Mike H
Google
We have dined here many times, and the Neapolitan style pizza is as good as any you’ll find in Naples. I built my own wood-fired oven at home and also make Neapolitan style pizza, so I can tell you they make pizza right, and it’s 5-star!
Last night’s pasta gets a 1-star.
When ordering, I was encouraged at the register to get the special…..shrimp, lobster, tomatoes, over pappardelle pasta, so I did.
While not formally trained, I consider myself a serious chef and appreciate great food and presentation. I only had time to take one bite of my caprese salad before the pasta arrived, which should have been a clue.
The French say, “The first bite is with the eyes”, and what I saw took my appetite away. The pappardelle was not the beautiful color of fresh pasta, but rather a brownish-color which indicated to me that it sat around long enough to absorb the sauce and change color. The smell of seafood, well past its freshness date, was the next thing to hit me, and my two table mates also commented that they could smell it as well. When I placed my fork in the dish, the pasta was stuck together, which verified that it had been sitting awhile, and possibly microwaved to heat it before serving.
I was hungry, and WANTED this dish to be good, so I took two bites in an effort to disprove what my eyes and nose were telling me, but the taste only verified what I saw and smelled.
I would have been embarrassed to serve this in my home and quietly asked the waiter to please take it back.
At that point, the gracious thing for a classy restaurant to do would be to quietly ask if I would like something else, and remove the charge from my bill, but instead, the owner came out, chest pumped out, proudly carrying my meal, and started speaking very loudly…loud enough for the patrons at all 8-10 tables outside to easily hear.
He defended his dish, saying everything was fresh, loudly announced the price for the dish, and was more interested in making his case than trying to understand why his dish didn’t meet my expectations. He was getting the attention of everyone outside, and I finally just asked him to leave and he could keep the money for my meal. This exchange lasted much longer than it needed to but did provide some free entertainment to other patrons.
I few minutes later he returned with a receipt for a credit, which I did not ask for. I shook his hand and said I would be returning to his restaurant.
So, now the best part….
As we were getting ready to leave, a gentlemen at the next table asked the waiter to take his meal back. He said it smelled bad and the pasta was gummy.
Yes, he also ordered the special!