Suite 115
Raleigh, NC 27609
(919) 787-7747
Interior Decor
Complimentary Bread Basket
Pappardelle - $14.00
House Salad with Salmon Added - $8.00 + $6.00 = $14.00
This is a review of a Italian restaurant located in the North Hills area of Raleigh, North Carolina. They are open from 11 am until 10 pm Monday through Thursday. Friday and Saturday they stay open one hour later and on Sunday they close one hour earlier at 9 pm. Their current health score is 95.5 which is good. We arrived around 2:30 pm on a Sunday. We were immediately greeted by a not so friendly, young hostess and seated at a table for two. No smile was displayed and she simply placed the menus on the table and walked away without a word. It's customary to wait until the customers are seated and hand them the menus or at the very least say something like "enjoy your meal". This wasn't a good first impression. I also thought while her outfit was cute that she was underdressed. I don't think a very short denim skirt is appropriate for a hostess. There were only three tables with customers other than ours, so this is a good time to visit if you don't like crowds and noise.
We were given what looked like perhaps the lunch menu which doesn't match any of the menus on their website. According to their Facebook page they were serving brunch until 3 pm, but we did not receive a brunch menu. I ordered a Diet Pepsi which took twelve long minutes to arrive, 2nd bad impression. The waiter took my drink order and left only to return to take our entree orders without the drink. He didn't smile either, 3rd bad impression. The young guy who was bussing tables appeared to be upset and had a bad attitude that made us uncomfortable. He was standing near our table with his arms crossed and shaking his head which makes for the 4th bad impression. It appeared he was having some relationship issues with the young hostess due to the look they were giving each other. It's a shame they couldn't be professional and leave their issues at the door. The vibe of the restaurant was unpleasant and uncomfortable. It appeared the entire staff except the bartender were in a bad mood. While the young guy was bussing tables he was eating bread, 5th bad impression. Again another very unprofessional move on his part. He was also walking around with a piece of bread in his hand which I found to be very unappetizing. Odds are he pulled off a piece of bread with dirty hands from bussing tables while in the kitchen. There was no sign of any management the entire time we were there. The white bread arrived with my drink twelve minutes after we ordered and it was cold. I was shocked it wasn't served warm. Even Olive Garden offers freshly baked, warm garlic bread. It came with some type of bean butter which had a weird taste and texture. I asked for regular butter. The crust of the bread was hard and the bread had little flavor. They don't make the bread fresh nor serve it warm, 6th bad impression, especially disappointing for an upscale restaurant. Not to mention, I expected garlic bread or knots or olive oil dipping since it's an Italian restaurant. Our entrees arrived six minutes after the bread was delivered. I ordered the Pappardelle which is described as "Bolognese and goat cheese crema". The pasta had the perfect texture and the meat sauce wasn't tart instead it was delicious. It had a wonderful flavor and it was served nice and hot. I would have liked some more goat cheese, that's my only complaint. This dish is crave-worthy and if I lived nearby, I would order it for carry out. Hubby ordered the House Salad with the addition of a piece of salmon. It's described as spring greens, roma tomatoes, red onion, pistachios, ricotta salata and white balsamic vinaigrette". He said the salmon was perfectly cooked and it was very tasty. He also enjoyed the salad minus the tomatoes since he's on a low carb diet. He said the dressing was delicious and very little of it is needed since it's packed with flavor. When we left no one said goodbye or come back soon, 7th bad impression.
The food was excellent, sadly the service was poor which is a deal breaker for us. We wont be returning even though I'd love to have the Pappardelle again. We didn't feel that our business was appreciated, so we will be taking our dining dollars elsewhere. What's your favorite restaurant in Raleigh?
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2 comments
I like the interior view of the place. I won't go back to a restaurant either of the service is poor. Seems it sure was at that restaurant.
Yeah, it's fancy. It sure was poor, such a shame.
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