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| - Had dinner at Lidia's last Thursday night, and my wife and I are still shaking our heads about possibly the worst fine dining experience we've had. Over the years, we've never had issues with Lidia's and have always thought it to be a good and classy restaurant - not any more. We were they for about 100 minutes, and I think we were waiting for something for at least an hour. It also appeared that the "A team" of employees were at the Steeler's game, as the staff was nowhere near the classy and competent crew that we would expect at a restaurant of this caliber.
The experience started out when my wife ordered a Sparkling Rose' whilst waiting for me. The first glass was flat, and there was not another chilled bottle in the cooler, really? He tried to chill the glass but the result was not good. So, we were seated in the dining room at a table that was so wobbly we were afraid to move - nobody noticed this while bussing earlier. Fortunately, the one shining star of the staff that night fixed it in a jiffy. With our table secured, I noticed that my water glass had a speck of food on it, but I was able to swap it with another one on the table - no big deal or so I thought.
We ordered a bottle of wine and a happy hour appetizer. It was not on the dinner menu and our waitress did find a way to get it for us, although it took several trips. Next, the bread basket and dips were literally dropped on our table with zero explanation of what was in the basket or dips. Wine glasses were delivered, and mine was dirty, again. It was replaced and our appetizer arrived, but no wine. We are now going on about 20 minutes with no wine or waitress. I finally corralled her and inquired about our wine. She had to go check and came back with the old "we are out of that one", and said that the manager/sommelier would come out to help us select a replacement. More time, no wine. She came with a bottle about half the price of the one we ordered and asked if it would be acceptable. It was good but not the quality that we were seeking. Finally, the "sommelier" arrived with 2 options. I did mention that we were a bit frustrated after sitting at our table for over 30 minutes with not wine. He did choose a suitable replacement. We saw him one more time to refill my glass, not my wife's, and that was it!
Fortunately, the food did not arrive until after we got our wine and finished our app which was quite tasty. Dinner, not so much. I had the baked ziti and meatballs, and it was terribly underwhelming. The pasta was over cooked, the sauce was way too plentiful, extremely salty, and a bit burnt, about the quality I'd expect from the local family Italian restaurant. Then, there were the meatballs. I thought they tasted ok until I had huge, tooth-sized, pieces of gristle in 2 of the 3 meatballs I ate, and that was the last meatball for me. My wife had the lasagna with Bolognese, and it was by far the better dish although the sauce was bland and a bit too creamy.
The waitress was very apologetic and offered a free dessert for our troubles. We accepted and took it to go, and it was not great either. Needless to say, this experience did not sit well, and we will not be returning. This may have been an isolated incident, but it doesn't matter in today's Pittsburgh dinner scene as there are so many other, and apparently better options for my $125!
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