Enjoyed open, bright busy atmosphere including accordion music. Food was good but would like to see expanded sea food selections on menu. Service was surprisingly god despite signage indicating staff shortages. Will come back for more!
WilliamS
Chicken Picata was bland, they must have left out the lemon. Seven dollars for a small basket of bread is ridiculous. Husband's veal parm was good. They need more help. Long wait for dinner only two tables occupied when we arrived. We were the second table.
ScottK
We remember this place as Vincenzo's. It looks similar, similar menu, but lots has changed. Meals come with nothing. No soup, salad or bread. Bread is extra. Portion size has shrunk as well as sauce for the the dishes. Typically my wife takes home half her meal, but this time nothing to take home. Server was okay, but did not know much about the wine or the beer. Did check on us, but that was about it.
Mike
We went early on a Saturday night with another couple and the place was quiet and we were sat right away. Unfortunately they were short-handed but as there were a few people dining at that time it did not impact our service. The coffee machine and the soda machine were broken but they did send somebody to a local store to get bottles of soda. I had the Penne alla vodka with sausage and it was pretty good. The highlight was the sausage which had great flavor and texture and there was plenty of it in the dish. One of us got the mushroom risotto which was also good. Unfortunately the other two both got the chicken parmesan which was very unremarkable. The chicken was tender but bland and the pasta was very light on sauce. While not a bad experience it was certainly not worth the price.
tastyk
We ordered the table fettuccine and it did not disappoint! It was delicious. I will order it again. Everything we ordered was delicious and the staff was friendly! Great choice for our dinner. Thank you!
mklmg
let's talk food and pricing first. the menu is very limited and we thought the food was mediocre to good at best (the pasta alfredo made at the table was by far the best dish of the night), nothing special at all, and the prices were "OC" - over charge - for the food that we got. everything is ala carte - so for $23 all you get is pasta, nothing else (and the serving was small). bread and salad is an extra charge ($7 each). i ordered the eggplant parmesan (3 small rounds of eggplant) that came with spaghetti. i asked to substitute a side salad for the pasta and was told i would have to pay ($7) for a side salad. so, to have pasta alfredo with bread and a salad will run you $34!! our wait staff was doubling as the bartender (or was it the other way around?), so they got to us when they were not busy at the bar - and the bar was definitely the priority. the evening was disappointing all the way around. we will not be running back to eat here again.
DanW
May have just been an off night and may have been what we ordered, but thought the food was below average for the price. Service was lacking and overall ambience was not what we were hoping for at the price.
Scott
We had a party of 7, so we had several different entrees at the table. You have to order and pay for bread if you want it, so that was $14 or so for two baskets of bread. You get 6 standard fried mozzarella sticks in an order, so $20 for 12 fried mozzarella sticks that you can get for less than half the cost at any chain restaurant. Ouch! That's honestly ridiculous! Entrees do not come with a salad, so none of us ordered salads since we were already spending over $30 per person without salads. The table side Fettuccini Alfredo was $23 plus $6 to add a chicken breast. The price is really high, but worse, the portion was so small it should be on the kids menu- seriously. Regan, the sever, did a good job, and the food was all pretty good. Our family probably won't go there again simply because you can get twice as much food for half as much money at the most popular Italian chain restaurant, and the food is of similar quality at the less-expensive place. If we planned to pay this much for dinner again, we'd go to the nicer family-style Italian restaurant at Kenwood Towne Center. They have a better selection and you won't leave hungry. This was worth trying once. The food was good, but it's simply not a good value relative to other similar options in the area.
JanineB
Very expensive for portion size. They charge for bread $7. Charge is $6 for a cup of extra dressing. Lasagna had little flavor, was burned on the bottom & was mostly noodles. Special entree was tableside alfredo. Cart was left out in the way of general traffic when not in use. Preparer did no wear gloves or clean hands from one serving to the next. Terrible value. Will not go back.
MichelleW
Our food was excellent and the service was great. We enjoyed the drinks and their clever names. The only thing that bothered me was paying $7 for the bread which is normally complimentary at an Italian restaurant. Had they been amazing, I would have been okay with it but the rolls were just okay.
Food was above average. Service was slow. Waiter did his best and was hustling the entire time but he just had too many tables to take care of. They desperately need to hire more staff.
WendyG
I really wanted to love this place. We had a 6pm reservation for 4. Ordered bread and cheesesticks. To say that we were wildly underwhelmed with the cheese sticks is an understatement. They were definitely of the frozen variety.Butter was hard as a rock for bread that was barely warm and had to pay for. Most Italian restaurants have complementary bread. I was expecting something outstanding. Food took an hour after ordering to arrive. For the price, I expected to be blown away, and I definitely was not. Even after all that, we were willing to bet the house on dessert. But that didn't happen because our server never came back to check until everyone was done eating for 15 minutes, and I was over it. I just wanted to pay and leave.
Pete
Entrees were good. Cheese sticks were not. Looked like frozen. Paying $7 for 6 store bought ciabatta rolls not a good value. Every Italian restaurant I've ever been to does not charge for bread. Waitress not very friendly. Decor very outdated & doesn't have the feel of an Italian restaurant. However, all 4 of us really liked our entrees. Very good sauce. Lasagne very good. Might go back but not for the bread or appetizers.
Pete
Perfect in every way !! The Table Side Fettuccine Alfredo made personally by the Chef/Owner is a must have. Spaghetti and Meatballs is a cut above all others that I have ever tried. Porta Nera is what defines an Italian American Restaurant.
JoeL
Strongly recommend this restaurant. If you go. Ask NOT to be seated in Jordan's section. Horrible service!! I am consistently 25%-30% minimum tipper, was so bad I left 0. Watching other sections this was a Jordan issue and not the restaurant, I will go back!
