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| - A nice location and pleasant atmosphere. Service started very well, but went downhill fast.
We started both appetizer specials of the day.
The first - deep fried meatballs - was okay; nothing to write home about. We later added them to our entrees, and they felt like they belonged better there.
The second - a selection of 2 each of their popular appetizers -was a mixed bag. Fried mozarella sticks and fried ravioli were both tasty. Calamari was soggy and limp. The real problem was the shared dipping sauce which was just plain bland and boring. Adding crushed chili peppers gave it a bit of a bite, but it was still a losing cause. Squirting fresh lemon on the calamari did nothing to help the taste and just made them soggier. .
The main course was spaghetti bolognese (we asked, and they substituted fettuccine) and this dish was just adequate. It felt like they had added too much cream to the red sauce, and it was smooth and orange, instead of lumpy and bright red. I hate to say this, but the bolognese sauce at even the Olive Garden is much better. After we'd started eating, the waitress came over and apologized that she had forgotten to bring us our salad. She offered to pack it to go, but we declined.
After we'd finished, we just waited and waited and waited. We piled our dirty dishes in an effort to neaten our table, but no one approached us to clear the dishes, offer us dessert or coffee. The restaurant was not particularly busy and we could see the two waitresses standing in the kitchen watching the cooks at work. About 20 mins after we had finished, we were finally able to catch the attention of the maitre d' who finally summoned one of the waitresses for us.
Terrible service notwithstanding, the food itself was simply too bland and boring to consider giving this place another chance. A pizza being carried to another table looked tempting, but not enough to warrant another roll of the dice.
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