We met at Costa's today for lunch. Our server was Emily and she was great. Food was good. Breadsticks were yummy. However, the place is so run down and the bathrooms are are filthy. Turned us off and probably won't return. Sad. read more

I'm really kind of torn with my review for Costa's. They are a very solid 3 star review that is so close to getting 4 stars. Location: Quick and easy to get to from work located off of Lorna Rd. Plenty of parking is available all around the building. Environment: From casual to business casual to formal you will feel comfortable at this location. It is a good location to meet friends for lunch or take clients out for a nice Mediterranean dinner. The restaurant has always been very clean from their tables to the place settings to the restrooms. It is obvious that they take pride in making sure the cleanliness of this location is a priority. Staff: So this is where it kind of falls apart for me a little bit and what ultimately made this a 3 star experience. Taking everything into account such as the environment as well as the price of the meal I kind of higher expectations of the service staff. Now, this isn't to say they are flat out bad, it's just they don't go out of their way to make the dining experience stand out in any way. They also don't tend to be the quickest to get drink re-fills take orders, etc. I have actually been several times and this seems to be the typical experience when it comes to the service you get. Food: Food has typically been really good no matter what you are ordering. As other Yelp reviews have indicated the portions are quite generous and many of the dishes could be shared with another person. They specialize in several different types of pasta dishes, the baked Ziti is amazing! In addition they have salads and kabobs and dishes like this. The bread sticks are always good especially if you take the oil (at every table) and mix some of the spices to make your own dipping sauce. One breadstick is provided with each entree ordered. Additional charge if you want to get more. This time I went with the Steak Kabob (Beef Souvlaki) that comes with marinated beef tenders, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and is served over rice pilaf. This also comes with a lunch salad. Typical selection of dressings are available, so I opted for the Greek. If you get the plain lunch salad it is really flavorless. You need to make sure to get a dressing that has good flavor (the Greek, surprisingly does not) or it's actually not even worth finishing. The Kabobs, are typically a great option if you aren't sure what you're in the mood for. Two small pieces of onion and two small pieces of bell pepper. Two item's that resemble the color of a tomato, however lacked any shape that would indicate that's what it actually was. Basically, very overcooked and/or not the freshest tomato which didn't look very appetizing. The beef was ok, nothing special but nothing horrible either. I will give them this it was tender and cooked to my request. The rice pilaf is pretty bland. They include fresh melted butter that can be used to top off the rice (or anything) but it just isn't what is needed to make it better. Side note they do have a full bar located here, however I'm not sure what the pricing is or the full compliment of alcoholic drinks would be. Price: for the food that they offer and the amount you are given seems to be quite reasonable. They also have family meal plans for either 2 or 4 people. Pricing for the family meals starts at $18 and goes as high as $36 depending on what you are getting. I have yet to try this, but would anticipate that the portions are quite large and if 4 people had not eaten all day would still be able to have left overs. Now, back to service side of things for a minute. At the price point they are at they should be offering a little better table service. Lunch is going to run you about $15 by the time you factor in entree and drink (no app). Dinner is going to run you about $18 - $24 (+ or - a little) based on getting a non-alcoholic drink. Overall: The dining experience is a solid 3 star. With a little better table service and the quality of food on a regular basis (obviously there are some misses from time to time on quality of food) I would recommend this to others. I have not been here for dinner before and the service may be better later in the day (I have always been at or around the lunch rush time of day). They do have full lunch and dinner menu's that offer a different selection based on the time of day so check them out online at: http://www.costasmcafe.com/menu.html so see what is available. Just because they don't have something at lunch that may appeal to you, they may have what you're looking for on the dinner menu. read more

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Food had no taste.... asked for a discount and they could not do it.... Menu had food splattered all over it was just dirty!!!! Bad service and awful food. Never going back.:: read more

I love this restaurant! I've been coming here for many years. Most of their dishes are super delicious - kabobs, lasagna, lambs, tilapia, etc. You can't go wrong with any of the entrees. If you don't know what to get, ask one of the servers. Their garlic bread and honey mustard salad dressing are heavenly. I must say the pairing is perfect. I usually stuff the salad into the bread and devour it before the entree comes out. Also, the sweet tea here is very good - always perfectly sweetened. If you are not dining in, they also have a drive-thru so check it out. read more

