Kanea M.
Yelp
We so baldy wanted to like this place, especially because we often stay upstairs and have been doing so more frequently with our PRIME status. However, we will not be returning to this restaurant after our first and only dinner experience on Saturday Jan 6th at 6:15 pm with server Giovanni and the remarkable Amanda who came in and really turned our experience around as best as she could. So lets begin with the facts: Party of 7; greeted immidiently by Giovanni, where I specifically stated we were first timers, usually dine at other fine dining options such as IL MiLino located in Hard Rock*, and that we were looking forward to a remarkable evening to leave a stellar review about. I laid all of that out there and the service still flopped.
Giovanni came around for drinks, we said sparkling water please, and some of my party proceeded to place cocktail orders. My husband excused himself for the restroom and his drink order was almost missed AFTER he told the server, but his friend reiterated his order- the dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives. Waters come out, Giovanni skips 2 of the men, including my husband. The cocktails come out, the dirty martini tasted watery, the drink appears to be clear, and he immediately sent it back. Giovanni quickly retuns with what appeared to be the same cup, just added olive juice, making the drink taste like watery olive juice. Giovanni was then ready to take our appetizer and main course orders and I didnt like the vibe. I could tell that my husband was pretty annoyed now so I quickly suggested that I have a private word with the acting GM.
Based on his demanor, his dress code, and his name tag, I assumed the manager of the night was an older gentleman sporting a tan suit and I was correct. During our conversation, I noted that I just wanted my husband to enjoy his night and that his impression can still be changed if some of the service got tweaked. I described the less than service above being passed off as top tier and why it was offensive given the fact that my table was indeed of minorities and we felt we were being rushed for many reasons. I would never accuse anyone of treating my party differently IF I hadn't been exposed to his service to his remaining section.
I did mention that we were earshot of another server, one who we could hear doing a phenomenal, outstanding, top tier job at how she handled her table and took excellent care of her section. The manager said I must be refering to a young lady name Amanda and she was impeccable in her charisma, her outstanding knowledge of the menu and the accuracy of the orders. She was the prime example of the service we assumed we were going to recieve prior to the complaint. Amanda was amazing, we even stayed for dessert knowing she would not be able to offer coffee due to water issues.
I looked up and saw Giovanni, as well as 2 other servers standing near the kitchen entrance, where a shorter male server, wearing glasses and some facial hair blantenly pointed to our table with a not so friendly gesture and walked over to his point of sale station. That was very uncomfortable and rude to any patron, especially ones who complained about his co worker ( Giovanni) he was just conversating with. This was extremely unprofessional. We still enjoyed our service with Amanda and our bill was $$$ and she derserved ALL of her tip! Amanda could teach a class with her combined hospitality and professionalism for fine dining, hats off to that young lady.
The cocktails were average at best. Food was good, everything tasted freshly prepared and came out hot. We ordered the meatballs, ceased salad, and the oysters- all tasted pretty good and no complaints. I had the carbonara; another had the steak, another had the scallops, another had the chicken parmigiana, salmon with side of broccoli rabe ( a tad bitter). We also ordered dessert based on Amanda's recommendations. We really did like our tiramisu and the pear dish also went over well.