Christian C.
Yelp
I really wanted to enjoy our dinner at Restaurante Illando, but unfortunately, the entire evening felt disorganized from start to finish.
We had a reservation, but still ended up waiting over an hour to be seated. Little Italy was understandably busy, but if a restaurant can't honor their bookings, they shouldn't be taking them. What made it worse was the lack of transparency. We kept being told "just a few more minutes," when it was clear they had no idea how long it would actually be. I would've preferred an honest estimate over feeling strung along just to keep our business.
When we were finally seated, the disorganization continued. Staff seemed flustered and out of sync--we were a party of two but were given three place settings, followed by another round of plates and silverware from someone else. At one point, while we were already at our table, the restaurant called to let us know it was ready. That pretty much summed up the whole vibe.
As for the food--my Diet Coke was flat and syrupy, and my dish was underwhelming. It was essentially an overpriced bowl of pasta in a homemade tomato sauce with chunks of ham tossed in. The pasta itself was fresh, which I'll give them credit for, but dish wasn't worth $27.
To top things off, I got home to an email saying our reservation had been canceled. No explanation--just canceled, even though we were very much there.
I get that restaurants have off nights, but this felt like more than just a fluke. Illando seemed overwhelmed and unprepared, and the food didn't do anything to redeem the experience. Really disappointing.