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To all who may need to order food in advance in the Birmingham area, avoid Costas on Lorna Road. Run far, far away...IF you can even get them to answer their phones. Clearly, they are having issues. I kindly asked some questions. The woman who said that she was the owner talked over me and hung up. I have never been treated so rudely. The owner hung up on me before I could complete a full sentence. I know that their service has dropped off over the past couple of years, but this is truly unacceptable. I could not imagine treating people that way especially not in a service business. There's simply no excuse. The food is good, but there is no excuse for poor manners and disrespectful treatment. Birmingham has too many other options. read more

I came to celebrate my birthday. Staff was very friendly. Food was good. The fact that I order a steak that came with two sides AND a salad was great. I had a dream combination meal of steak, bake potato with butter sour cream and mozzarella, pasta, and salad. Salad was really good almost as if it had some type of seasoning to it. Could be the ranch. Steak was well seasoned. Bake potato was great. Pasta was simple sweet and good. I'll definitely be coming back. read more

Killer lasagna !!! Got a pan to go, says 4 servings but more like 6 , if you like Italian food you'll love theirs , cheesy with good sauce taste home made . Breads good oil and vinegar dressing ok . Will definitely be back . read more

Food is always fantastic!! Staff has always been super nice and accommodating. Had an order mix up last night but Joe was all over it. Went out of his way to make it right. NEVER had a bad meal but my favorite is the cannelloni. I have joked for years that if I'm ever in a "last meal" situation it will be their cannelloni!!! Keep up the fantastic food guys. Thanks for years of great meals!!! read more

Come here HUNGRY! Wow do they serve A LOT of food! And it's SO good. Hubby and I stopped in for lunch. He ordered the lunch special spaghetti with meat sauce and I got the eggplant parmesan with angel hair & marinara. We could have shared one plate and STILL had a ton of leftovers. We barely made a dent in either of our dishes, even though we wanted to keep eating because it was so good. Both meals started with a small salad and also came with bread. Be forewarned though, the place is old and isn't the "cleanest" looking... i.e. the tables/booths are all old and kinda dingy to be honest, but I personally didn't mind it too much because it makes it feel old school. I'm just hoping that it actually IS clean though. The service was fast and friendly. We will definitely be back when craving delicious Italian food! read more

Awful experience and ripped off! I took my mother and daughter there to eat on Tuesday. Service was slow, but the waitress was friendly. We had to order twice because we weren't told of certain menu items not being available until AFTER we ordered. However I ordered the lasagna and it was terrible. I asked for a different entree to replace the first one and for it to be wrapped to go. I was told I could only replace my lasagna with chicken fettuccine, that was fine. Unfortunately when I got home and proceeded to take a few bites, it was ONLY noodles and sauce, NO CHICKEN! I paid $15 for NOODLES AND SAUCE!!! read more

I went here yesterday and the service was great! I order Beef Souvlaki which was absolutely terrible, this was supposed to be Filet Mignon, it definitely wasn't, it was tasty but all grizzle! They made it nice and rare the way I like it but it was very hard to cut! I figured it was a Greek meal it was going to be good, since the restaurant is Italian and Greek! Wrong choice yet a good friend of mine got the better meal. She got Chicken Parmigiana and I had a taste of her's which was absolutely delicious! The Salad's were fresh and the Desserts were tremendous and delicious! I took a picture of our desserts! I had the cheesecake and good Friend had Tiamasu! read more

Costas - Cheesecake - Mediterranean Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

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Came to Alabama for a business trip and decided to try this place after a recommendation from a colleague. The jumbo shrimp appetizer is to die for! Juicy shrimp that are large and seasoned perfectly. For my entree, I ordered the New York strip, steamed veggies, and salad. The steak was tender, steamed veggies were buttery and delicious, and the ranch-wow, the best I've ever tasted. They also service hot baguette style bread as a complimentary item. Soooo good. I also had a bite of a friend's lasagna which was so delicious! This place was so good, that I went back the next night and ordered the same food. I also ordered a spaghetti to take home. The spaghetti sauce is just perfect with no acidic taste. The cocktails are $5 served in a large glass and are also well worth it. I took a cheesecake to go which was the perfect finish. This place offers large portions of food that is delicious and so reasonably priced. I'm just glad I don't live close by, I would be frequenting this place too often. It's a must try if you're in the area! read more

