black. I think an apology was due, as the pizza was also constantly turning gray. He then said, "Oh, do I have to learn from you?" I've worked in hospitality, so apparently so. He then proceeded to gossip with colleagues, very professionally. Service is truly awful.

Ordered twice. The first time, I had to wait over two hours and the pizzas were cold. The second time, I waited an hour and a half, after which the order was canceled. NEVER ORDER HERE!

The food used to be better, but it's excellent now, just a bit pricey compared to the old days. The smell isn't very fresh inside, but perhaps it's due to a dry drain.

Great place, also for eating with kids. Nice ball pit and play area in the basement.

The food was fine, what you'd expect from Happy Italy!! But I was here with a group of friends last week, and one of us had an allergic reaction. For starters, none of the dishes are labeled with traces or ingredients that trigger an allergic reaction. Ordering is done via QR code, so asking if your dish contains nuts isn't an option. When our friend started feeling unwell after just a few bites, we decided to check the allergens menu ourselves. It stated that all dishes containing pesto contained nuts. Based on that, we approached a staff member, who didn't have an answer and said he'd check. Fine, but he hadn't returned after half an hour. When we walked around to find a staff member, we saw him standing there and approached him, to which he told us he hadn't checked yet. But what if our friend had a fatal allergy? What would have happened then? Luckily, the chef dropped everything to check for us. But I find this incredibly sloppy and dangerous from this restaurant.

Including large outdoor playground

Great food. Plenty of parking. The interior is in need of renovation. Many tables are broken, allowing dirt to seep into the chipboard.

The price-quality ratio is excellent. The location is great outdoors. Children can play outside or inside when the weather isn't so warm.

The food was cold! We had told them our pizzas and pasta were cold, but they ignored us. It was a waste of money!

Today, after a long time, we gave it another try and made a reservation for two. Upon entering, we were assigned a table all the way in the back, in the draft, just barely behind the drinks counter (as if the table had been placed there for emergency purposes), even though more than half the tables were still free. We politely asked if there was another table for us, as there were hardly any other guests. Our host refused, saying there was only one table left downstairs, and he insisted we definitely didn't want to sit there, and he wanted to keep the rest of the tables free for potential other customers. We left without saying a word, and this was also our last time here. The good food and friendliness of the past have disappeared, which is a real shame.

Delicious, but what do you expect from such a place? I thought I'd quickly grab some pizza and pasta to fill my stomach. After a few bites, the pasta tasted awful, I didn't taste any tomato cream or sauce. The pizza was super thick, the bread on the side was completely empty. The salami smelled of a strong, foul-smelling pork. Like I said, what do you expect from a place like this with hard chairs, incredibly noisy, mediocre food quality, and cheap junk. It's just like McDonald's. It's all trash, unfortunately. You can't expect much; it's not 5-star food, just plain fast food with no quality. They just do whatever they want. Now that you've read this, you know for next time.

It cost "not much" by today's standards with a social deal voucher... But the service reflects that. A draft beer is incredibly expensive for a small glass. A pizza that would rival Domino's and a pasta carbonara that was drier and more tasteless than eating a log in the Sahara. Dessert was so obligatory that you couldn't even choose tea or coffee (which is cheaper) instead of dessert. The service was also completely indifferent and could easily be on antidepressants. The place was very empty for a Friday night. And that annoying beeping sound you hear constantly from the kitchen?

Disappointing experience I used to have my birthday party here as a child, and it was always an unforgettable experience. The atmosphere was quintessentially Italian, and the service was always top-notch. But something has changed since 2020. Our last visit was a disappointment. We were initially placed in a noisy basement with far too many people, but thankfully we were given a different table when we requested it. But then the problems started: wrong drinks, wrong food orders, forgotten extras... It was as if the waitresses and servers weren't paying attention anymore. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time I've experienced this. Over the past three years, I've experienced similar problems here several times. It's a shame to see Happy Italy isn't what it once was. I hope they get their service and quality back on track, but for now, I can't recommend it. I'm giving it two stars because the atmosphere still feels Italian and the food is still good, but the quality of the service is truly disappointing.

