Whoa, we had a big party!
We probably had around 20 people (give or take 2-4 because I'm not really sure) and we were lucky enough to arrive on a slow Saturday lunch rush.
It's a small quaint and beautifully decorated restaurant. We occupied all but maybe 2 tables. Servers were quick to provide table menu, settings as well as water.
Someone in our group was clever enough to write down their orders before coming through. I didn't think of that but I knew right away what I wanted: Caprese salami salad, aglio olio and a citrus mint drink to wash it all down.
CAPRESE SALAMI SALAD: Incredibly disappointing. Granted, it's visually appealing to the eyes, and delicious to taste, they substituted mozzarella cheese with bananas. WHO DOES THAT ON A CAPRESE SALAD?! What makes it worse is they charged us the full amount. (More on this on the "service" section below.)
AGLIO OLIO: Pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente, seasoning was also perfect. Bread was a perfect garlic toast. This plate was simply: perfect.
Citrus mint drink was refreshing and paired well with my pasta.
FOOD: 4. As disappointing as the Caprese was, flavor was on point.
SERVICE: A very generous 3. (5 for the servers. 1 for the chefs.) FIRST REASON: the Caprese. I brought this up to the servers - bananas subbed for mozzarella. I advised them that if they couldn't put the dish together as described on their menu, they should have alerted us immediately. If they didn't have the mozzarella (which is hard to believe since they served mozzarella sticks at the next table - unless those were pre-made frozen, which I also pointed out) then they should have said so. I also warned them that doing this is incredibly dangerous: what if I (and whoever I shared the dish with) were allergic to bananas? They'd get shut down quickly, followed by a lawsuit. The servers accepted the criticism openly, and promised to let the chefs know. SECOND REASON: Albeit the dishes were delish, getting them out of the kitchen took SOOOOO long. It took 2 hours between serving the first dish to the last. Servers explained that they had limited cooks in the kitchen. Now, remember: it's a Saturday, lunch rush. It makes me question that they may not be capable of serving big parties. So big warning: be prepared for a delay if you come through with as many people as we did.
VALUE: 3.5. Affordable, even for the locals. The quality of the food justifies their price point.
PARKING: Two spots immediately to the front door. Otherwise, street it is.
OVERALL: 3.5.
The food is great, the servers were fantastic. The banana vs mozzarella and wait time hiccups are the only things deterring me from coming back. But given the chance, I'll make one more stop and see if there are any improvements or otherwise. I'll update the rating then. read more