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I placed a to go order yesterday for a 5:45 pm pick up today. I got there e and was told it wasn't ready yet so I pulled in park lot and waited. I got back in drive through at 6:20 (35 minutes late) and was told they gave my order to someone else. I asked to speak to Joe (manager) and was told by a worker he said to tell me f### you. I will never be back to this restaurant after going there many times over the years. read more

Have eaten here many times, usually good but this place could be so much better. Server brought our food then disappeared. Saw her go outside once in the rain and they had to send another employee out with an umbrella to find her. She never came to our table and then disappeared again when I got up to see where she was, another server had to find my check . I paid him and got the hell out. I wonder if they ever found her. read more

OMG I just LOVE the lasagna here. I went through the drive thru and placed my order. I suggest you look at the menu online before going through the drive thru because the drive thru menu is extremely outdated . It only reflects 1/4 of their menu options. The lunch portions are more than enough for one person and you get a salad and bread which will fill you up and you will have leftovers. They also have options for 2 and for a family of 4. read more

Costas has great lasagna so we ordered ahead to have it for Christmas lunch. The deal is that you pick it up on Christmas Eve. Ordering went fine last week, but today when we went to pick up, they insisted that we only ordered lunch for 6 instead of lunch for 10. My wife tried to explain that the order was incorrect but the rude woman insisted that my wife was wrong. So she left with lunch for only 6. Just now the very same rude woman called my wife yelling at her for not picking up her entire order! Good food, but terrible organizational skills!!! I am soooo disappointed. I know the owners and they should not allow such terrible customer service. The woman never apologized but continued to yell!! read more

Get the take out. Inside is dated, it's an older place. The food is so so. But the spaghetti and meatballs/meat sauce for four is where it's at. It's ALWAYS amazing. Comes with salad and bread sticks. It absolutely will feed more than four as well unless everyone is super hungry. Makes life easier as well. read more

Been coming to this venue since I was in high school. Took about a decade off from coming. However have been twice in the last month. One doesn't leave hungry. The baked ziti is the go too, it's enough for too. The bread/garlic rolls are great one just isn't enough. Their salad is great with the homemade house or ranch. As an app, the fried calamari is one of the best in town. The place is a little dated but that is what makes it nice. Never had an issue with management or the staff they are nice. The take out is easy if it's not a complicated order. An is great for serving a family or many! I would recommend this place. I haven't ventured out much on the menu here I will note. When I come with others it's usually lasagna and ziti orders read more

Great food great quantity. Best food for price great service good people ( trying to get to min words to post reviews)

The worst veal picatta ever. It was not eatable. The lasagna and ziti were okay but the veal was more like dog food.

Best food ever!!! Been going here for years and my family and I have loved it every time. Amazing lasagna and bake spaghetti, great soup and salad... Not to mention their ranch dressing is the best I've ever had. They have great food, okay service, and although i feel like I'm in someone's grandmother's home when I dine in, it's worth it for the amazing flavor and taste! Carry out is the way to go, and get the lasagna for two. You won't regret it! read more

Very poor customer service! My order was incorrect when I arrived home. I placed the order for dinner and when I arrived home and noticed the error, they had closed for the night. I called the next day and the Owner Joe asked me to bring food back and then they will return my money. How rude! Two Words: Olive Garden! read more

I ate at Costa's for the first time in many years at the request of a coworker for their birthday lunch. I don't think that the interior has been updated since the last time I was there as the decor is very dated and a little depressing. With that said, the food was just ok. I ordered the eggplant parmigiana. It came with a side salad that wasn't very fresh and had several old pieces of lettuce. The eggplant was a huge plate of food and came with spaghetti noodles with marinara sauce. It was so heavy and rich that I didn't eat very much. The plate was also swimming in some sort of liquid...not sure if it was water from the noodles, grease, or both. As a positive, the waitress seemed to handle our large table well. It was fairly crowded, so I guess other people like it more than me. read more

Costas - Lunch portion of eggplant parmigiana - Mediterranean Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