Enjoyed open, bright busy atmosphere including accordion music. Food was good but would like to see expanded sea food selections on menu. Service was surprisingly god despite signage indicating staff shortages. Will come back for more!
Chicken Picata was bland, they must have left out the lemon. Seven dollars for a small basket of bread is ridiculous. Husband's veal parm was good. They need more help. Long wait for dinner only two tables occupied when we arrived. We were the second table.
We remember this place as Vincenzo's. It looks similar, similar menu, but lots has changed. Meals come with nothing. No soup, salad or bread. Bread is extra. Portion size has shrunk as well as sauce for the the dishes. Typically my wife takes home half her meal, but this time nothing to take home. Server was okay, but did not know much about the wine or the beer. Did check on us, but that was about it.
We went early on a Saturday night with another couple and the place was quiet and we were sat right away. Unfortunately they were short-handed but as there were a few people dining at that time it did not impact our service. The coffee machine and the soda machine were broken but they did send somebody to a local store to get bottles of soda. I had the Penne alla vodka with sausage and it was pretty good. The highlight was the sausage which had great flavor and texture and there was plenty of it in the dish. One of us got the mushroom risotto which was also good. Unfortunately the other two both got the chicken parmesan which was very unremarkable. The chicken was tender but bland and the pasta was very light on sauce. While not a bad experience it was certainly not worth the price.
We ordered the table fettuccine and it did not disappoint! It was delicious. I will order it again. Everything we ordered was delicious and the staff was friendly! Great choice for our dinner. Thank you!
let's talk food and pricing first. the menu is very limited and we thought the food was mediocre to good at best (the pasta alfredo made at the table was by far the best dish of the night), nothing special at all, and the prices were "OC" - over charge - for the food that we got. everything is ala carte - so for $23 all you get is pasta, nothing else (and the serving was small). bread and salad is an extra charge ($7 each). i ordered the eggplant parmesan (3 small rounds of eggplant) that came with spaghetti. i asked to substitute a side salad for the pasta and was told i would have to pay ($7) for a side salad. so, to have pasta alfredo with bread and a salad will run you $34!! our wait staff was doubling as the bartender (or was it the other way around?), so they got to us when they were not busy at the bar - and the bar was definitely the priority. the evening was disappointing all the way around. we will not be running back to eat here again.
May have just been an off night and may have been what we ordered, but thought the food was below average for the price. Service was lacking and overall ambience was not what we were hoping for at the price.
We had a party of 7, so we had several different entrees at the table. You have to order and pay for bread if you want it, so that was $14 or so for two baskets of bread. You get 6 standard fried mozzarella sticks in an order, so $20 for 12 fried mozzarella sticks that you can get for less than half the cost at any chain restaurant. Ouch! That's honestly ridiculous! Entrees do not come with a salad, so none of us ordered salads since we were already spending over $30 per person without salads. The table side Fettuccini Alfredo was $23 plus $6 to add a chicken breast. The price is really high, but worse, the portion was so small it should be on the kids menu- seriously. Regan, the sever, did a good job, and the food was all pretty good. Our family probably won't go there again simply because you can get twice as much food for half as much money at the most popular Italian chain restaurant, and the food is of similar quality at the less-expensive place. If we planned to pay this much for dinner again, we'd go to the nicer family-style Italian restaurant at Kenwood Towne Center. They have a better selection and you won't leave hungry. This was worth trying once. The food was good, but it's simply not a good value relative to other similar options in the area.
Very expensive for portion size. They charge for bread $7. Charge is $6 for a cup of extra dressing. Lasagna had little flavor, was burned on the bottom & was mostly noodles. Special entree was tableside alfredo. Cart was left out in the way of general traffic when not in use. Preparer did no wear gloves or clean hands from one serving to the next. Terrible value. Will not go back.
Our food was excellent and the service was great. We enjoyed the drinks and their clever names. The only thing that bothered me was paying $7 for the bread which is normally complimentary at an Italian restaurant. Had they been amazing, I would have been okay with it but the rolls were just okay.
Restaurantji Recommends
Food was above average. Service was slow. Waiter did his best and was hustling the entire time but he just had too many tables to take care of. They desperately need to hire more staff.
I really wanted to love this place. We had a 6pm reservation for 4. Ordered bread and cheesesticks. To say that we were wildly underwhelmed with the cheese sticks is an understatement. They were definitely of the frozen variety.Butter was hard as a rock for bread that was barely warm and had to pay for. Most Italian restaurants have complementary bread. I was expecting something outstanding. Food took an hour after ordering to arrive. For the price, I expected to be blown away, and I definitely was not. Even after all that, we were willing to bet the house on dessert. But that didn't happen because our server never came back to check until everyone was done eating for 15 minutes, and I was over it. I just wanted to pay and leave.
Entrees were good. Cheese sticks were not. Looked like frozen. Paying $7 for 6 store bought ciabatta rolls not a good value. Every Italian restaurant I've ever been to does not charge for bread. Waitress not very friendly. Decor very outdated & doesn't have the feel of an Italian restaurant. However, all 4 of us really liked our entrees. Very good sauce. Lasagne very good. Might go back but not for the bread or appetizers.
Perfect in every way !! The Table Side Fettuccine Alfredo made personally by the Chef/Owner is a must have. Spaghetti and Meatballs is a cut above all others that I have ever tried. Porta Nera is what defines an Italian American Restaurant.
Strongly recommend this restaurant. If you go. Ask NOT to be seated in Jordan's section. Horrible service!! I am consistently 25%-30% minimum tipper, was so bad I left 0. Watching other sections this was a Jordan issue and not the restaurant, I will go back!