The potential clearly exists for an excellent meal, so we will certainly return, but unfortunately, our experience had a few shortcomings.
The ambience is warm and inviting, particularly on a cold, fall evening. We were seated promptly at our designated reservation time (which is always...appreciated) and our table was located in the area requested by our friends, who made the reservation. The friends with whom we dined had been there several times before and knew that it can be very noisy. It was. The request for a table out of the center of the room was to try to address that. There are no materials used in the design or decor to absorb sound. It was therefore quite challenging to have ongoing conversation amongst the group.
On a positive note, our server was polite and helpful in answering the usual menu/bar questions.
As far as our dishes were concerned, the starters of Roasted Beet Salad, the evening's Insalata special, and the Lentil Soup were all delicious. Unfortunately, 3/4 of our entrees were just not up to snuff. The person who ordered the Wild Boar & Pasta special was disappointed, finding the meat to be very overcooked, 2 orders of Tagliatelle alla Bolognese came out at room temperature/cool and really should have been sent back. When I ate my leftovers at home and heated them to piping hot, the dish was delicious! The one hit at the table was the Chicken Scallopini. For dessert, the Chocolate Hazelnut Torte was fair. Frankly, it didn't taste like an $11 dessert (came with vanilla gelato) to me.
As mentioned at the start, we will eventually revisit because we believe that the potential exists for our meal to be as lovely as other reviewers have found it to be. However, for now, our experience was a tad disappointing, and quite frankly, based upon the pricing, I believe that every guest should leave having had a fabulous experience.More