Address: | 4100 Main at North Hills St #114, Raleigh, NC 27609, USA |
Phone: | +1 919-278-1525 |
Site: | miafrancescaraleigh.com |
Rating: | 4 |
Working: | 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–10PM 11:30AM–10PM 10:30AM–9PM |
RA
Rachel Cronmiller
We used Mia Francesca for our wedding reception. It was a small (35 guests) and fairly casual affair, so we didnt need a real reception hall, and we knew we could save some money and hassle by having the reception at a restaurant where we wouldnt need a caterer, bartenders, table/chair/linen rentals, no need to bring in tableware, etc. Our officiant recommended Mia Francesca, so we checked them out. We liked the mezzanine as a private space. It wasnt overly gorgeous or anything like that, but we like the brick and wood and the size. We also liked that theres no fee to use the room--just what you pay for food, beverage, and tip. We decided to have dinner there one night just to be sure we also liked the food, since clearly thats important--and it was all super delicious. We reached out to Kayla, their event planning person, and she met with us to discuss how we could do the layout. She also offered us a free tasting, which was awesome, as we went in with particular ideas about our menu selections and left with other (better!) ideas. We went with their most expensive dinner package because we wanted our guests to have plenty of options, and it was still a reasonable cost (our whole wedding cost about $6K, and our restaurant bill, with tip, was $1800 for 37 people). Kayla was very helpful throughout the process, including responding to my many emails and taking our table decorations a few days early and having her staff set them up. The servers were great, and when we ran over our time by about 20 minutes, they told us not to sweat it. (Just before we were to cut the cake, people decided it was a good time for a bathroom break, so we nervously waited for everyone to get back in.) Anywho, overall, they took care of us very well that day and held onto our supplies for us to pick up at a later date so we could just go home and enjoy time with family and friends. So, why 4 stars instead of 5? Just a few things: 1. We ordered a particular color of napkins for the tables and designed the rest of our table decor with that color in mind. Im not sure if they didnt get the napkins in or just forgot to put them out, but they werent on the tables, we just had white ones instead. We didnt pay extra for the napkins, so theres no real room to complain (especially over something "small"), but for other people, that kind of thing will matter. 2. We picked this restaurant in part because we had guests with dietary restrictions. We thought theyd be better taken care of than they actually were, though. We thought, if we offered our guests 7 options throughout the course, that our restricted guests would also get 7 options (with modifications and substitutions), but they really just got a few. Again, I hate to complain, because if we had picked another restaurant, those guests might have just had to go hungry, but I feel like there was a miscommunication about what Mia Francesca could actually do to accommodate those guests. 3. When we picked up our decor items a few days later, a few of the glass vases we used had been shattered by the staff. Thankfully they werent very meaningful or expensive (the cake stand we cared much more about wasnt harmed), but it was pretty clear that after our event, the staff just rushed everything away without much concern for how they were packaging things. Only wish I had known when unpacking to be careful of broken glass, as I wasnt really prepared for that and it was kind of a safety hazard.
JO
Jody Mickey
My wife and I chose this spot for our anniversary dinner. We made a reservation and were seated promptly, but at a tiny table against a wall/divider (my shoulder was pretty much right up against the wall) and the table next to us was very close. It was impossible to have a private conversation, and as we left I noticed the entire restaurant was too packed with tables for comfort. The lighting was very low, I suppose to create that romantic ambiance that is usually a good thing, but it was a bit too low for my liking. The tiny candle on the table (there wasnt really room on the table for a candle) helped. The service was average - not bad or good. After the runner brought out the food the waiter came to ask how everything was before I had a chance to take the first bite. He did at least come back shortly to check again. As far as food goes, the appetizer was great. The main course was the biggest disappointment. My wife ordered a seafood pasta dish that was good, but many of the clam shells were empty and there were no extra clams in the dish, so we were both wondering where they crawled off to. I ordered the roast duck risotto, which sounded delicious but was unfortunately very bland. I ate half of it and could not take it anymore, so I sprinkled on some salt. This is where the lack of lighting really was a problem, because it was impossible to see how much or how fast the salt comes out. Result: too much salt. I have had worse dinner experiences, but not when they cost $100 (appetizer, two drinks, two main courses, tip). We wont go back.
BR
Brandi G
When we were first seated, the waitress Hannah gave us the valentines couple menu, we ask her for a regular menu and she stated that they only were serving the valentines couple menu and that it was a set menu for the day; so after she stated that she said "would we like to stay?" (as if we couldnt afford the price $75.00 per couple) so we told her no were staying. We received a 3 course meal and the only thing and I MEAN THE ONLY THING that was "good" was the desert, the first course was lukewarm not a good size appetizer even a 3 year old wouldnt be satisfied, the second course was the worse "it was supposedly fresh"; all in all the FOOD HAD NO FLAVOR AT ALL, I would recommend not to go here, and I would recommend to go to Firebirds, P.F Changs, Bonefish Grill, heck even Chilis and Applebees 2 for $20, heck even McDonalds and I dont even like McDonalds but it has more flavor and that should tell you something right there. All in all I would never recommend this place to anyone and to save your money.
EL
Elliot Cramer
Today was lasagna day. We arrived at 1pm. There were people at about six tables who had all been served. After 10 minutes I asked the host if someone was going to take our order. He got a waiter who took our order and said he would bring us bread but never did. He came back and said they were out of the lasagna all bolognese even though they had been open for only 90 minutes. It was supposed to be available for both lunch and dinner. The host said they thought they had made enough but they had many orders for it. Given the number of people there, it was hard to believe. After 30 minute I asked the host about our order,; saying that it was already prepared. he said that the orders were done in turn. There was no one ahead of us. In another 10 minutes, we were finally served. I dont know where the waiter was spending his time but we didnt see him again until be got the bill.