This is one of those reviews that PAINS me to write, but I must. I would have given it 1/5 star but you can't do that, and its not a one star, but its not a two. Let me 'splain... But not without praising the hard working and lovely staff who had to try to work with the growing pains of a struggling restaurant that couldn't on this night.
There are few higher-end restaurants open on Mondays in the area, and with my foodie business associates in tow, I had to find one that a) took reservations and b) could accommodate a 6+ table. Pino hit both on Opentable, so I hit reserve (after consulting with the Yelpie community and some of the UMass Lowell crowd who did tell me it was under new management.. Ok, fair 'nough for us). Drive up, place looks swanky. BIG, spacious, fancy schpantzy wedding-venue-ish type of place. What could go wrong?
The place is massive, clean, old-school type of wedding venue. PINO to your right. Walk into a beautiful bar and a sweet bartender. And that is where all the problems start. Later in the evening, I had to voice my issues, and they couldn't be more apologetic. But lets get to the bad, the ugly and the almost redemption.
Let's caveat the 2 star, that should be a 5 the people who are like the little train that could if ownership/leadership didn't suck (and I am not talking about Ms Linda or Mike, lets go into the people who invested in the place and the food and beverage manager... serious issues).
1. The bar - TERRIBLY OVERPRICED. And EVEN WORSTLY STOCKED. "We're in between menus" = we don't have most of the things you want to drink or the ingredients to make them; = our wine list is HORRENDOUS and we will charge you BOSTON/NYC prices for drinks and wine for some of the left over selections from previous ownership (this one opened in December...) without the experience - its Tyngsboro and it wasn't a wedding. What are you thinking? SHAME on the Beverage coordinator/manager. SHAME SHAME SHAME!!! Poor server!
2. They inherited a management tool that is still under hostage to the previous owners. So FORGET about asking for separate checks in a table that had met for business and some of the visitors were on perdiem. The look of dispair on the poor server's face was something that was worthy of sympathy. Relatively new staff, with very poor training, they lovingly and patiently tried to manage through the Monday empty restaurant, with people who decided to drink beer (PS they didn't have most of the selections on the list = Beverage coordinator issues...) because (one of them a professional bartender himself) the poor bartender had to try to improvise with the cr-py leftovers he had (Frankenstein drinks) and KNOWING the drinks lack the quality particularly for the cost per drink. They should NOT charge more than 8-10 for what they offer. And don't get me started on the wines and the markup! NYC Broadway or The MET prices without the snobery experience. What is the Beverage coordinator/manager thinking? SERIOUSLY. So the bartender and the waitstaff have to put on their happy face and deliver. And let me tell you, they work HARD for their money, and did it with professionalism and pride in what they do, and made all types of lame excuses for the very poor functioning of their workplace. Commendably loyal and people-caring!
3. Food. GROSSLY OVERPRICED. I don't mind paying $56 for lamb chops. BUT DONT CHARGE ME NYC PRICES AND PUT EVERYTHING A LA CARTE. FOR $56 - add a salad/vegetable and a carb. At a minimum. OR REDUCE TO 3 Chops and cut the price in HALF. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? I've shopped at Restaurant Depot... I KNOW THE PRICE OF FOOD. And your wonderful staff are NOT getting the profits of your markups you greedy snobs! Seriously! I blame this blatant lack of respect for their staff and customers on the owners. The kitchen was SLOOOOOWWWW. We didn't want to order dessert because we were afraid it would come in for breakfast. And don't order the Pannacota. Please take that off the menu - its vile. The food came out cold.
As for the taste? Chef came out. Young and has a LOT of potential! Deserves a second chance. But he has to work on the kitchen timing and FLAVOR. Most of the food was BLAND. The puffy pita was warm but lacking salt. Shrimp? Lacking Salt? Shashuka? Cold. The Baklava? Needs a little more spice (cardamom and cinnamon would help to bump it up a bit). $20 for Shashuka? I know eggs are expensive. But, really - Shahuka has few and cheap ingredients: Tomato, red pepper, onion and seasoning. Then 1-2 eggs. The margin on this dish is ridiculous. SERVE ME NYC QUALITY PRODUCT - or reduce the cost to 12 and make it an appetizer. It was good, but wow me for the price.
It pained me to give management the feedback, but not without exending our sympathy to the lovely LOVELY staff that struggled to deliver without materials, a slow kitchen, an incomprehensible automated system. They bent over backwards to try to help. Room for improvement. Please! You can do it! read more