I'm not someone who hands out one-star reviews lightly, but this meal was disappointing from beginning to end, especially considering the prices and the way this restaurant presents itself.
I ordered the lasagna, my husband ordered the chicken marsala, and we also ordered the artisan bread appetizer and chocolate cake.
The menu makes a point of mentioning house-made pasta and sauces, so I was genuinely looking forward to the lasagna. Unfortunately, the red sauce tasted remarkably similar to something straight from a can. The entire dish was bland, underseasoned, and lacking any real depth of flavor. The cheese was chewy and seemed very low quality, and nothing about the dish reflected the care or quality I expected from a restaurant advertising house-made Italian food.
My husband's chicken marsala wasn't much better. We honestly couldn't even tell whether we received a full chicken breast because of how it had been cut and portioned. The marsala sauce was fine, but completely unremarkable. There was nothing about it that justified the price or made the dish memorable.
Then came the artisan bread, which somehow managed to be another disappointment. The bread itself seemed undercooked, and once again, there was almost no seasoning. At that point we were genuinely wondering whether anyone in the kitchen was using salt.
The chocolate cake was probably the best thing we ordered, although what arrived seemed more like a flourless chocolate cake than what we expected from the description. It was fine, but after the rest of the meal, it certainly wasn't enough to redeem the experience.
What makes this more frustrating is that the restaurant clearly puts effort into creating an upscale experience. You have the beautiful atmosphere, the presentation, valet parking, and prices that suggest customers should expect a certain level of quality. Unfortunately, that same level of attention does not seem to be making it into the kitchen.
I spent 16 years working as a chef, and both my husband and I have extensive experience in the service industry. I understand that kitchens have bad nights and mistakes happen. I'm usually willing to give restaurants some grace because I know firsthand how demanding this industry can be. But there is a difference between one dish having an issue and an entire meal consistently lacking basic seasoning, preparation, and quality.
To make matters worse, when we called about our experience, the person who answered the phone was far from professional. Considering how poor the meal was, I was surprised there wasn't even an attempt to offer a refund or otherwise make the situation right.
For the amount of money this restaurant charges, the food should match the experience it is trying to sell. In our case, it absolutely did not. There are frozen or prepared Italian meals from the grocery store that I would genuinely choose over what we were served here.
If you're planning a special night out or looking to treat yourself to good Italian food, I would spend your money elsewhere. This was an incredibly disappointing experience, and unfortunately, one I cannot recommend. read more