Table service was excellent. You do need to be patient when paying, though. Meal delivery drivers, in varying states of hygiene, are constantly coming and going. Lots of children around 😳 If you're looking for a quiet, undisturbed dinner, this isn't the place for you. If you're looking for a lot of good quality food at a great price, this is the place to be.

A really nice place to sit and the food is also really tasty in my opinion, definitely worth repeating

We entered and were seated at a (dirty) table. Normally, at other restaurants, you're helped within 5 minutes to order drinks, but we'd been sitting there for 20 minutes, and no staff came to our table to take our drinks order. I find this really awful. We ended up leaving because it was taking way too long. We also saw the staff chatting amongst themselves while we were waiting all that time. 😱 Terrible service; this is no way to treat your guests. This is truly awful. We definitely won't be back, and I hope you treat your guests better and stop chatting so much. Just do your job properly.

The food isn't what we were used to. The quantity isn't what it used to be, and the pasta is sparse and without arugula. It's a shame that such a place can go so bad.

The food wasn't good quality; the pasta was soggy. The many flies (inside) also didn't create a pleasant atmosphere. The staff was friendly. It's fast and affordable. But I won't be returning to this location.

I was there the 10th aug 2025 evening and happy Italy has lost its touch its service and customer experience don’t get me wrong the food taste is good but the service is terrible it’s a normal thing now that customers sends food back and reason is food is served cold yet the customers flow isn’t so much as earlier years I order the pasta and it was served cold yet took 30min to order and another 20min to serve and the amount of food also has decreased the pizza would recommend it, the lemonade is diluted but not so bad 5/10 ,for those who knew happy Italy when it started it’s not the same ,well pro tip a restaurant is very much judged by its toilet and Lemi tell you it was horror water puddle was at the door entrance between male and female or maybe it wasn’t water mmh and as you go inside toilet paper wasn’t available so make sure you always have your bag with you ladies and gents because you might not find toilet paper and soap so be prepared . Well I’d say this the restaurant was overwhelmed with few workers and hence the environment wasn’t good tables weren’t wiped and set for new customers toilets were neglected food were served cold and it’s a new normal to send food back well it is not worth your money it’s not what it used to be and this is would be 1 star restaurant

What a shame, it was always nice to grab a bite here. We often had pasta, but the quality has really deteriorated. But now the pizzas too; they've become tasteless. Today I ordered three different kinds of pizza, none of which are as good as before. How is that possible?

You can eat delicious Italian food there

I had dinner with my girlfriend last Wednesday around 6 p.m. We both had pasta; I had a pasta tonno and she had a different pasta. Because the pasta tonno didn't have the listed ingredients, we called the waitress and told her that it contained a lot of hot peppers, but the other ingredients were very sparingly or absent. My girlfriend's pasta wasn't even in it. She had pasta verdure. The waitress said she would report it to the chef. When I got home, I became very ill that night, with diarrhea, nausea, etc. So far, a week later, I'm still bedridden, have lost 4 kilos, and am too weak to walk around the room. I advise everyone to carefully consider their pasta, which has now been reduced to a much smaller quantity, and to report it immediately. Especially the tuna, which is very vulnerable and prone to bacteria. The waitress gave a standard answer: we should have reported it before eating and there was nothing they could do. Very bad. I don't have any photos, but you'll never see me at Happy Italy in H.I.A. again. Redwood Trail

I recently dined at Happy Italy and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. The pizzas were fresh, generously topped, and flavorful, and the pastas were also well-prepared. The service was friendly and prompt, and the atmosphere in the restaurant is what you'd expect from a place that caters to a wide audience: informal and cozy. However, there was one major drawback that's outdated: the lack of charging stations for electric cars. In an era where electric driving is becoming increasingly common, it's strange—and actually disappointing—that a modern chain like Happy Italy hasn't caught on. Especially if you're a guest from out of town, it's frustrating to find you can't charge your car while you eat. In short: excellent food, but a clear missed opportunity in terms of sustainability and customer focus. Hopefully, that will change soon.

