Il Tesoro Bistro

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

This is a review from Sunday, September 6th. Where do I start.....this was a meal where you just want to slap yourself to ensure you it is not a nightmare. However, in reading some of the other reviews on here, it appears there is a consistent pattern of horrible service and management. Six of us were seated at a table that allowed a maximum of four people comfortably, even though we made a reservation well in advance. When we brought this up to the waitress, she said that was their "six-top table". Meanwhile, the same table was used for 2 and 4 people in the restaurant. We asked for a manager, and she offered us little consolation other than an apology and that she couldn’t do anything for us. That table was their “six-top”. I assume that’s because it was angled in the corner, because it was the same table as all the other four-tops in the restaurant. They claimed that we could only have two tables if we had 7 or more people in our party. So, two people can sit at a four-top, but apparently six people can’t sit at two tables (four-top and a two-top). Meanwhile, the restaurant at this point (6pm) was 75% empty. We thought about leaving at this point, but unfortunately we had already had a bottle of wine opened at the table. When we ordered, we were asked if we could order a few things without some of the non-key menu ingredients. We were told the chef does not like to change the menu. So as long as you like exactly how things are prepared and have no dietary restrictions, then you are fine. Otherwise, too bad. When the food came out, my steak was overdone (gray in the middle – not pink as my order of medium would mean). So I requested it be sent back. The manager comes over and asks me what the problem was with her hands behind her back. After I told her my steak was overdone, she pulls out a steak in a bowl cut in the center and shows it to me, asking me if that would be more to my liking, to which I replied yes (as that steak was medium/ pink). She then proceeds to snap at me that it’s the same steak that I told her was overdone, as she storms away. If I liked that steak, wouldn’t someone just leave it for the customer to eat? All of us at the table saw the first steak brought out, and this was not it. My sister, who is handicapped, complained about her Pollo milanese being tough and too hard to cut. When the manager came back over and we told her about this, she said "show me". So my Mom had to try to cut into the chicken to prove to her that it was tough and almost uneatable. So I raised my voice to the manager and a waiter comes over and yells at me for raising my voice to the manager, stating that "she is a lady!". Seriously!?!? I would have said the same thing to a male manager or a female manager. The steak they eventually brought over (after 25 minutes) to replace my steak was smaller, thinner, and even more well done than the first steak I received. At this point, I was ready to leave and had little appetite. Shortly after all of the food was redelivered, the waitress gives us the check, and says shell take that whenever we are ready. Meanwhile, we still have most of our wine left and one of us was still eating! We were not offered dessert or coffee (not that we wanted any). At this point of course, the restaurant had filled up due to being a Sunday on a three-day weekend. As we walked out, a customer who was waiting for our table asked the manager, "is that the table"? So the manager had obviously been complaining about us taking too long to finish our meal and wine. This manager was seriously just plain awful - no customer service skills whatsoever. She doubles as the hostess, and quite honestly I am not sure she is fit for any job related to customer service. There are so many better restaurants in Sanibel. Do yourself a favor and don’t subject yourself to the possibility of having an experience like this and having to deal with this manager.

AS

Ashley Fenske

We were very excited to try this restaurant because of the great reviews and the beautiful location (on Sanibel). We received a groupon as a gift and couldnt wait to try the food. However, disappointed is an understatement of how we felt after our dining. We were told that the dress code was dressy- dining room casual. When we got there, people were dressed in t-shirts and flip flops. The waiter did not seem enthusiastic to be working at a "fine restaurant" and it showed with his promptness to our table. He wouldnt let us order an appetizer unless we ordered all of our food at once. The restaurant had a total of 3 tables filled which did not make sense for us to order our food all at one time. We wanted to relax and enjoy our appetizer. It felt like they just wanted us to order the food and get out, not enjoy the dining experience. Our waiter did not check on us during our appetizer and forgot to bring out our main dishes. We ordered the Pork Chop Marsala and the Zuppe de Pesca. Both dishes were average on taste. I have had better tasting dishes that were half the price elsewhere. We didnt even use all of our gift certificate and we did not even bother with dessert because we were nearly there for 2 hours.. with only a few tables being occupied in the restaurant! We will not be back because even though the food was average, the service was terrible and does not match up to other delicious restaurants on Sanibel. To make matters worse, they purposely took out the tip ahead of time which explains why the waiter gave us such terrible service.

HO

hope rachelle

Bad experience... False advertising... Bought a Groupon to use here while on vacation. I checked the menu linked to the Groupon BEFORE purchasing, the entrees were priced around $18-$40. However, the actual menu prices were much higher and the menu is completely different. They didnt have either entree my husband and I wanted to order, the entrees we choose were both $6 higher at the restaurant than online. They wouldnt let us sub the sides on our entrees, they came with mashed potatoes, we just wanted spinach or broccoli or something green because neither of us eat potatoes. We were told the entrees only come that way. We ordered the entrees without potatoes and had to pay $10!!! for a SMALL side of steamed spinach!!! that was only for one person not even enough to share. I bought a $50 Groupon that was suppose to mostly cover our meal based off their online menu. Our total was $74, which they then added a 18% gratuity charge to even though their menu said it was only added to parties of 6 our more.

PH

Philip Eyrich

Overpriced and extremely unprofessional. We had an 8:00 PM reservation and stayed to enjoy the wine and ambience. Google hours stated that the restaurant was open until 10:00 PM, but the music cut off at 9:30, and we felt rushed to leave, even to the point where the manager felt compelled to come to our table and tell us that the time had been changed from 10 to 9:30 (summer hours). You just don’t do that in the restaurant industry. Wine is highly overpriced ($15 bottle is being sold for $55 here). Food was good, but service ruined the experience. Maybe it was because we used a Groupon?