Michael P.
Yelp
First time to ever have walked out of a place, so cannot rate the food since we never got close to ordering. We entered around 6:45, found a seat and waited. And waited. And waited some more. And watched as one waiter handled the whole place, which was full of what appeared to be mostly local people on a busy Saturday night.
Anyone who has worked in the restaurant business, as I have, would know that acknowledgement of the customer is critical, especially in a short staffed situation as this obviously was, to customer forgiveness and understanding. We got none. It is equally well known that a higher proportion of people with unsatisfying experiences are more likely to write reviews than even those with great ones.
I finally got the runner's attention for the Wi-Fi password, since it looked like we were going to have some time to kill. She gave it to us, but offered no further assistance, nor did another gentleman who passed us every few minutes, but who seemed to have no other customer interaction than delivering drinks.
After about 30 minutes, the server showed up, provided menus, literally tossed the silverware on the table and ... well, just walked away. No inquiry about drinks or if we might be ready to order. The deal breaker was when food was delivered to the adjacent table of a trio of young Italian girls who had come in a good 20 minutes after us (and had received their menus in short order). That was the signal to us that it was time to spend our money elsewhere.
While I initially had a bit of empathy for the poor server, it evaporated quickly. I read other reviews of this place that praise the service and friendliness of the staff. Sad to say that this was not on display tonight. We were looking forward to eating at La Pia, as it came highly recommended by our host in La Spezia.
Perhaps this is a one time event, but check your expectations at the door.
