We live downtown Madison and have eaten at nearly every restaurant. We get asked a lot for restaurant recommendations. I'd say we are fairly discriminating and know the restaurant scene in Madison. Our recent experience at Cento was way below average for a Food Fight operation. We sat at the bar, adequately staffed with 4 bartenders, on a Friday evening. The poor service we received was unacceptable. Where do I start...
No silver ware- had to ask
No napkins- had to ask
Water glasses empty- had to ask
Drinks empty - had to ask
Overall unattentive service that only responded when I ran someone down.
Food was good. Not great. Bartenders were nice but clueless and had no concept of teamwork and customer service. It impacted our experience and was noticed by a couple next to us from Chicago, who were upset with their service as well.
I spoke kindly to the manager at the end of the night to share my experience. He was receptive and thanked me. Even asking for my name and number so he could invite us back to give cento another chance. To make matters worse...he never called me back.
Baffling! I won't forget this. Not sure I want to go back. I've since shared my experience with others. Remarkably another set of friends had a similar experience the next night at their large table foodies.
Bottom line- I had much better service at the Echo Tap and the Big Ten Pub. Cento should visit and learn a thing or five.