Physical Facilities: It's a beautiful building with a lot of potential, but the lack of ambience was definitely a distraction. Several of us thought some booths, and candles could cozy it up a bit. I felt a bit exposed b/c it's such a large space with such high ceilings and we were just sitting there in the open. The views were nice enough, with the exception of those horrid SunCrest McMansion monopoly houses purposely stuck so rudely on top of the mountain.
Service: Can we just say "disinterested third party"? Slurping the small amounts of water that melted off my ice cubes every few minutes as the only way to quench my parched throat was certainly not enjoyable for me, nor for the people sitting next to me. Sorry gals! There were only two other tables there during the excruciating amount of time, two hours, we spent there so the excuse is not that they were super busy. I too felt that they would have been perfectly happy for us to all walk out the door and let them get back to whatever it was they were doing that was so much more pressing than...their jobs.
Food: OK. I am not a gourmet chef by any stretch of the imagination. Occasionally I will make a zippy meal like roast in the crock pot, or I'll get all fancy and make BBQ meatloaf or Poppyseed Chicken. Most of the time it's Mac-n-Cheese, Quesadillas, stuff my kids can also make etc. So, when I do go out, I expect to get something of a little higher quality than a dish my 10 year old can throw together, which is exactly what I got at Buona Vita. Spaghetti, mushrooms, peas and a little cream sauce with not a lot of flavor. The dessert was so memorable that I have already forgotten what it was.
Music: The finale of every song became at least 50 decibels louder than the previous sections and had us bursting into fits of laughter every few minutes as our conversations would halt mid-comment while we waited out the 48-measure baritone vibrato song ending.
That being said, perhaps it's just growing pains and I will give them a second chance several months from now when they've had some time to work out the kinks.
Company: I love my friends! We have a fantastic time regardless of ambience, service, or music, and it's always a delight to spend time with them. I can't wait for next month-Ginza, here we come!
3 comments:
LOL - I completely forgot about the music. That was so funny.
hey, watch your comments about suncrest :-) we're not all in mansions.
I just went to Buona Vita tonight (a Saturday)--and we left after 30 minutes. We were completely ignored by our server. She never brought the appetizer we ordered, and when she started taking the orders of the large table next to us who got there 15 minutes after us, we left. Not even an apology from the hostess -- she just said "sorry..." as we walked out the door.
Poor excuse for a restaurant.
I think maybe your comments have been heard and the management has given some intensive training to the servers. All three (greeter at the door, waitress, and server who brought appetizer) were very attentive and caring. The service was not perfect like career wait-staff, but these were young people who were trying hard. The appetizer server asked if we wanted plates (most restaurants just bring them) and then brought them promptly. The waitress did not know about the drink specials that were advertised in the men's restroom, but returned with the info after we inquired. She did not anticipate our needs, but did return many times to ask if everything was pleasing, and so we had ample opportunies to ask for what we needed (sweetener, more tea, wine etc.).
My dish, Chicken Marsala, was very tasty and nicely temperature hot, too, which was a pleasant surprise after having had far too many lukewarm dishes served in other restaurants recently. My date's dish, Don Bergante (ziti with sausage and marinara) was also tasty but too spicy hot even for his Louisiana-raised palate. That could be okay for some, but the menu did not warn of such flavor in any way. Perhaps the cook made a mistake.
I liked the style. Sort of a hip modern Italian flair. Interesting art on the wall, not just old-fashioned Italian kitsch.
The prices were not bad. It ranged $10-15 for entrees. I think the pizzas were less and included salad. We didn't get bread, soup or salads, but we didn't really need to load up on those in addition to an entree. I still took home leftovers.
Overall, we were quite pleased and are adding this place to our preferred restaurants and are looking forward to going back.
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