This was the place I brought friends visiting from out of town when I wanted to show them the classy Italian spots in Pittsburgh. After my visit last night, I have no desire to ever go again.
I don't know the owner, Joe, personally but he has stopped by our table a few times and said "dish looks beautiful." He was always confident in his food which I guess is a good thing if the good is delicious, which it usually is
The table next to ours had a two women, a mother and daughter. The mother asked the server for a new steak as hers was a bit salty (I've never had the steak as I'm vegetarian but my guests have mentioned the abundance of salt). The server apologizes and returns to the kitchen. The owner comes out and fakes an apology claiming his steaks are perfect. At this point the whole restaurant is listening it's that crazy. The best part? He comes out again and says "I really enjoyed the steak you sent back." He was eating the steak and had some in his mouth! I can't make stuff like this up!
At this point the whole place feels bad for the mother and daughter. Clearly an awkward situation. The owner got so nasty the daughter tried to reason with him and he said "it's not my job to make people happy" that's strange considering he wants our business.
So the mother tries to pay the bill with a $100 and leave but he said they can't make change. Eventually another customer helps make change and they leave.
I couldn't finish my dinner I was so mad. Maybe Joe was having a bad day but there is no excuse for how he treated those customers. Sorry, we will never step foot in here again.