i've been eating atbaysidefor over the last 6-years. their quality used to remind me of the great western australian pizza places of my youth ('80s) like marco's in dogswamp, san remo in whitfords, and santa lucia in heathridge. further, their prices were exceptional, making pizza the best deal in town. well, that's what it used to be like. this trip back to australia (i live in the us) i noticed both a significant drop in quality and increase in price.
ok, quality: i have bought pizzas from there 3-times since my return. the first time the pizzas were very good, not great. still a worthwhile product. the second time, i got 2-works, 1-vegetarian. the works seemed like they were made by different people. one was good, the other was soggy from too many toppings. the vegetarian was practically inedible. the base was coated with a thick, sickenly thick, coating of garlic paste, as well as a ridiculous number of olives. i was incredibly disappointed. my wife can't eat red meat, and she spent my time trying to surgically remove toppings so she could at least have something to eat. the last time was tonight. it was a family works. it was exceptional; back to the good old days. my verdict over the last couple of months is thatbaysidequality can be awesome, but it is spotty. i think it depends who is working that night. ingredients are still very good.
now price: 6-years ago you could get 2-large pizzas, no restrictions, for ~$20. today it is $31 for 2-large, but only on the basic pizzas. specialty pizzas (i always get the works; it's deemed a specialty pizza) are premium prices. the works is $24 for a large, $45 for 2-large. so in 6-years prices for 2-large works has gone from ~$20 to $45. when i got my 2-family works, 1-family vegetarian, the cost was a whopping $72. given the poor quality of that order, i was very unhappy. i no longer considerbaysidevalue for money. it is actually one of the most expensive takeaway per serving meals
the short of it is i used to eatbaysidepizza every 7-10days when i'm back from overseas. the price and spotty quality now make me hesitant. i thinkbaysideis still far and away a better product that any of the pizza chains, but not compared to other fast food outlets. i would like to see an independent competitor come into the area to causebaysideto sharpen up and restore prior quality and price.