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Review content:
I expected a lot from this place. I was not so much disappointed in the food as in the pretentiousness; there is a false friendliness and an ambiance of artificial sophistication. All 4 times I have been, the food has been consistently fine, but each time when I asked for 'gluten-free' offerings, it was as if it were the first time the server had heard of such a thing. We kept returning out of nostalgia, since it was where we had our first date. My boyfriend was someone well-known and his romantic notion was that we always go back to ""our"" table, the only semi-private one in the room, a table for two next to a little screen. However, our server disgusted me by touching him on the arm and flirting openly with him. While I couldn't blame her for being enamored with him, it was completely unprofessional. Because we were returning and very good customers, and my date liked to leave very large tips, upon arrival I always had knowing glances cast my way. However, at a crucial juncture in the relationship, of which I made the restaurant aware, when I made a reservation for our ""special night"" and called twice to ensure that we'd have the little table, I was given a false promise. We arrived, and not only had they not reserved the table I asked for, they failed to reserve any table. It was his last birthday celebration, and sadly, they failed to bring the desert for him I'd carefully mentioned. They did not hold our table, forgot the desert, and never apologized or made up for it. Imagine a business being honored with returning customers and doing nothing, absolutely nothing to maintain that relationship. One night in particular we had such a mediocre meal that I tried to make up for it with drinks and coffee. The espresso arrived before the desert, (this is an Italian restaurant?), was cold, and when I asked for another to be made hot, the waitress, while acquiescing, did not remove the first order from the bill. In short, the food is fine (not extraordinarily fresh, tasty, or organic, which would warrant the prices,) the service ranges from barely acceptable to truly bad, and the atmosphere is loud and arrogant. Not a place for a romantic time of any sort, unless it turns you on to watch your date being pawed by your otherwise upscale-looking server. A culinary success at most times, but as an overall total experience, a bit of a disappointment. We gave it four solid tries and felt that was more than fair.
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