Ashley M.
Yelp
I wanted to love this place more.
Really, I did. My girlfriend and I dined here Saturday evening after making same-day reservations. Since I've heard so much praise and positive reviews of this place, I was VERY excited. We arrived after a couple, and the hostess, without greeting us, seated the couple, came back and answered the ringing phone. In the meantime, the manager approached the host stand to check on something, also did not greet us, and asked some questions of the hostess. Finally, we were asked if we needed a table for two. In response, I told her I made reservations.
We were seated in the middle of the restaurant, at a cramped two-person table extremely close to other tables. I inquired about a booth, and the hostess simply said it was reserved, not making any further effort to accommodate a request to be seated elsewhere. I'm positive the entire restaurant could not have possibly been reserved as she was eager to seat us without reservation, so I'm confident she could have done just a bit more.
Anyway, I digress. We were greeted quickly by our server and ordered the following:
-Our Signature Cibo Meatballs: san marzano tomatoes, fresh ricotta, parsley
-Our Signature Lobster Spaghetti: Maine lobster tail, spicy garlic wine sauce, tomato
-Handmade Pappardelle: bolognese sauce
The meatballs are large! They came out hot and steamy and the sauce is delicious. The ricotta is a great addition to the sauce to even out the flavor. However, these were more bread-like than meaty and for $12 for 3, I think they can spare a bit more meat. My plate, the lobster spaghetti, is good -- a thin, light sauce, slightly spicy, and lots of small pieces of lobster. This dish is good, but hardly unique or supreme, and definitely not worth the $30 a pop. The pappardelle was also not what I was expecting - it was completely buried in sauce, and really took away from the fresh pasta. I normally love this dish for its homemade pasta and light sauce, not to be fishing for pasta in a sea of sauce.
The most disappointing part of my dining experience here was the service. Not once did I see any staff member smile - from the hostess to our server to the manager. We were seated directly next to a table who received incredible service from our server while we were practically ignored. I watched in awe as the server checked on the neighboring table 5x before asking us if we were "okay" in passing. She stopped to chat with them for minutes at a time. I sat with my iced tea empty while she refilled theirs not once, but twice. Only after I asked for a refill did she bring me one, and without simple syrup like I requested the first time. When the manager checked on us, I asked for more simple syrup and he seemed annoyed at the request. Again, no smile, no warmth.
I hate to chalk my experience up to discrimination, but I felt the treatment was blatant. Every patron should be given the same level of service and I'm so disappointed my friend and I were deprived of this. I will not be returning.