Nice restaurant, staff was calm, relaxed and friendly

Plenty of pizza and pasta options. Fast service, large restaurant, noisy.

Nice restaurant with a great playground and ball pit, great for the kids! The pasta was mediocre, and my companions didn't finish it all. Don't go here for fine dining; keep it simple with a pizza. But the kids had a blast, and the service was very friendly!

Nice restaurant, great playground outdoor and indoor.

Nice restaurant, the staff was calm, relaxed, and friendly. We sat on the terrace. What I didn't like was that dogs are allowed outside. They have to go through the restaurant to get outside. It's a restaurant, and hygiene should be paramount, and not everyone wants to eat with someone sitting right next to them with a dog. That was a real letdown, but otherwise, it's a good and cozy restaurant for all ages.

What a beautiful place! The food was delicious, and my children really enjoyed the restaurant's garden. It's a lovely Italian pizzeria. The staff was very friendly, and the service was fast. Thank you for the wonderful experience!

Despite having a reservation, we still had to wait a long time to be shown to a table. No consideration for elderly people who can't stand for long periods.

Sunday evening 7:30, beautiful weather, wanted to eat something on the terrace with the 6 of us and the dog, just closed haha, ridiculous!!!!

Not as good as 8 years ago. Actually, everything has gone downhill.

Two orders were not okay. The service was very friendly and the issue was resolved quickly.

Too many people crowded at certain tables when there was more room in the restaurant. It was very noisy. It should be noted that it was Saturday.

Very bad experience, staff was not friendly at all, we came in and did not get a "good evening" but a "yo" We also got two cold pizzas as if they had been in the fridge that were ready half an hour too early, while we had entered to pick up the pizzas at 19:30. The pizzas were also smaller than they should be and there was too little topping on them. Never go here again!

After a long time I had a pizza again and it was great. The service was fast and the food arrived nice and hot.

The quality of the food is not what it used to be. Either it is too much sauce or too little. Pizzas are not cut. When you ask, they say they don't do this anymore. Difficult food for children. Waitresses were helpful and friendly.

Thought I'd try something to eat here. 1x never again sandwich with spreads were good carpaccio was ok but pasta bolognese and carbonara so disgusting left it and luckily didn't have to pay for it. Most of the staff don't speak English very well.

Watery, tasteless, dry. Even added some parmesan cheese and even then it was bland. My friend forgot the parmesan cheese. The photo here was after stirring. This was the pasta pesto with chicken.

I find it a bit strange I am sitting with my girlfriend and my son (6 months) Today the wind is very fresh asked if we can sit inside yes too few staff You then hear while I count 7-8 people from the service mean what is there too few people find this very sloppy.

Ate here this week and am posting this review because I noticed that the pizzas had become a lot thinner. They were also too hard. I heard the table behind me say the same thing. Too bad, the donner was also nowhere to be found.

The last pizza I ate there was not tasty at all.

We had beautiful weather. The service was fast and a pizza remains a pizza

After a very long time we went here for dinner again. Unfortunately it has gone downhill a lot. When we arrived we were treated very friendly by the host. Unfortunately the waiters were not at his level of hospitality. We had to call them ourselves to order something. They were always talking to each other so before you got their attention you were minutes away. It is also a shame that the extra toppings on the pizza are so few. In the past the extra toppings were much more.

How expensive happy italy has become! Hadn't been there for a while. Especially the drinks make it so expensive. With 4 adults and 3 small children had to pay 185 euros. But staff was friendly, they ran their socks off. And the playground is very nice.

Happy Italy also hit by Shrinkflation. In the past you could eat Fragola pizza with several people, unfortunately not anymore.

Great food, was tasty and was delivered quickly. Service made mistakes with the orders up to 3 times, but everything was eventually resolved. The place where we sat was not so nice. This was downstairs next to the playground for small children... we could hardly hear each other at the table...😒

Nice atmosphere and staff, but still had to chase things up and unfortunately all the special coffees were not available. The food was OK.

Service impersonal and not paying attention, that could really be better. Sat inside. Pizza base way too hard, I hope that was an exception....

