I kind of went back and forth on how many stars to give Teatro, but here's the deal: DH's lasagna arrived cold and though he did not complain about the sauce, when I got a taste, I thought the Bolognese had a weird consistency---way too fine, like they had run the meat thru a food processor. It was also a little flat---kind of one note.
The male half of the couple we were dining with had the Tagliatelle and he seemed disappointed with the Bolognese sauce as well. Now, the female half of the couple and I both ordered the gnocchi in a gorgonzola sauce with arugula and prosciutto. Oh my gosh---that sauce was DELICIOUS!!!! Unctuous to the tongue and full of flavor and you had the herbaceousness of the arugula and the salty-crispy-savoriness of the ham----sadly, the gnocchi were waaaay overcooked----I can't even describe how soft they were. And I am a girl who does NOT like al dente. But there was no tooth at all. Jet-puff marshmallows have more density. Well, maybe not if you cooked them in sauce...but do you get what I am saying?
They bring a carafe of water to your table, but it totally had the chlorinated flavor of city tap water. Can we say "Brita"? Those little things matter!
Anyhow, on the GOOD side: the house-made focaccia was very good, the salads very crisp and fresh, if not memorable, and I thought we received excellent service. (And yes, the waiter asked if we were happy with the meals and so did the manager/owner, but I didn't want to come off foodie/bitch with some folks we are just getting to know.) DH and I shared a Central Coast Pinot Noir that was on a Wednesday night special (all bottles half off) and it was pretty good.
All our dinnerware, cutlery, and glassware was clean. My menu did have sort of an icky stain on it. And the big wire thingie in the center of the table for folks who were going to order pizza took up an inordinate amount of room on a smallish four-top.
The place itself is painted in warm colors, but they need to bring something in that will absorb some sound. As the place filled up---and it did fill up!---it became very hard to hear the conversations at our table, and I would say none of the four of us are mumblers. And I think there is a real missed opportunity behind the bar. There's a place to set up a beautiful and lighted barback that would be a feature in the restaurant. Instead they have some weird newspaper-y wallpaper and a Kmart RTA bookshelf with 6 packs of beer displayed on it.
So, I thought and thought...did the pretty good salads and a killer gorgonzola cream sauce and good service outweigh cold food, weird Bolognese sauce, and chlorinated water? Ummm...no, but you know, with a couple of tweaks, this place could rock. And I think the owner/manager cares, because why else would he have stopped at every table to check in. And it was not a fly-by---he actually paused and smiled and made eye contact. Like I said, I didn't want to be a PITA...
I will definitely try again, because you can't judge on just one experience unless you find something disgusting, and everyone has an off night.
But we still had a great time, so it's all good!