Cafe Milano

Disappointing food and service - enter at your own risk!!

My husband and I love to support independent restaurants. We always keep an eye out for new places. I stumbled across this place when they were listed on Living Social. I purchased $40 worth of food for 50% off. I wish I could say this deal was worth it – but it wasn’t. I usually research a restaurant before purchasing a discount deal and I didn’t this time – huge lesson learned for me…ALWAYS check reviews before going to a restaurant.
We went to dinner on a Friday night. I called the restaurant first to make a reservation. This guy answered the phone rudely and just said to come in. I could already tell we were starting off on the wrong foot. I expected the place to be packed but it wasn’t – that should’ve been my second clue of how our night was going to be. When we sat down, our waiter asked if we would like some olives. We said yes but never received them. I guess I should be grateful we never received them since many other reviews are stating this is a scam for an $8 surcharge.
Several items on the menu were overpriced. I ended up going with the Spaghetti alla Carbonara and my husband went with the calzone. We also asked if they had sweet tea. He said yes and he returned with unsweet tea and sugar packets – we should have known better. The tea was cloudy, didn’t taste fresh and was just downright nasty. It looked like dirty mop water – we joked that maybe the water was imported from the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy to brew the tea.
Soon a woman showed up to assist the waiter. She wasn’t the best waitress – she wasn’t friendly and we had to physically wave her down so she would come to our table. We noticed this woman continued to go in and out of the bathroom – this concerned me. She brought over our meals; they looked delicious however looks can be quite deceiving. My Spaghetti alla Carbonara was tasteless. In traditional recipes, the bacon is cooked until slightly crisp – not so much with this version. The bacon appeared to be boiled and also didn’t have much flavor. Half way through my meal, I had to stop eating because I got nauseous. I got hot, the AC wasn’t on and the front door was wide open. My husband said the calzone wasn’t all that better. It was pretty much a hunk of break with not much flavor. He choked it down as well as he could. When we were done, we sat there for quite a while until someone came to our table. I was telling my husband that I had a certificate to spend $40; you know it’s bad when he asks if we have to order more food to spend the $40. Rather than waste the money, we decided we would go for the gelato – after all, you can’t mess that up too bad right? When the woman FINALLY came to our table, we ordered two bowls of gelato. It took FOREVER to get it. We joked that she must’ve gone to the other great Italian restaurant down the street on S. Ft. Harrison to get it. It was decent but nothing to write home about. As a matter of fact, it tasted store bought and had a freezer burn aftertaste. We had to wave the woman down to ask her for our bill and she said the other guy would bring it to us. We waited at least 20 minutes while he was having a grand conversation with the table next to us. I proceeded to ask for the bill again and the guy gave me this dirty look like I was interrupting him by asking for my bill after 20 minutes. Eventually the family he was chatting with went up front to the cash register. We proceeded to wait another 15 minutes while they were engrossed in conversation. We got fed up and walked up to the register. They continued to talk for another five minutes completely ignoring us. I was getting even more upset; obviously we are at the register and want to pay yet this guy continued to ignore us. At this point I’m beyond frustrated so I interrupt them. I apologize for the disruption and stated that we’d like to pay and they may continue their discussion after we’re gone. Yes folks, we had to go there but you have to do what you have to do. Other reviewers have posted that the service is slow – this is an understatement! Overall the experience with this place was just horrible – the food and the service were extremely disappointing. The next day I also had stomach issues – let’s just say I had to stay close to a bathroom. We will NEVER come back to this place ever again. Do yourself a favor and go to the other little Italian place on S. Fort Harrison where the food is always homemade and fresh and the staff is warm and friendly; this place is packed every night because they serve authentic, delicious Italian food.