First off, there isn't a restaurant in the world that is trying harder! From the hostess that bumped somebody over so we could sit at the bar, to the manager who came over and introduced himself, to the bartender Chris who wickedly and seamlessly substituted the vodka redbull that I originally ordered for the vodka concoction he prepared in its place, to the expediter that explained the salt and chili accompaniment to the bread, service and attention to detail off the charts.
Now the food. We only sampled giadas favorite platter, a $50.00 sampling of sweet peppers, stuffed dates, and the antipasto assortment of calamari, ahi crostini, etc., and while nothing was bad, nothing really crushed it for us either. The bread presentation is a lot of sizzle and less steak, even with the fresh rosemary bread they bake in a ramekin. Probably not fair to rate a restaurant on one appetizer plate but this was all we ordered.
I was really struck by the attention to detail everywhere. Servers looking at glasses to see if they needed polishing, bartenders wiping off the side of the glass because a bit of foam trickled down, etc..They have assembled a terrific team, and this is obviously not the case of a celebrity chef just stamping their name on the front door, but a labor of love by an obvious perfectionist who has invested a bunch of blood, sweat, and tears and isnt about to let someone else screw it up.