Pazzaluna Urban Italian Restaurant

Reviews 3

TI

Tim Kudela

Atmosphere: Very open and spacious. Brightly lit which is pretty opposite for an Italian restaurant. The openness made for a very loud evening and made it difficult to speak to anyone at the table. It wasnt extremely busy with a couple open tables constantly. Walk-in Experience: Called ahead to ensure a reservation was not necessary, which it wasnt. Got there and had an almost detective look made at the party I was with when I said we had no reservation (only 3 people including myself). We were at least seated very quickly. Food: Okay the important stuff. The menu was refined and simple which made discovering what meals would be appealing easy. However, the prices were pretty extraordinary for what you would receive. We had the following: ***Salads ($7) - This was probably one of the most annoying, agravating, and insulting measures taken by the restaurant. While ordering our entrees, the waiter asked, "What would you like for your salad, mixed greens or Caesar?" We each responded for a Caesar salad and when we received the bill we saw we were each charged for a salad. Were happy paying for food, but dont ask us what salad wed like as if it were included. A) Crab Cakes appetizer ($14) - Two small crab cakes that were about 2 inches across each. They were crab filled but were over-fried. B) Spicy Penne ($16, got it with Shrimp so $22) - The red sauce was thin and almost watery. It was bland with a kick to meet the "spicy" criteria. The penne was well cooked. C) Shaghetti Bolognese ($16) - Plenty of spaghetti and was cooked perfectly. Unfortunately there was almost an equal amount of bolognese which made it difficult to enjoy. There was no "sauce" to go with the meat unfortunately. D) Gnocchi with Bolognese ($22) - The gnocchi was large which was okay but the size of them meant they were extremely under-cooked and still potato-y. The bolognese was much better than the Spaghettis selection with an even amount meat to sauce. E) Tiramasu ($7) - Decent portion. However they used extra lady fingers to remove some of the cream (which was bland and unflavorful) and the coffee that was used for the bottom layer of lady fingers tasted like it was from a powder and not real coffee. F) Chocalte Versato ($7) - A chocolate cake with a side of vanilla gelato. First the size - it was as small as the crab cakes which left much to be desired for the price. The gelato was approximately the same size, about a large dollop. The taste was below average - the cake actually tasted a lot like a Dominoes chocolate cake. The Drinks: Decent drinks and considering the restaurant, same pricing structure ($12/cocktail) The wait staff: The waiter assigned to our table literally forgot what we ordered for drinks mere seconds after we gave him the drinks. He had asked us the second time like we hadnt ordered them yet, it was very strange. Then throughout the night it was a struggle to ever see him. He never asked what we thought of our meal. And when we were ready to pay, it took 10 minutes for him to bring back our change which was aggravating when during that time he served two tables and got two limes for a third table!

MA

Marcus Voran

Went with a group of 3, and got to sit at the bar. If the place is full, and cant get a table, I highly recommend it. No bartender, but a great view of all the chefs at work. Going with a group of 3, we all got to try a lot of options, and heres my reviews for each item. Appetizer: * Mussels - these were fantastic! The sauce it came in was much thicker than most sauces that come with mussels, but it was addicting. * Calamari - pretty good, but compared to the mussels, after all the mussels were gone, everyone else was focused on the remaining sauce, then whatever calamari was left * Starting Bread - never been to a place, that offered this, but the bread comes customary with this crushed olive type spread. Ive never been a big fan of olives, but thought this was pretty cool, and it tasted excellent (even if you dont like olives, give it a try) Pre-Meal: * Caesar Salad (with anchovies) - solid salad. Nothing mind blowing, but definitely good * Pumpkin Bisque - Never seen this offered before, but tasted pretty much exactly as youd hope it does. Think of a creamy pumpkin pie, thats not too sweet, but comes with actual pumpkin seeds in it. I believe it was the soup of the day, but if its offered and you like that type of flavor (and you have the room, go for it) Entree: * Lamb T-Bone - Incredible! Wrapped in guanciale (never knew what that was), and cooked to perfection. This is not a monster size dish (nothing like a porterhouse or T-Bone steak), but wow, every bite was worth it. Also, on top of the lamb being incredible, the sweet corn with herb and aged balsamic may have been one of the best sides Ive ever had. Highly highly highly recommended * Sauteed Red Snapper - This was the fish of the day, and it was fantastic. I was fortunate enough to go with someone very willing to share food, and I was more than willing to accept. Never had Red Snapper, so I cant compare it, but definitely worth a try if youre looking for seafood. * Ribeye - The ribeye was really good, but Id rank it as 3rd of the bunch. Tasted great, and cooked exactly as requested at medium rare. The only problem was the Brandy Peppercorn Cream sauces that came on it. It had a great taste, but was pretty rich, and it looked like it made it a bit hard to finish the whole entree. Not sure if it would affect the dish, but if you want to try this, Id recommend asking for the sauce on the side (so you can get some bites just of the steak, while some mixed with the sauce). * Veal Medallions - I did not try this........ but wanted to add it since the receptionist at the hotel mentioned this was her favorite, and the waitress said this was her second favorite (behind the lamb). Dessert: * Creme Brulee - Always a treat, but nothing out of the ordinary. If you like this dish (as I do), get it, but its not going to be anything different than youve already had before. * Frangelico Pecan Pie - Delicious. Definitely recommend this.

JE

Jenna Paulsen

I am only giving this place 3 stars because the food was good. My husband and I went here last night to celebrate my birthday. I love Italian food and because this restaurant was rated so highly, we thought wed come here to eat. We had a reservation for 7:30. We arrived about 10 minutes early and checked in the front with two ladies working. After being seated, a bus boy filled our waters. We had a waitress, Robyn Y. who was friendly and greeted us. She asked what kind of drinks we wanted. I told her I was not ready and she said she would come back with bread. Thats when the pleasantry ended. She had other tables, which was fine, but she completely ignored us after that. She made eye contact with me several times, but did not come back to take our drink order. Finally, after waiting for about 10 minutes,a well-dressed man came and greeted us and took our drink order. He did not introduce himself so I do not know if he was the manager. He did not apologize for the server being busy or ignoring us or anything. We waited about another ten minutes and the well-dressed guy came back and brought us our drinks. He was going to walk away but I asked him if he would take our order for an appetizer. He said sure, and after we ordered, he left. After waiting literally for another ten minutes, the server, Robyn comes back and asks me if we were ready to order. YEAH, OBVIOUSLY AFTER WAITING ABOUT 25 MINUTES. She still never apologized and one taking our orders, she said "Greg" would bring it to us. I then knew the nice dressed man was the "Greg" she referred to. Once we got our appetizer, we ate it pretty fast. After another 10 minutes of waiting, Robyn Y. brings our bread. Isnt that something we shouldve gotten in the beginning. After we got our food, Greg came back and asked if we ever got our appetizer, we said yeah and then he smiled and said "good" then left. After letting our plates sit on the end of the table to hint that we were done, a bus boy offered to box up our food. He brought it back and we waited another 5 minutes and Robyn asks if we want dessert, if she would have taken the time in the beginning to ask why we were out and if we were celebrating anything, she would have known it was my birthday. She brought my dessert in a decent time and tried to be nice then and wish me a happy birthday. The only thing she was quick about was bringing the check. We never got an apology for how slow and awful the service was; not from Robyn or "Greg" The only person I wanted to tip was the bus boy. I did not feel like a guest, I felt like I was an annoyance. I loved the food but with the amount of money we spent, we did not get the good service to ever make us want to come back. Next time we may have to check out a different Italian restaurant in St. Paul. :-(