Timothy C.
Yelp
Ok. So went here recently. My roommate and I took his sister here for Mother's Day.
The food is still fantastic, I'll never deny that.
However! Few things people should know before heading here.
1) the portions are small, prices are high. Yes, I know, most places that are nicer have smaller portions, but this place isn't like eating at the Ritz Carlton. It's a nice place. Just that. So the amount of money they spend to make the meals..then turn around and charge $25-$30 for a plate that's enough food to fill up a toddler vs filling up an adult..is beyond laughable lol. The food is delicious, don't get me wrong, but if you don't ask for extra bread, you'll most likely be leaving...still .. hungry. More on the bread later in this review.
2) The place is very small. So during the week is when I'd recommend going because if you go or have gone on the weekend, it's ALWAYS packed and it is SOOO LOUD!!! SO LOUD! You literally have to shout to the people you're with. If you're next to a table too that's particularly louder than most...like we were :-/ then be prepared to shout even louder to your party. It was upsetting to say the least.
3) The Asian woman who works there. She waits tables. I think she may be Vincenzo's wife. Terrifying woman. She is so militant in her approach. Very matter of fact, no bull sh_t type. Tell her what you want and fast. Remember the Seinfeld episode with the soup n__i? She would play that role perfectly hahaha! She yelled at her help in front of us. I was proud to see the girl she yelled at stand up for herself, but WOW! Can you say unbelievably unprofessional?!? The woman seems to hate her job, but she's there because she has to be? The way she presents as someone who absolutely LOATHES being there, I REALLY think they should hire more help. Ones that love to be there. She seems like she's the type that would say "I don't trust anyone to do this! Only me! Me! Me!" The owner needs to rethink her role or tell her to work on her customer service skills and to work on how she treats the other employees. There is another waitress there, aside from the blonde one that the Asian woman yelled at in front of us, she is so incredibly sweet. I think they fear this Asian woman tho. That's not a good work environment. This is how it appears to their guests. They may love it there, but they way they acted, yeah, they seemed frightened.
4) The bread. Ok, there is NO DOUBT this bread is incredible. I asked the blonde waitress for another basket of it. Get this! They only allow ONE basket per table! So if you have a larger party, my guess is you need to ration it or you don't eat it at all hahaha! It's wild! I asked the blonde girl for another basket and she was so worried about it and she said "I would but can't. This isn't my table. I just can't" We all looked at each other like...what the actual fk? LOL.
Then I asked the other waitress if she could get us. First I asked her why the bread was so sacred. She said the owner...know what, never mind, I don't want to get her trouble. If you DM me about it, hahaha, I'll tell you.
She looked so scared tho when we asked her for another. She brought another over and so nonchalantly put in on our table and vanished. It was the quickest drop off ever lol.
I know this sounds crazy, but I do not lie and I write me reviews exactly as my experience happened. Yelp has a reputation for bitter reviewers who don't get their way and then come here to write nasty things about a business that isn't true. I am not one of those people. I want Yelp to have reviewers who say exactly what their experience was like and I pride myself on writing just that. If I have a good experience, you'll hear about it, if I have a horrible experience, you'll hear about it.
This experience wasn't BAD BAD but it wasn't great. It was so night and day compared to my last experience there.
Would i recommend this place to people? Oh no doubt. The food, as mentioned, is still great. Just small portions and the bread is the most sacred thing on the menu apparently haha! It's like eating a loaf of solid gold...in their eyes at least lol. It's so good tho and that's why you want more, but don't let the owner see or know.
It was all so funny to us and so weird and off putting at the same time because when I went for my Birthday few months back, it was so wonderful. We went on a Friday evening around 8. So it was quieter.
If you're going, again, I suggest doing it during the week. The weekend's are too chaotic and especially at dinner time in a such small place.
That's it y'all! If you go, I look forward to hearing your experience there. I need to emphasize that I really do like this place, it's just, I THINK I may look elsewhere next time I'm headed to an Italian restaurant.
Thanks for reading, YelperLoafsOfGoldenBread hahaha!
Cheers