There's a great history of Greek food in Birmingham. Niki's, John's Restaurant, Fish Market. The original owner of John's daughter started Zoe's Kitchen. It's always interesting to see the Greek influence in southern food here. I try to get to Costa's whenever I'm in town visiting my parents. It's a little out of the way but always worth the drive. The portions are gigantic. I always take home about half of what I ordered. Except the salad I can happily finish that off if I split it with someone. I usually order the greek chicken - half a roast chicken with lemon and lots of oregano. I try to make it at home sometimes but it pales in comparison. They use the leftover chicken infused with all that goodness in their creamy chicken soup. I CRAVE that chicken soup when I'm sick. My Dad and my husband both looove the leg of lamb. The Veal Piccata and Marsala are also our favorites. My Mom usually steals from our plates so she can order their Tiramisu guilt-free. A pretty good selection of wine too. As far as service complaints - I have seen some bad service. Last time there was a couple seated right before we were - even across the aisle from our booth. I didn't notice until we got our appetizers that this couple was still waiting for menus and drinks! It seems that a different waitress was assigned to that table and had gone on a break or something. It was pretty crowded but that kind of wait was ridiculous. By the time a waitress did get to them the husband had clearly had enough and make a big scene while they left. I don't blame him! The manager did catch up with them in the parking lot and hopefully gave them vouchers or something. So, yeah, the service is kind of meh. The building is old and the decor is kind of cheesy but the food. My god the food... read more

They were rude when we ordered and VERY rude at the restaurant pickup window. They have been rude the last few times we have been there. I will NEVER go again. Long story short I left with no food and was told that I was an a**hole, to f*** myself, got shot the double bird. This was by the man who said he was the owner. NICE MANAGEMENT. Now I understand the NON EXISTENT CUSTOMER SERVICE. Please stay away. read more

This place is middle of the road. Food is ok. Servers are terrible though. If your going there don't have high expectations and you'll be ok. read more

Total dive. I'm told they do a good take-out business; they should focus on that. Served a drink in a filthy glass. (Edit: ashes in the bottom of my drink) Then the butter-face waitress argued with my guests about how their steak was cooked. The whole ordeal made me walk next door to buy a pack of cigarettes. Up until then, I'd been quit for seven years. TL;DR Gross place, rude servers. Give it a pass. read more

Wish I could mark this with NO stars. Our monthly family dinners and weekly to go orders will NEVER happen again. Our average bill was $80, now that money will go elsewhere. Do not waste your time or money. We have always overlooked the dingy decor because the food was wonderful. The entire restaurant is in dire need of Restaurant Impossible! If I owned it, I'd be on the phone with Robert Irvine tomorrow. Our party of 9 was seated and then waited for 10 minutes before our server showed up. It then took another 10 minutes for our drinks to arrive. Salads arrived after 10, my soup was no where to be found. My soup and the bread finally arrived after, you guessed it, 10 minutes. A food runner arrived with 4 of our meals, placed the serving tray on the table and then left it there when she went back to the kitchen to retrieve 4 more dinners. 4 + 4 = 8...we were missing one of our meals. Ten minutes later, our server arrived to find out if we needed anything...yes, the eggplant parmigiana. 5 minutes later our server returned to say that our eggplant had been taken to another table, but the kitchen was making another one. 20 minutes later, it arrived. When I received the bill, was the eggplant comp'd? NO. Was free desert offered? NO. I asked for it to be removed from our check. I was told the manager refused to take it off the check because some of it had been eaten, but they would remove our beverages...3 cokes, 3 sprites, one sweet tea, and a water. As someone who has worked in the food service industry, I know this was poor behavior. Based on the monumentally poor service, mediocre food, and bad management decision, Costa's in Hoover on Lorna Road will no longer get our weekly and monthly business and everyone I know will be told not to bother. The staff is rude, the interior is old, and the management is non-responsive to customer complaints. What a shame. read more

Ordered takeout over the phone. Guy said it would be 10 mins ( Gyro and fries ). Arrived at the restaurant in 15 mins from my office. Stood there at the counter for about 15 mins. No hello or may I help you while being ignored by 2 women who were working the floor. Rung the bell on the counter standing there with my debit card in hand looking stupid. After the 15 min stance of absolutely nothing. I left. I admit good food but the awareness on this Day was totally horrible and the service was pathetic. read more