What a bad service… The food was expensive and not tasty… You better go somewhere else

What a drama tent, Hair in the food.. service that does not understand Dutch and comes to the table with the wrong orders.. and dirty hair in the food, I have never experienced this before.. spend your money somewhere else.. because this is really not worth it!!!!

What a bad service!!! Bad food and long waiting times without your money

Bad tent.. I had a hair in my food.

Opening hours until 22:00? If you arrive at 21:15 you will be told it is closed!

Great playground for kids outside

Good food, but the service was definitely not good. At first we had to try for about 20 minutes to get the attention of the waitress to order a drink, while she walked past our table at least 5 times. This happened again with a second drink. Then she did suggest to clear the table, while 1 person was still eating and literally had a bite of food on his fork. Very bad service.

Yesterday we had a bite to eat with the family. We asked in advance if our dogs could come along and luckily they could, but outside on the terrace which of course was no problem. The order was taken late. When it finally arrived, we were unfortunately missing an item that was delivered later. My partner had ordered a pasta dish. It smelled and tasted musty and strange, but that can of course differ in taste. Halfway through the bowl of pasta she stopped. She had given one of our two dogs some strings... 2 hours after leaving home she got enormous cramps and felt nauseous. Unfortunately she threw up all the food several times via upstairs and downstairs. Ooo the dog was whining last night. He also went over his shit and had to get up at 4 am because he had diarrhea. It is striking that both of them got sick from it. My daughter and I had a pizza rustica and a children's pizza margarita. Little attention was paid to this. The pizzas were not inviting to sink your teeth into. Service was unfortunately difficult to communicate with due to language barrier Quality of food and service has deteriorated rapidly at this location..

We had a delicious meal there, but it was very busy so it took a long time before we could order drinks.

Pizza isn't that tasty!! You'd expect more for this price. The staff are very unfriendly. Not recommended.

I am writing this review purely for the Fragola because it is on the website for the umpteenth time but is not offered in the restaurant. Last year we ordered it online and when we came to pick it up they turned out not to have it in stock and we had to ask for our money back via email. Apart from the fact that they are apparently difficult to stock, the fragolas have also shrunk considerably in size but the price has remained the same. Happy Italy has really gone downhill in recent years. They should change that sign at the entrance from "large portions, low prices" to "normal portions and prices"

Hendrik Ido ambacht nooit meer is helemaal verander. nieuw manager totaal niet klantvriendelijk.ik ga vanaf nu naar Rotterdam dan maar paar km meer rijden maar wel goeie service

Happy place, for happy food, for happy people... place has much space for seating, underground playground with also tables available there to keep an eye on your kids. Outside playground for when the Dutch weather allows you to play outside, and many Italian food options for a reasonable price.

Dear people, it is best to continue driving to Rotterdam, at least you will get real service and professionalism... the man is so antisocial, outrageous, he puts us somewhere, then we had to move from place, we were 7 people and had to go to a table of 6, so I asked the manager to indicate that this would be difficult to eat if hands come on the table to cut, but it does not work... the man came angrily with plates and put them on the table of 6 people and said yes, it does work, to which I indicated that this is not right how he addresses or treats us. I grabbed my phone to record his behavior and the man immediately calls the police instead of speaking kindly to customers, I said it is fine, I will wait for the police because it makes no sense, I then packed my things when I saw that no police came and left and asked for his name, which he did not give, he was a Syrian boy, but when I walked away he was suddenly able to help me, but that was already too late after he had caused a lot of misery and embarrassed me among people.

just a Mac donalds where they sell Italian food. It's fine but nothing special.

Worst happy itily ever never go here again you can better eat bread with cheese never experienced this with other happy itily in other regions… people who work there don't really know what they are doing very inexperienced

Service was extra rubbish. They brought the wrong pizzas. They took it back brought the right ones. But on the bill appeared the two wrong pizzas also. I asked for a knife And the response wasn't" sure, in a moment is there" But it was "for what?" In a restaurant you don't ask back if they ask for a cutlery...

