Taste of Italy Bar & Grill

Reviews 3

DI

Dion Myers

Extremely disappointing for the most part. Ordered a glass of white wine which was delivered to the table warm. Mentioned it to the server who brought it behind the bar. The bartender chilled a glass and poured the wine from the old glass into the chilled glass. Not surprising, this didnt make a difference. The server then came back with cooler wine, but it was served out of a tap (we later learned from the manager that this wine was sub-par and meant for the kitchen for cooking). The manager finally did come over to make the wine situation right after another table complained about the same issues. The wine was "upgraded" from the original brand ordered and was a bit better temperature wise, but, later on we found we had been BILLED for the upgrade. All the while, the bartender stood behind the bar texting on her cell phone. She was also overheard telling manager that she didnt want to and didnt have time to attend a team huddle the manager was planning that night. Perhaps she needed to. Calamari was really good. I do have to say that. It was FANTASTIC. Our food arrived and was incredibly sub-par. We ordered a seafood pasta with creamy wine sauce that was void of all flavor completely despite what seemed to be 18 pounds of garlic shavings throughout and thrown on top of the dish. The scallops were under cooked and boiled, not seared at all. Nothing was seasoned. The mini crab cake which topped the dish was burned to a crisp and completely hard on the underside. Clearly the kitchen knew, as this part was placed face down on the dish as if to try to hide it. But, they sent it out anyway. We also ordered Chicken Parm which was "blah" at best. The chicken was dried out, the cheese on top was crusted and burned and the pasta was lukewarm and also very dry. Again, the dish was not seasoned and was void of all flavor. As for the service, it was as disappointing as the food. We had to ask for the manager to come over so we could voice our concerns about our meals, as our server didnt come back to check on us in any reasonable amount of time after a runner delivered our food. After speaking with the manager and each not taking more than one bite of our main courses, the bill was dropped to the table charging us fully for both meals, despite how horrible they tasted and despite the fact that we didnt eat them at all. When we brought this to the managers attention, he noted that we had only been charged since we asked for to-go boxes. The only reason we even asked for said boxes was because we felt bad wasting food and knew at the very least our kids would eat some of it since their palates arent refined at all. When we communicated this to the manager and said we were happy to leave the to-go containers there for them to discard (which we did), he returned with a new check but CHARGED US for the side salad and bowl of soup that came with our meals. I found this to be incredibly unprofessional and petty, first and foremost. To be fair, I did eat the entire side salad. It was fresh and delicious. However, the soup was not eaten as it was also lukewarm and ONCE AGAIN void of any flavor. Two bites were taken at most. Nevertheless, we paid for those items along with our drinks and Calamari. We eat out often and are AVID fans of both small / family owned restaurants and of Italian food in general. We were hoping to have finally found a decent Italian place in the area, though I have to say weve actually had much, much, much better food at Olive Garden. Taste of Italy had an opportunity to make regular customers of us and instead we will NEVER go back. Worst dining experience weve had in a long time.

SP

Spencer Rogers

Our family decided to stop for dinner after a movie at Carmike Theaters in Allentown. The food was excellent, however the service was terrible. Our waitress seemed to be pre-occupied with another table of guests, who looked to be her family. They serve excellent bread and an oil/herb plate. I asked for balsamic vinegar as well, which only came after I had to ask another employee. Two of us got salads with our dinner and one had soup. The salads were delivered, but not the soup. I figured she could just not carry all three items. We never saw our waitress because she was sitting with her family and just socializing. We were never offered any drink refills until our dinner came, and we had to ask. When I asked if a soup was still coming, she simply said "yes". No apologies or acknowledgement of the fact that it was missing. My soup finally arrived AFTER my meal was served. When it came time to pay the bill, I was shocked that the waitress argued with me about the fact that a kids meal came with a drink, yet she charged me $2.50 for the drink. This is the biggest parent scam by many restaurants. If your menu says that kids drinks are included, then DONT CHARGE FOR THEM!. She said it was because my daughter got a full size glass. I asked her if the kids iced tea was also refillable, and she said yes...so I asked what was the difference. She said that the kids iced tea comes in a smaller glass. The part that really angered me was that she then said, "Your daughter is too old to order from the kids menu....yet I let her do it anyway". I asked what the kids menu age was, she said 12 and under. My daughter is 11...and the waitress NEVER asked my daughters age, she just assumed that we were trying to order the cheap meal. It is a shame. Their food was very good, but service was terrible. When a family of four has to pay over $60 for a dinner, I am not willing to sacrifice service for good food. I can find good food in many other places. It will be a long time before we go back here again.

DE

Debi Barrett

Stopped in for an early dinner with my son. I dont know if it was because my son is mentally handicapped and they wanted us out of there ASAP, but I felt as if we were rushed out. The server took our drink order which was just a soft drink and water. hen she came back she took our order and then brought our salads out. There were no onions on a totally bland iceberg salad with a couple slices of cucumber and tomato. Before we were even half way done with our salads, she arrived with our food. My eggplant parm was cool in the middle.. (not enough heat up time in the microwave) well thats my opinion anyway. She then brought our bill before we were through eating without even asking if we wanted coffee or dessert, which we usually get. Have to admit that the service was fast but it wasnt personable. In and out in a half hour. We got the one paper napkin treatment because we got there before 4 and when I went to use my Entertainment coupon she said the manager said they dont take them on Saturdays, when on the coupon it clearly says before 5pm and after 9pm. At this point I was not going to argue over 5 bucks since we didnt get a chance to spend any on dessert or coffee. Went out later for dessert. Will I go back....doubt it!