Girlfriend and I met some friends here for dinner not too long ago. I had never been here, but Girlfriend and her friends had. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. We started by ordering a massive platter of calamari. This could have been a meal for the four of us alone. I was hungry, so I ate quite a bit of it, even though I've had better calamari. That was a little disappointing, because Costas is supposed to be a Mediterranean restaurant. We also got some of the famed bread and olive oil at this point... which was very good. They warn you right on the menu that if you ask for more bread, you will be charged. The first round is free. It's like when a crack dealer gives you your first hit for free. For dinner I had the Veal Parmigiana. It came lightly breaded with a little cheese and a good amount of marinara sauce on it and a side of spaghetti. Everything on my plate was hot, presumably fresh from the oven. There were several slices of the veal and I ate all of the veal, but didn't have room for much of the spaghetti. It was a decent meal... again, I've had better, but I've also had worse. While the food was pretty good, the server left a little to be desired. Our server constantly appeared to be a in hurry and while she kept up with our needs (drink refills, plates cleared, etc), she wasn't particularly friendly. The restaurant was pretty clean and looked to be in good repair. There was a giant TV hanging from the ceiling near our table, which kind of interrupted the dining experience... and it was a bit unnerving for us to have the other diners staring in our direction (they were watching the TV). In the end, we had a decent meal at a decent price... I'd go back, but hope next time I get a server with a bit more personality. read more

Wanted to place an order on 08/01/2020 for 8-10 people, so I tried to place an order over the phone after checking the menu on-line. The Greek Chicken came with a choice of Greek potatoes or Rice. I ordered with greek potatoes, but now that would be a $6.- surcharge. The guy on the phone said that I had an old menu (i just had read it on their website). The guy taking the order (who said he was also the manager) was extremely rude and pushing to place the order, because had more things to do and no time for this. I can imagine with a new month (08/01) the menu on-line was not updated, but it would be fair to give me the price. Again, extremely rude and very unprofessional. Needless to say I went somewhere else and will NEVER order here! I would rather go hungry then ever order here. read more

Even though it clearly states on the menu that bread comes with the tossed salad they refuse to give you the bread & tell you it is a typo. So apparently there's been a typo on the menus for the past 10 years. And do not honor what the menu says. As a pregnant person that is not a good idea! For the past 10 years that I've been eating there bread has always come with the salad even if that's the only thing you're ordering because it states it on the menu but apparently the restaurant is getting cheap and not wanting to give away something as simple as bread with a meal. So not only are you spending at least eight dollars there for something, you will not be given something that says comes with the meal. Why not just say you don't get sides with your entrée because they could just clearly say that that is a typo. To me a typo is misspelling of a word not a full sentence of lying that you were receive something when you don't. You pay for something and it states that you should receive that item then you should receive that item read more

Costas - Mediterranean Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

You will have a decent meal every time you come to Costas. It may not be memorable and may not be the best you've had, but everyone will leave with a pleasant experience. The interior is romantic enough for a date but appeals to a family with well-behaved children. The portions are gigantic so be prepared to have a filled to-go box by the end of your meal. I ordered the moussaka, which was average. I like eggplant so it was my go-to item. The roasted vegetables were all squash and cucumber so there wasn't much variety. The components of moussaka tasted more like eggplant parmesan, which may appeal to some but I wanted a little more of the whole Greek experience. This dish cost me $13 but it did last me 3 days. read more

