Trattoria La Siciliana
| Address: | 2993 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705, USA |
| Phone: | +1 510-704-1474 |
| Site: | trattorialasiciliana.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM 5–10PM |
Location
Photos 82
Reviews 7
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Austin S. Lin
*Cash Only* First, lets start with the food for which so many people stand in line. Flavors and ingredients are high quality and thoroughly thought out. Overall, taste is pretty terrific. The complaints from customers in long lines and waits are valid, but due less to inefficiency than the bottleneck of being a small establishment with minimal square footage. The kitchen is built directly into the dining area and even when Chef and two assistants are furiously crafting away at the busy nights dinner orders, the kitchen can quickly become overwhelmed, which then spills over to servers becoming overwhelmed while taking orders, checking on orders, and navigating the tight spaces. So as such, the perception of poor service expressed by many may be an artifact of capacity, not ability. As for the cash only policy, likely something that has been in place since the restaurants opening, it is certainly at the option of management. With changes in the economy and the likely sky high leases on a prime College Avenue location, every penny of margins count, including those that would otherwise be sacrificed to credit card processing fees. However, it may be out of touch for the current customer demographic, particularly if Trattoria is interested in attracting the next generation of diners. Given the menu prices for entrees and wine, the tab of even a modest party can easily climb north of $100+. Quite simply in this society, cash is less and less the form of transaction of choice for customers. It has nothing to do with affordability, but convenience. Those consumers will simply take their (digital) cash elsewhere. If that is okay (or perhaps necessary for Trattorias survival), then there is a specific growing demographic that will continue to be isolated, which may be a much greater financial cost in the long run. The best part about long waits? The chance to write long, hungry reviews.
JO
Joseph Simonsen
Food was ok. I liked mine but my girlfriend thought hes was way too salty. They told as when the bill arrived they only took cash, forcing my friend and I to walk down the street to an ATM. This was never mentioned before this and not posted anywhere in the restaurant. If I actually only had a Credit Card then what? Also, while waiting in line for the bathroom I saw a credit card machine. Why? Was it broke? if so just say its broken tonight and they can only do cash. Is it there in case I ONLY have a credit card? if so, JUST ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS. Clearly it works in that scenario. For what they charge for food a table of 4 will rarely have a bill below $90. Throw in a bottle of wine and that jumps even more. These days no one has that much cash on them. Also, they accept reservations online on their site but dont bother with it. When I got there I told them I had made a reservation and the lady at the door told me it was not here. This is basically exactly what she said "Did you make it online? Cause we dont usually check that until the restaurant opens". It was 7pm at this time and the place had been open for hours. She actually just told me they dont bother checking their reservation system. Luckily they had a table for 4 available, but what if they didnt? It was a busy night. The service was so bad Im never going there again and Im telling my friends to never go there as well.
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Krithika Muthukumar
Ive been to Trattoria La Siciliana twice now--once with a sizable group, and once with just another friend. When I went with the group, we were pushed to order our meal family-style, even though all of us were hoping to try a different dish. The waiter pulled some bullshit about having the meals come out at the same time, which made NO sense (you seriously cant keep it in an oven or something until all of them are prepared?). Mixing vegetarians and non-vegetarians in a family-style meal is just annoying. The food was really good, though the risotto reminded me more of sambar in India than of Italy. The second time, I had some excellent pesto, though my friends penne ala carbonara was DELICIOUS. The sauce was amazing. This time, I was wondering what hijinks the waiter would pull--we gave him $40 and asked for $15 back. 20 minutes later, he decides to meander over and coolly hand us a $10. Seriously, give us a break. Well tip you, but youre not that busy that you need to trick a tip out of us. Minus points are mainly for the service--the food is amazing. PS. Cash only! What a pain!
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Gabriela Sotomayor
Good food, APPALLING SERVICE. Ive been a loyal customer for 3 years, and youve just lost my business. Made a reservation for 7:45, hostess told us they were running 30 mins. behind on seating reservations. The food is good, so we waited. 1.5 hours later they seat a walk-in party, and ignore three groups including ours, who had reservations and were waiting in the cold. The hostess raised her voice, lied about what she told the waiting parties (5 in total) regarding the time, and aggressively berated us for politely questioning their seating order, and asking for an ETA on our table. Wait staff and manager were useless, did not apologize for the 1.5 hour delay for the groups that had reservations, told us to wait or to leave. Word of advice, dont scream at and threaten a customer in front of a restaurant full of diners. It doesnt endear you for return visits. FIRE your front of house and keep your cooks.
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David Liang
Taste: 4 Value: 3 Service: 2 Came here twice and decided to go somewhere else the first time since the wait was 30 minutes long. The second time was also around 30 minutes long, but we decided to just wait it out. Apparently theres always ridiculously long waits. The bread with olive oil and thyme/garlic was good, and the potato appetizer was okay. We both got a December special for the entree; I got the ragu, and she got the pork. Both dishes were very good. However, the service was just horrible. Our waiter was gone for most of the time, and my girlfriend was offered a wrong dish to start. My water was empty for most of the entire time, and we were there for a full two hours, which is ridiculous. Im pretty sure we spent more than twice as much time waiting for the food as we did actually eating it. We ended up taking most of the food home. Also, the fact that they only take cash sucks.
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Joel Rogers
I ate family style with a group of friends, at this restaurant, many years ago. I have been making the asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, finished with balsamic vinegar and shaved Padana cheese ever since. After seven years of failed attempts to dine here again, I finally made it back. I forgot the asparagus was wood smoked. It was excellent. The grilled eggplant with tomato sauce: the eggplant was nicely breaded, I was slightly disappointed that the tomato sauce did not have more seasoning to it. Still, it was something Id order again. The bread they serve with herbed oil was excellent. The almond pear torte was good, to very good. But... the Risotto with Scampi was perfection. The service was outstanding (we went at 6:30 on a Tuesday). Every recommendation our server made, including the wine choice was excellent.
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A Private User
Im a repeat customer of this restaurant, and couldnt think any higher of the quality of food and atmosphere, but I just was recently let down by my go-to restaurant. I had made a reservation for my girlfriend and her family for her birthday, but received a call saying that they had to cancel my reservation. Im sorry, but shouldnt you not take the reservation if you cant oblige it? My girlfriend was very upset, and we spent the rest of the night trying to find someplace that suited the situation. Im aware of other restaurants in the Berkeley area, but I was very upset to be let down. I do not appreciate the way that they handled the situation, saying it was "out of their control." Point being, theyre unreliable.
