Over the years, I'd come to refer to Chianti's as the fast food of Italian dining. It was never stellar, but it was reliable and the staff were good.
After the fiasco tonight I'd be very surprised if they were in business at the end of 2013. My first clue that things had declined should have been the fact it was nearly empty. At 7 pm on a Friday.
Our waiter was apparently unaware of the custom of waiting for diners to put their menu down, and came by 3 times in 5 minutes to get our order. When we did put our menus down it took far too long for him to actually notice.
The meal... was honestly terrible. We would have had a better dining experience at Wendy's or McDonald's. My cannelloni bordered on tasteless. There was virtually no cheese in it, and seemed to consist entirely of overly finely ground beef and oregano. That it was overcooked was the final insult to what is a simple Italian dish.
My girlfriends gnocchi was terrible. Poorly made, and under-cooked. You could actually taste flour in it. I have no idea what they used for a sauce, but it was bordering on burnt.
The final nails in the coffin for me was at the end of the meal however. I was in the midst of dipping a piece of bread into the oil and vinegar when the waiter cleared my plate. The one with the bread on it. That I was eating. I have never in my life had a waiter take away food I was in the midst of eating.
There is absolutely no question we won't be back, and if you have any hope of either a decent meal or service, I'd steer well clear of this 'restaurant'.