Came to leave a review but decided to check some others first. Seems to be a common thread with this restaurant.
Went here for birthday dinner. Ambience is nice, mood lighting. This used to be a coffee shop before and I had been there before. Anyway, getting back to the story. We are seated in not very comfy chairs and table is too small. We are used to it so we deal with it. Our waitress is friendly and positive to interact with.
We order the fig and arugula bruschetta for appetizers. One bite and it overwhelms with this syrupy sweet sauce that I imagine is fig preserve. The underlying toast, prosciutto, or cheese is nowhere to be found on the palate. Just a relentless sweet sticky continuum. Our waitress comes by and asks how we're finding it, and we politely inform her of the sweetness. She apologizes for it.
Next up, entrees. Our waitress suggested the mushroom pastas and scallop/seafood entrees. But being my wife's birthday we went with her preferences and got a red sauce pasta with ground beef and fennel - standard tomato sauce pasta offering. We also ordered a spinach fettuccine with chicken.
A server brings two piping hot bowls our way and sets them down. I notice there is a lack of aroma emanating from the food. We each take first bites. As I chew, I wait. My jaw is working but no flavor is coming. I look at my wife and she looks like she can't taste anything either. A thought crossed my mind that I may have COVID, as this food cannot be this bland.
More bites do nothing to change the situation, and I ponder asking for olive oil and cheese. We exchange plates, and my wife's meal, though marginally more aromatic, notably misses any trace of fennel even though it claims to include Italian sausage. We agree it is a huge underwhelm. I try dousing my dish with salt and pepper - and unsurprisingly, taste only salt and pepper.
Our waitress once again comes by and asks how we're doing. Once again, politely, I inform her that it's somewhat disappointing. She immediately offers to take it off our check. I tell her that's not necessary, and I'm simply concerned that it's so bland. She insists on taking it off the check, and after a couple rounds of back and forth, I let her have it. Now at this point clearly my opinion has been bought, so I can't say anything more than I was disappointed with the dessert as well (which was our host's recommendation) and all in all it was a negative, unsuccessful meal. We applaud the team's forthcoming nature and their commitment to making it right for the customer, but no front staff can correct the issues coming from their kitchen. We wish Torme all the best but in the foreseeable future, we will not be coming back. Olive Garden tastes better than this! read more