This could have been a bad review, but the food and the charm of the owner really turned this experience around.
Last night my wife and I had tickets to see Dwight Yoakam at the Virginia Theater. We wanted to have a nice dinner before hand and set reservations at Nando Milano for 6pm. With the concert starting at 7:45pm we assumed we had plenty of time. We were seated, ordered drinks, an appetizer, salads and an entree. By 7pm we had our drinks and appetizer, the salads and entree had yet to arrive. We told our waiter that we didn't think we'd have time to eat our entree at the restaurant and would need it to go, if we could have our salads. The owner came to our table, he was such a gentleman. Very gracious and charming. He quickly turned a potential negative to a pleasurable experience. We got our entrees and our salads and were able to eat at the restaurant. And good conversation with the owner.
What went wrong from a customers perspective. I had forgotten the Italian tradition when dining. It is as much about the experience as the food. Dining isn't to be rushed. Had I let the waiter know and made note on the reservation that we did have a deadline to meet to get to our show. The staff would have went out of their way to see that we received our food in time to enjoy the food and make our show.
Advice for the restaurant, watch the Virginia Theater Marque. If their is an artist scheduled to perform that has an appeal to a middle aged audience. They are more than likely enjoying an evening out away from the kids and will be including a nice dinner before hand. Be prepared for customers with deadlines.
In the end, the food was fabulous and the service was excellent. The graciousness of the owner and his supporting staff took what could have been a bad experience and turned it around. Instead of leaving the restaurant swearing never to return. My wife and I now plan on coming back.
And we made our show on time. And even had time to buy a tee shirt.