Been there before and had to wait a long time and the pizza was also bad. It takes ages to order a beer and if you reserve a table at say 6pm you are still in line at 6.30pm.. I gave it another chance and walked out of the line. It took a long time again and this was just a weekday on a Tuesday. They have too few staff and the quality is not like it used to be (it changed owners a long time ago) and it is also more expensive. This is really faded glory.

Nice place and friendly staff. But man oh man the pizza crust is tough. You need a saw to cut it. Just really not tasty. Better to get a eurohopper pizza at the Appie for 3.95. That one tastes better. In short, work to be done. It used to be better.

Really not edible. SOFT undercooked pizza dough. Manager VERY unfriendly. Lets people wait in line while there are enough tables. The food looks like a microwave meal really disgusting.

Had lunch here after a walk in Sandelingen. For a lunch with bread I found the menu rather meager.

Food is not what it used to be. Terrace is a bit dirty and plants grow everywhere, not really neatly kept.

It was super cozy and the food was good

This Happy Italy is a good and fun location to visit with kids. Specifically aimed at families & children by having both an indoor and outdoor playground. The food was good and the service decent.

Our experience at Happy Italy Sandelingen was downright frustrating. Sitting outside with a small child? Forget it. The playground only has large picnic tables for so-called groups, completely impractical if you want to see your little one. By the way, it is 23 degrees outside, but here you mainly sit in the shade and it is chilly. In addition, the tables outside are so close together that you can barely have a normal conversation. After 30 minutes without seeing anyone at our table, we went inside to order our food there so we could take it home. We've been here for an hour now, but we're still waiting for our food. The staff is running on edge. Maybe it's better not to let anyone in for a while if you can't handle it? Fast Italian? Leave sooner rather than later...

Just good. The carbonara was less tasty than normal but still good.

We went here for dinner with my parents and our 2 children. We had specially chosen this restaurant so that the children could play outside in the playground while we could eat, dine and chat. Upon arrival, the children were not allowed in the playground! None of the waitresses knew why.... But the playground was off-limits that day and therefore closed. If we had known this in advance, we would not have eaten here in the first place. The food itself was not really great, the taste of the pizza was mediocre. They also forgot the food of 1 person at the table. When we asked for this after 10 minutes, it turned out that it had been ready downstairs in the kitchen all along, but apparently no one had seen it.... Our drinks were also forgotten. After waiting 30 minutes we still had not received 2 beers. We ultimately had this canceled, because we had already finished eating. The leftover pizzas were even already in a doggie bag. In short, everything was disappointing for us and we certainly won't be going here again anytime soon.

Make sure you don't end up in the basement Food was good No coffee or tea machine broken?

Anyway, I gave it a try, after all the varying stories. Entry was fine. Unfortunately we had to get the high chairs ourselves and these chairs were not clean. The table was also not completely clean. The food was fine, good service and the food came quickly and tasted great. One downside was that the downstairs room where we sat was extremely noisy. Otherwise fine, perhaps worth repeating.

Food was fine in relation to the price. There were 5 of us and we wanted to sit outside. That was not a success because the 3 of you were crammed onto a couch where there could actually only be the two of you to sit. Then we sat inside and everyone got their own chair. The pizzas arrived quickly, but we had to wait almost half an hour for the ice cream. That was a shame because we wanted to continue. And scoops of ice cream in a cup really don't have to take that long.

Nice spacious location. Friendly staff. Only my child got sick after eating the pizza. We won't be there anymore

It's impossible to do at home, they had to throw up

We were not allowed to eat inside and had to eat outside, before you get the food you have to wait an hour. The service is bad, they often drop glass or drink and do not clean it up. We won't be coming anymore and will go to Rotterdam North where the service is better.

Not what it used to be. The manager who worked here before corona ensured that everything ran smoothly. Now it tastes less good, the price has gone up four times and the atmosphere is hard to find. If you make a reservation for a group, you will be placed somewhere where you sit separately from each other. Why do we make a reservation for a group? You won't see us again, which is a shame because the business is in a nice location! Better go to a real Italian for the same price.