Mandi M.
Yelp
Last night, after reading raving reviews, my husband and I took our brother and sister-n-law to Aldo Yos. We were seated, and in a few minutes, Aldo came out to say hi, tell us where he was from, tell us about the specials, etc. They sounded delicious, so when the waitress came to take our order, my husband ordered. We could tell immediately that the waitress, while kind, did not understand the items on the menu. She did her best to write down our orders (a bottle of wine, a glass of Rose, two appetizers [one for each couple including the special cauliflower and eggplant with mozzarella]), and four entrees (the Sunday special, veal ravioli, lasagna, and salmon on noodles). In ten minutes, Aldo brought the bottle of wine but not the Rose. He apologized, but we couldn't toast together until the Rose arrived. Then, the cauliflower appetizer came. It was good, but both appetizers should have come out together, so we were eating in front of our guests, as they awaited their eggplant. About ten minutes later, the "Sunday special dinner" arrived and was placed in the middle of the table by itself. We were clear when we ordered, this was an entrée for one of the four of us. We were still in the mode of, "oh well; they're working out some kinks," as he ate, so his food didn't get cold. Well into his meal, the eggplant appetizer had still not appeared, nor had anyone else's meal. Aldo stopped by the table, where he questioned this, as he thought it was meant as an entrée. We talked it out, told him, "no worries. He went to the back of the restaurant, where he said some things to our waitress (in front of everyone, as more diners had come in since we first entered). In another ten minutes, the lasagna arrived. It was disheartening, as the sauce was similar to tomato soup, and it had some type of meat patty on the bottom - not at all what we'd expect after so many raving reviews. That was the second entrée to be delivered; the eggplant appetizer had not appeared, and no other entrees were in sight. Once the lasagna had been eaten, my veal raviolis were brought to the table. They were good, but like the two before me, I was so embarrassed to eat in front of others, one who still had not eaten a bite, as she was waiting for their appetizer and her salmon. Five minutes later, a bowl of noodles with white sauce was delivered to the table; our sister-in-law was so sweet, as she looked through it with her fork, looking for salmon that wasn't there. After we had decided that order had to be wrong, a plate with potatoes and an overcooked piece of salmon was put in front of her. That was not her order, and the eggplant appetizer was still MIA. We flagged someone down, and they got Aldo, who came and apologized, said he'd fix it, and took the noodles and white sauce and the incorrect dish away. Finally, he brought a dish of noodles mixed with pieces of salmon to her and told our brother, it was their mistake, and he'd comp that meal. We thought that was appropriate given all the missteps of the evening, and our brother told the waitress to please not bring the eggplant appetizer. It was difficult, as the waitress was nice, but the language barrier was a challenge in every communication. It was evident that Aldo had taken the overcooked piece of salmon from the entirely different dish and broken it up into this one. When we were ready to leave, we asked the hostess to please make sure the check didn't have the eggplant appetizer on it nor the salmon entrée, as Aldo had "comped" it. When the check arrived, both items were listed. We asked the hostess about this, and she got Aldo. He came to our table, where our brother pointed out that he had offered to comp the salmon dish. Aldo looked confused, said something we could not understand, then said, "you want it comped, okay." Then, our brother told him, we had never gotten the eggplant appetizer, so that needed to be removed as well. Aldo then looked at me, straight in the eyes, and told me I had gotten the eggplant, as he brought it to me himself. I was taken so far aback, but I told him, no, he had not, and he argued rudely, as he called me a liar in front of everyone and took the check from our brother. When it was returned, those two items were not on it, so we paid (including tip for the wait staff who tried), and we left.
Our family has travelled the world together, landed in Debary to live close to each other. We were excited to try a new local business and offer our patronage. We overlook opportunities of being a new business, but what we cannot overlook is outright mistreatment from a so-called "owner/operator." So, while there are great reviews, our experience was not like that at all, and I'd never recommend Aldo Yos to anyone. In fact, given the verbal abuse I received and the unwelcome feeling we were left with, we will recommend no one set foot in that restaurant, as we'd never, ever want anyone to feel as we were made to feel last night.
