Cristina M.
Yelp
TLDR/ Price: Expensive!!, Service: Fair, Food: Okay, Ambiance: Lovely, Verdict: Eh?
This is a Italian restaurant that serves steaks. Not a steakhouse that leans Italian. This is an important thing to note. If you like Italian, then this is probably a good bet for you. If you like a good steak, perhaps not.
I and my Hubby went for our anniversary dinner and everything was mostly good up until the entrees arrived. The bruschetta was good, but the presentation could have been improved as it was a bit soggy. The bread they brought to the table was lackluster but my expectations for free table bread are always low. Their presentation of our celebratory champagne and the mixed drink I got were both lovely. The wedge salad was very tasty and they accommodated a special request (chopped, no walnuts) without issue. My husbands Fettuccine Alfredo with sausage and meatball was good, as was my side of pasta that I ordered as an appetizer.
However, the ribeye steak with mashed potatoes and asparagus was very unappetizing. It was a special and there is a similar on menu item that would probably have treated me better. It was supposed to come with a mushroom cream sauce and in my mind, there would have been a nice drizzle, or perhaps I was thinking more along the lines of a glacé, but what arrived was basically a large piece of meat drowning in what was most definitely a mushroom cream sauce. Also, the steak was over cooked, I ordered it medium-rare and I don't know if it was the heat from the sauce or simply a timing error, but it was not medium-rare. So perhaps, if I had not ordered the special, and had simply gone with the menu item, my experience would have been better. As it stood, the meat drenched in cream sauce on a pile of potatoes mixed with asparagus simply disgusted me, and so back it went.
Overall, this was not a great experience, the waitress took the meal back but my husband had completely finished his meal by the time the manager moseyed over to our table. Now don't get me wrong, the manager did try to make right, but honestly, the initial presentation, servers explanation or her ability to address the issue quickly would have been preferable.
It made our anniversary dinner lackluster, and for a meal that rounded out at more than $300 dollars after tip and without dessert (because at that point it was so awkward that we just wanted to leave) it was an experience I never want to have again.
As an aside, I like a lot of Parmesan on my pasta. In the past, I have gone to other Italian restaurants and they have a handy gadget that makes grating cheese much less strenuous on the wrist. I mentioned it to the server in an apologetic way and I did not appreciate her response, it felt, at best, a bit condescending and at worst very bourgeoisie when she on tried to explain that the Parmesan they had was "too good" for one of those things. I went on to explain that I had like the idea so much that I bought one to use at home and had grated equally fine cheese, to which I received a curt nod.
So, a few things to consider, they charge a 5% service fee just for eating there (IMHO just up prices 5%, or even 7%) which just seems stupid, frankly if you want me to pay more, ok, but let me decide what I want to pay more for. Also, for large parties, there is a 15% gratuity, which adds up but is pretty standard for the industry. I don't believe there was a corkage fee, which was nice, but the drinks and the 6 dollar meatball were the best part of our meal and that seems wrong somehow.
If you are looking for a nice ambiance with slightly overpriced Italian food, that is made in house, then this is a solid bet, but honestly, it really does deserve the 3.5 stars it has. I wish everything was as good as the Lemon Lavender Collins that started my meal.
