Modesto

Reviews 7

PA

paul wilarski

Everything was fine until the entrées were brought out. The lobster had a very strong odor of ammonia. My girlfriend took one bite and could not stomach the taste. I went to try and could not get past the smell...AMMONIA! When lobster smells like this it means its SPOILED!!! If its frozen the smell is hard to detect, but when its cooked the smell really comes out. So how did the Executive Chef not smell this? Suspiciously our waiter Josh stated, "it will be just a while longer for our food because the chef wasnt pleased with the way the lobster was prepared and was making a new one. But not even two minutes later, our food was served. Mmmmm? Did they know something was off with the lobster and hoped we wouldnt notice?Who knows, its very shady though. This place did nothing to make this right except remove the one meal from the order. We asked to speak with the "executive chef" but the waiters kept saying he was too busy! All he had to do was come out and apologize for serving us spoiled lobster! Well Hector Diaz who is this supposedly well know chef/cook cowardly hid in the kitchen and would not come out to discuss this rather serious issue. So here we are waiting and hoping this doesnt become a food poisoning incident. For the amount of money people spend here, you would think the owner/chef -Hector Diaz would have come out and offered his apologies. Nope, the coward stayed in the back with no concern whats so ever! The county HEALTH DEPT will be notified first thing Monday morning to make them aware of this. This place is a joke. Mgmt=spineless bitches You were given a chance to make this right MODESTO and you failed. I get it, mistakes happen in the kitchen. The way you handled (lack of) this SERIOUS issue is what makes this so bad. Im sure Modesto will be hearing from this party very soon, especially if it turns into food poisoning. Btw google "lobster ammonia" and see how common this is. So not sure how this so called executive chef Hector Diaz couldnt detect it? Seriously do not eat here!!! This story will be shared with social media, the local news, the county health dept, and with many well known food bloggers. Bad choices have been made tonight Modesto!

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Ronald Meredith

FANTAATIC! One of the best dining experiences Ive ever had. After just arriving in Asheville NC with my mom and sister we first went to skybar and waited an hour and a half for our drinks. By the time we were finished all the restaurants around Arcade Grove were closing or closed. We were literally walking aimlessly down the street in search of food when we passed a chef in a white chef coat coming out of this restaurant called "Modesto". We asked if they were closed (because we were so famished from our 5 hour drive.). He said they closed 10 mins ago but to come in and he started ushering us into the restaurant despite our protest. Being in the service industry myself for a semi fine dining restaurant in Richmond, VA, I know that being sat for dinner after a kitchen is probably every servers and cooks nightmare after a long Sunday double (probably) shift. We originally protested telling the chef "thank you very much but thats alright, we will find another place if youre closed" and " its really quite alright, we dont want to be a bother" but he was persistent. The chef assertively informed a waiter named Caleb that he would be taking care of us for pizza and salad. Im guessing he was the executive chef or boss or something but he seemed more like an angel to us. Caleb was reassuring as we were still feeling bad for being there so late. His service was excellent and he was so damn positive and friendly. He gave us great recommendations on specialty pizza and wine. We all felt so well taken cared for. It was touching even. We will be back. It will be the first place we go when we go back and we will try to spread the word about what a truly remarkable place this is.

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MI

Michelle Hawkins

I truly hope that everyone reads this review & spreads it like wild fire! Going to make this as short as I can. Hector Diaz, the "executive chef" and supposed "leading corporate citizen" in Asheville, NC....this is for you! One bite of the lobster tail you prepared for me tonight tasted HORRIBLY LIKE AMMONIA!! This means the lobster is spoiled!! You, of all people, should know this!! When your wait staff made you aware of this you didnt even have the respect, for a couple of first time patrons, to come out & at least apologize to us. The excuse to us was "youre too busy preparing other dishes for your other patrons". Wow. The compensation for my meal doesnt mean anything to me. I couldnt care less about the money. The fact that you didnt acknowledge what happened & speak to us personally speaks volumes of the type of person you are. As Im typing this, Im hoping & praying I dont get sick from the one bite of the spoiled, unfit to eat lobster you prepared. I honestly hope you lose any respect you currently maintain in this community & wherever else you so graciously provide your stupidity & extreme lack of knowledge to prepare safe food to be served at any of your restaurants; Salsas, Chorizo and Bomba. P.S. This is going up on every social media platform Im associated with. Good luck.

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Matt Doukas

First impressions mean a lot, especially with restaurants. The first impression I received was of snark and arrogance when sat down. Others came in after us and were attended to right away as we continued to wait another 15 minutes with no one else coming into the restaurant. As we mentioned out displeasure of the wait, we were also told a gratuity of 20% was mandatory of a group of 6 and more. Considering the first impression received, I dont feel the gratuity was automatically warranted. The establishment didnt bother to offer any apology for the unwarranted wait and instead offered the option of taking our business elsewhere...so we left. Too bad this happened as Im not from the area, but now will take back an odd and unpleasant experience.

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Sherry Andrew

Start to finish, our meal was superb. We relied heavily on our waitress recommendations and we are glad we did. I had a fantastic Barbera and my husbands Old fashioned was great too. The grilled artichokes with orange and palmegranate, mushroom pasta (with Morels!) and tiramisu were all delicious and presented nicely. The restaurant has a very intimate feel, just like those in Italy. There were a couple of very rude patrons there, and they handled them well. Some people are just grumpy and cant be pleased. If you are looking for good food, good wine, and a wide variety on the menu, this place is definitely worth a visit

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Alberto Scotti

This is one of the worst "italian" restaurant I have been to in a while. To begin with, the dishes are not authentic: lobster in risotto alla Milanese? Halibut in an allegedly Tuscan dish? Having said that, I do not mind fusion cuisine, if the results are good. I tried the chicken carbonara pasta. The sauce was so salty, I could not finish the dish. To top it all, the waiter was very smug. All the guys in our party hated him

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Olivia Cascio

The service was very good, the food was way over priced for the small portions we received. The rib eye steak was mostly fat and the seafood vermicelli had no trace of lobster that was promised. The pasta was piled up on lobster shells to make it appear like a mound of food. We would never go back or recommend this restaurant to anyone. Five years ago Modestos was an excellent choice; what happened?!!

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