Jason P.
Yelp
Santucci. Expensive. Gorgeous interior. Tremendous attention spent on picking out fixtures and furnishings from Europe. Beautiful plating. Underwhelming, under seasoned, badly implemented Italian cuisine.
Good $16 old fashioned cocktail. In hindsight maybe I should have had two.
Specials were recited without prices. Bad sign.
Arguably best dish of the evening was a fried calamari appetizer one of our guests ordered which used a very light crispy flour coating on large rings. No tentacles. Somewhat disappointing considering the intended regional Italian authenticity.
It went significantly downhill from here. When you order an expensive seafood appetizer at a high end Italian restaurant that is described very clearly on the menu as shrimp and scallops, one does not expect them to substitute the scallops with calamari, the cheapest form of shellfish there is, without telling you beforehand. I'm just sayin'.
The server and the hostess (the daughter of the chef) both made excuses and said "well, we just use more baby shrimp and calamari" and that apparently, the dish hasn't had scallops in it for a while -- then correct the menu, OK? It's only paper. Get it reprinted, you're charging top dollar for your food.
In any case, I felt the shrimp in the appetizer were overcooked, I ate one, my wife, who was starving, ate the rest, we left the calamari over. I really wanted to send this one back, but I got a blank stare from Rachel when I suggested we get something else. They didn't take it off the bill.
The carpaccio which I ordered to replace it (at this point, my blood is boiling with rage and I am now quite hungry) was drenched with lemon juice and a synthetic tasting truffle oil. Which you could smell from across the table and is a telltale sign it's an artificial product. Ruined the dish in my opinion. I also did not eat more than two bites. I left the table again.
My stuffed veal entree that I shared with my wife I felt was implemented badly. The meat was tough, was rolled up in such a way that the cheese/cream sauce, which I felt was too sweet with whatever wine they used, gushed out. One bite I was done. I was so angry at this point I spent the balance of the meal outside. I should have gone across the street to Dr. Limon and had a pisco sour and a ceviche.
Nobody else liked their food. I did not try anyone else's dishes but everyone told me they thought their pasta dishes were all lacking seasoning, and the biggest eater at the table even left food over.
They comped dessert. I was so annoyed at this point I couldn't appreciate it. Ordered a double espresso, it came out with no crema in the extraction. They very clearly hit the button twice which dumps more water into the shot, which makes it a lungo, not a double. In any case, the coffee tasted burned, it was disgusting and undrinkable.
They calculate suggested tip based on total plus tax. A-holes. Save your money.
