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| - I wavered between 3 and 4 stars on this one. If I go back and it's good under different circumstances, I'll probably upgrade to 4 stars.
We went on Christmas Eve with a party of five, including me, my wife, my daughter, and my in-laws. We were seated pretty much immediately, as the restaurant was only inhabited by a handful of regulars and a couple of other parties. We actually had the whole upstairs area to ourselves, which is good, because sometimes the kiddo gets cranky, and while you don't want to never eat in a restaurant, you also don't want to disturb people. Anyway.
To start: the food was very good. I'll speak to the quality of the bread, which was really good. The pasta itself was well-cooked, and didn't fall into the floppy and limp trap. If I could find something to pick nits about, the sauce was a bit watery.
Two main complaints prevent this from being a higher rating for me:
1. This place is small and kind of irregularly shaped, and I don't think it would be nearly as fun if it were crowded. I think tables are a little on top of each other, and it would get tight and probably hot. I don't want to have to avoid a place for this reason, but I'm afraid it would be a complication later on.
2. Dealing with our server was really frustrating. She didn't know the answers to any of the reasonable questions we had about the dishes and specials, and she couldn't explain the wine taster special that was going on for the night. The service was on the whole unremarkable.
I can deal with other difficulties if there's exceptional food, or sacrifice amazing food for outstanding service and a great experience. Tutto Pasta is a good place, but it doesn't get to a really level in either of those areas.
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