I've been to the Costa's in Trussville multiple times. This location seems to share a lot of the same issues. I'll break it down list style. Interior - Rundown and outdated. They severely need to put a little money into repairs if nothing else. Crumbling walls, cruddy floors, broken ceiling fans. It's definitely not somewhere you'd go for great ambiance. Cleanliness - Clean enough, I guess. The silverware and plates looked clean. The table wasn't sticky either. I did hear one guest complain to the manager that the bathroom was filthy, but I didn't personally experience it. Price - For the amount of food that you get, the prices are great. The dinner portions are probably $10-$20ish, but most people will have plenty to take home. Service - This is the area where they lack - at both locations. At this location, the experience was just SLOW. Went in around 4:30. The place was mostly empty. However, we stood for a couple of minutes, then sat down at the benches near the hosts stand and waited for someone to notice we were there - finally a girl walks over and asks if we need a table. Of course not - We just wanted to stand there and look around! Our server tried to be friendly, but she looked like she'd taken too much cold medicine and her speech was slightly slurred. She was also very slow. I wasn't incredibly irritated with that because I eat very slowly, so the pacing was fine with me, but the other two people with me weren't very happy about it. Food - This is what keeps me going back. Their food is very good. Everything is covered in enough cheese to clog the arteries of a killer whale. Their alfredo sauce is obviously homemade and is so creamy. As other reviews have mentioned, their dressings (specifically the ranch) are homemade and exceptional. Only real issue is that their salads are lacking and generally have some old looking lettuce. The bread is good as long as you eat it hot. It gets hard quickly when it cools off. I love dipping mine in the ranch dressing - yum! As I said earlier, you get a TON of food too. They do not skimp on portions! If you love Greek/Italian food, give them a shot. The food is generally worth the negatives. read more

Let's start with the bad first. We arrived around 4:10 pm, with the neon "open" sign clearly lit. We sat at benches by the door, curious to know how long it would take to be acknowledged. It took ten minutes and by then, we were already discussing a potential plan B. It looked like they were either closed to prepare for dinner service, or were just that dead inside. We were greeted with, "Do you guys need a table?" This was followed with, "I guess you'd like some dinner menus." Drinks were brought out, and were followed by our server, who brought a basket of bread to us and said, "I bet you guys would like some silverware, unless you like eating with your toes." I don't know about you, but if there are no utensils, I'd typically use my hands-depending on the type of food. It seemed like a bad attempt by our server to use humor to make up for the table not being prepared for us. The server, by the way, had been either sipping wine in the back, or was sick and had maybe taken too much cough syrup. There were slurred words and some confused moments. We got the silverware. Orders were taken and salads were brought out. While waiting, a gentleman came in and sat at the bar. Again, no one paid attention to customers coming in. Our server finally went to the bar maybe 5 minutes after the man came in. She asked if he'd been taken care of and he said no. He was apparently waiting on a larger group to arrive. Since nothing was happening indoors at the time, I guess the server decided she could talk to him nearly ten minutes while he waited. She finally came to check on us for refills, then went back to check on our orders. Our orders were brought out, but not before the server asked about the refills again to make sure she brought the correct drink. The food for the most part, was actually tasty. I had a New York strip ordered medium, that was seasoned well. Unfortunately, it was not evenly cooked, as if it was left on one side much longer than the other, then flipped to sear the other side. (Photo included). Before we finished eating, a woman came to our table and asked with a heavy accent what our drinks were. The way we were asked, we thought she was trying to get refills for us. It took a bit, but we finally realized it was because our server was in the back totaling our orders and the one who got our drinks earlier in the evening didn't relay to her what we had, so someone else was sent out to ask about the drinks ordered. Overall, there was a lack of communication and attentiveness at this place, and based on other reviews, I'd have to agree with most-service poor/food good. The final straw for me was my plate being taken before I was finished. I had the only reached over to pick up my phone. I was too shocked to even say anything. Good food doesn't always make up for poor service. I won't be back. read more

Costas - Unevenly cooked NY strip - Mediterranean Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

I've been coming here for years but the lady who usually greet me when I pickup my Famiy orders is no longer there. I think she has a health issue. The guy there now is rude, has no personality, was very short, and does not appreciate my business. I will miss their food but I do not Patronize ungrateful people. read more

I enjoyed this place. The waitress was very attentive. She suggested that if we were getting the same entree that we should split it and just order an additional salad and she was right! The lasagne was delicious. It was seasoned to perfection and filled us both! We also ordered a side of veggies that were also delightful, read more

Awful food and management. Do not order take out. They keep you on hold for 10 minutes and then are rude.

Great spot for Italian pickup. Their lasagna is incredible and their salads are amazing. Very friendly staff.

The food, to me, was bland & tasted like it came out of a can. I was really disappointed. The food wasn't terrible but I was expecting authentic Italian. I go to Kansas city a lot & there's an Italian restaurant near near the hotel Lydia's I think - fabulous & that is what I was expecting. I gave them 4 stars because everything else was fine The positive - portion were very large The service was was fine. We were seated right away. Our waitress did a great job. read more