So, we've been here twice now, and wanted to give it a second shot before posting a review because everyone has an off night. Unfortunately, it was just as disappointing on our second visit. We went with 2 people the first time and 5 people the second time, so we had the opportunity to try a number of menu items. We ordered bread (though I still can't believe we're in a day and age where you pay for bread). I wouldn't mind paying for bread if it was amazing, but this bread was grilled but not warm, and to quote my kid, "it's just mid." Between the two visits we tried the beef tartare, tuna crudo, whipped ricotta, eggplant caponata, Caesar salad and beet salad. Neither the ricotta or the caponata come with bread, so if you don't just want to eat by itself, you have to order it. Same with the beef tartare. We prefer something crunchy to eat it with for some difference in texture, but again, it doesn't come with anything. The Caesar was fine, and while the flavors on the beet salad were good, all of the red beets were so undercooked they were bordering on crunchy. The yellow beets were perfectly cooked.
For entrees, we've tried the swordfish, and a number of the pastas, including the tagliatelle bolognese, rigatoni with pork ragu, chitarra with octopus, bucatini with rock shrimp, and some plain spaghetti with butter and parm. The tagliatelle was incredibly greasy. They ran out of rock shrimp for the bucatini (totally fine, but it was 6:45 on a Saturday and the restaurant was far from full, which tells me it was poor planning), and they replaced it with larger shrimp. There were no more than 2 26/30 count shrimp cut up for the entire dish. For $29.50, it was a bit ridiculous. At least leave the replacement shrimp whole. The chitarra was completely unseasoned and dry. I appreciate an al dente pasta, however the plain spaghetti for my daughter was so undercooked it was inedible. All of the rest of the pastas could have cooked a minute more either in the water to longer in the pan with their sauce.
Sometimes a mediocre meal can be infinitely better with great service, but sadly, that wasn't the case here either. Our server actually ended up being the same person both times we went. He was fine- that's about all I can say about him. In both dining experiences he missed opportunities to sell another glass of wine. My glass sat empty on the table, and by the time he came back to check on us, we had finished eating 10 minutes prior. My husband was hoping for another iced tea, but again, the server was MIA.
I would love a Vetri style restaurant in the suburbs, and we had high hopes that Tresini would give us that fix. I just don't think it's going to happen. At this price point, and with the press surrounding Tresini, we just expected more. If you're looking for a great Italian spot in Ambler, you might want to look somewhere else. If you want a quick drink at a nice bar, maybe make the trip- the wines were consistently good. read more