Parking is next to impossible if you go during dining hours. The place is clean and well furnished. It's roomy enough to accommodate moderate size groups (10-12 people). The prices are slightly high, which the norm in this part of town. The food is good and they serve an assortment of beers and wines.
My big complaint is the service. I walked in at 6pm and there were probably 10 people sitting in the restaurant, which is about 1/3 capacity. There were a few people coming in and out for takeout orders. I stood at the entrance for several seconds waiting to hear whether I could seat myself, or if someone would tell me where to sit. No one even looked my way. I walked up to the counter at the end of the restaurant and took a quick look at the menu. I ordered their meatball poppers. The young man asked what kind of sauce I wanted. I asked what my options were. He said regular tomato and spicy tomato. I got the regular. He rang me up and I went and found a table to sit at. I was never asked if the order was to eat in or for takeout. So, I hoped that they would see me sit myself down and at least ask me if I was eating it. Nope.
About 10 minutes later, the young man came up to the table with a brown paper bag, which contained my meatballs. I told him I actually wanted to eat it there. He gave an annoyed look and went back behind the counter to plate my dish. He came back a couple of minutes later, put my order on the table, and walked away. I started to eat, but felt like something was missing. I grabbed a menu again and confirmed that my meatballs were supposed to be served with organic focaccia bread, but I didn't get any. I flagged my young friend again, since I didn't feel confident that he would come by on his own to check on me. I asked why I didn't get the bread. He gave me the annoyed look again and this time paired it up with an annoyed tone of voice... "you get the bread if you order the dish for take out, not for dining-in". I was confused. Did he seriously mean to tell me that earlier when he came over with the take-out bag, there was a piece of bread in there, but then when I asked to eat in the dining room, the bread was removed from the dish??? Really??? Luckily, he followed his statement by asking if I'd like a piece of the bread. I decided it wasn't worth the time to argue the point and just accepted the offer. While he was getting the bread, I peeked at the menu again looking for a note explaining what he had just told me. I didn't find anything. I did notice, however, that my dish was offered with a third sauce option... creamy roasted onion and herb. I'm not sure why that choice wasn't offered earlier when I asked what kinds of sauce were available. I would've definitely chosen it over tomato sauce. For a second, I contemplated brining this up when the young man came back with the bread, but the plate holding the bread had hardly been placed on the table when he turned around and went right back behind the counter. At this point, I was the one that was too annoyed to pursue the issue any further. I just wanted to eat my food and leave.
As far as the food was concerned, it was good enough. The meatballs poppers were cooked well and the tomato sauce wasn't bad. The focaccia bread was good, but would've probably been better if it had been toasted. Perhaps it would all have tasted better had I not been so uncomfortable and anxious to get out of there.
I would've liked to go back with my teenage kids as the place looks nice and the dining area seems like it'd be great for a family dinner. But, if this is the kind of service you get on a not so busy weeknight, I'd be afraid to see what it's like during dinner rush on a Friday night. read more