I was introduced to Rocco's several years ago by some of my Wilmington friends. I understand it's always been a popular place with locals and also underwent a management change in recent years. I visited Rocco's a couple years ago, which I believe was under the current management, and at that time had a good experience with the food, service, and its cozy atmosphere. Last night one of my best friends and I stopped in randomly after viewing some Christmas light displays in Tewksbury. However, last night I witnessed some serious confusion amongst the waitstaff and found this experience quite different from the last. I find Rocco's to be a bit on the pricier side, when considering the cost of most entrees, and I think the dining experience should flow like a well-oiled machine to reflect this.
We decided to sit at the bar so we could catch a little bit of the Bruins game. The bar scene was busy, but seemed manageable from a customer's prospective. When we first sat down there were two bartenders, but one left after setting us up with menus leaving the other to fend for himself. He seemed friendly and chatty, but a little overwhelmed at times.
A large delicious-looking salad topped with grilled chicken passed by us as we glanced over the menu. It was placed in front of a man on the opposite side of the bar and met with some resistance. I overheard the conversation and soon realized he had actually ordered chicken fingers. The salad went back to the kitchen as my friend and I exchanged confused glances. How did that happen?
We put in an order for calamari and sipped on some special Christmas-themed cocktails. My friend asked the bartender, in a moment that seemed less busy, if he would take a picture of us. This is our traditional 'girl's night out' to celebrate before Christmas, so she was trying to capture the moment. The bartender told us 'no' with some lengthy explanation of why not. For the record, due to the background noise I could not hear/comprehend the explanation very well, but the bits and pieces of it sounded quite silly. In the time it took for the explanation, he could have just snapped the photo. Rejection is never pleasant, even in its smallest form. Fortunately a very friendly woman at the bar jumped right up to take the picture for us.
Cue the calamari... which arrived at the bar to our left by a very confused server who did not know where to place it. The server and bartender then had a brief discussion as we tried to get their attention. The bartender seemed to forget where it was supposed to go as well. Hmm... we must have really thrown him off when we asked for that photo. Once we claimed our calamari, we all came to the realization that we did not have plates or silverware. However, the guy at the other end of the bar did finally receive his chicken fingers, so not a total loss.
Oh, could we have some napkins too? Thanks.
The confusion between servers was really bothering me, but fortunately the calamari was delicious. The live entertainment began as a solo artist did a little guitar and vocals act. All was well until the mysterious pizza came onto the scene.
"Wait, is that my pizza?" I pondered as I watched it set down in front of the people next to me. They had ordered after us, so why was their pizza out? Then I saw the look of confusion on their faces as they sent the pizza back to the kitchen. I then realized that it was indeed my pizza being shifted around and wouldn't you know it soon landed in front of me. "Don't worry, they didn't touch it" I was told. Thanks for the reassurance, but it's probably not as warm after it's round trip back and forth from the kitchen.
My friend's salad arrived soon after and the same guessing game continued. The pizza, referred to as The Romano, was very good and my friend said she liked her steak salad. She claimed to be happy with the experience overall and probably would have offered an extra shiny star if she were a Yelper. Unfortunately you are stuck with me and I expect far better than this dog and pony show.
I could not understand why the bartender had so much difficulty keeping track of the orders and I believe this shows a lack of interest in the customers. This experience will stick with me and I most likely will be a hesitant to come back to Rocco's in the future. If I do return, it will be for the calamari. read more