osteria giotto

[ghostrider]

He said "How would you like it if I poured the water back in the bottle and then sold it to you?"  At that point, we knew he was not pleased.

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i would have knocked him on his ass.

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Agreed.

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Tsk tsk, all of these propensities for violence.

You are forgetting your Miss Manners chapter on dealing with an attitudinized waiter.

The proper response is to grasp the water glass daintily yet firmly, pinky extended

as if at a formal tea, and pour the contents down his pants.

The gesture may be embellished with a quick grab-and-pull of the waiter's belt with left thumb and forefinger, so that the water may be aimed at the resulting cavity and achieve greater penetration.

[Anonymouze]

He said "How would you like it if I poured the water back in the bottle and then sold it to you?"  At that point, we knew he was not pleased.

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i would have knocked him on his ass.

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Agreed.

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Tsk tsk, all of these propensities for violence.

You are forgetting your Miss Manners chapter on dealing with an attitudinized waiter.

The proper response is to grasp the water glass daintily yet firmly, pinky extended

as if at a formal tea, and pour the contents down his pants.

The gesture may be embellished with a quick grab-and-pull of the waiter's belt with left thumb and forefinger, so that the water may be aimed at the resulting cavity and achieve greater penetration.

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ROFLMAO - OH MY! ::applause::

[Montclairite]

I'm an infrequent poster here, but I love Osteria Giotto. In fact I was just there last night for the first time in a couple of months, and all was wonderful. Food, service, etc.

I'd like to point out what sometimes happens on this and other message boards --- inches and inches of space are taken up by a single diner's complaint, followed by various discussions of the complaint. Nothing to be done about it, just an observation.

[jwjojo]

I'm an infrequent poster here, but I love Osteria Giotto.  In fact I was just there last night for the first time in a couple of months, and all was wonderful.  Food, service, etc. 

I'd like to point out what sometimes happens on this and other message boards --- inches and inches of space are taken up by a single diner's complaint, followed by  various discussions of the complaint.  Nothing to be done about it, just an observation.

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Pointing out the obvious. With the advent of the internet and sites like this one, it gives the diner some power, and puts the restaurant owner and staff on call. Everyone is a reviewer now, and people do listen to other people's opinions..hence this site and others. So in the end, yes, we do sometimes beat a dead horse as it were. I think that is the nature of the exchange. We also have a voice to tell of our experiences, good and bad, and an opportunity for the restaurant owner to make changes, or continue doing a great job.

[tommy]

We also have a voice to tell of our experiences, good and bad, and an opportunity for the restaurant owner to make changes, or continue doing a great job.

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the flip side of that coin is that diners have *always* had a voice and an opportunity to vent their frustrations and communicate their pleasure/displeasure with an experience/server/food: by talking to the manager or owner of chef. by mail, email, phone, or face-to-face. one might make the argument that those approaches are much more effective.

JoRic, above, has already touched on this point, but i figured i'd mention it again in this context.

[Montclairite]

As above, from Tommy and Joanne. Telling restaurant owner about unpleasant experiences has long been an effective way to handle this. Not clear that the complaining diner who experienced the rudeness from the staff did this.

[tommy]

As above, from Tommy and Joanne.  Telling restaurant owner about unpleasant experiences has long been an effective way to handle this.    Not clear that the complaining diner who experienced the rudeness from the staff did this.

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that's so important it bears repeating. or quoting.

i think that, generally, people overestimate the importance of their posts on sites like this, or epinions.com, or we8there.com, or their blogs, or wherever. practically all of my friends are into cooking and going out to eat and they are discerning diners, but just about zero care about websites where they might read about or post about experiences. it's just not their thing. so, when people vent or post their reviews or complaints or whatever, i have to think it reaches a very very small group of potential diners. and even those who might read these posts (like me), well, i'll probably take them with a grain of salt.

so yeah, talk to the restaurant, not to the internet, if you really want to make a change for the better. if i own a restaurant, i'm really not concerned with how everyone is a reviewer because of the internet, but i'll definitely pay close attention to those who speak to me face-to-face, or write a letter or email. or send a smoke signal with a return phone number.

Edited March 17, 2006 by tommy (log)

[hitmanoo]

I decided to try out Osteria Giotto last night for the first time. I must say that I had a good experience. The food was delicious. I went with an asparagus and artichoke soup that was unlike any soup I've had before. It was as fine a soup as any I've eaten. For an entree, I had the risotto of the day which was served with a touch of tomato and assorted seafood--scallops, clams, mussels and shrimp. The rice was very tender and the flavors in the dish were delicious. I was stuffing down that risotto far after I was completely full.

In fact, everyone in my party enjoyed their respective meal, and all found the food to be exceptional. We didn't have any issues with the service aside from a brief wait for our table despite our reservation, and a busboy who obviously didn't have a complete grasp of English, as he called everyone at our table--male and female-- "sir."

I'm not sure if word of the water incident got back to the restaurant somehow, but when we were seated, our server made clear that there was a choice of sparkling, bottled-still, and plain water.

The service was friendly and attentive, the timing of service was on the money, and the food was absolutely delicious! I was pleasantly surprised by the positive experience, and I will definitely return.

In addition, I was surprised by the packed restaurant on a Monday night--usually an off night in the restaurant business. Given the crowd on Monday, I would strongly recommend reservations if you plan to dine at Osteria Giotto. I'm not sure how far in advance you need to book a table. I was able to get reservations for Monday on Monday afternoon. I'd imagine that the weekends need a bit more advanced notice.

[coughy]

We were fortunate enough to have dinner here again last night. I made the reservations when we left the last time, four weeks ago! Dinner last time was so good I decided to repeat it. This time our waiter - Fabrizio - with the "phony" accent wouldn't allow me to. He wouldn't even bother going back into the kitchen to ask. All I wanted to do was substitute salmon for black bass which I do not like. The bass was the special and came on a bed of spinach. I wanted salmon on spinach - NO he told me - salmon only comes with potatoes and escarole. What was the big deal??? Then at the end of the meal I asked for iced coffee which I had last time - again he told me NO!

Other than the food being so good the evening was not great. The restaurant was very warm and unpleasant. I will wait a while to go back and hope they get some new waiters.

By the way - I am still waiting for the milk for my coffee!!!!

[Curlz]

I finally made it to OG for the first time, and I have to say that the poor service we had fully overshadowed a decent lunch. The place had only a few tables full when we arrived, and yet there was a solid 8-10 min wait (yes, I looked at my watch at the 8 min mark) before anyone came over to ask if we wanted water. Bread arrived with water, and there two (good) rolls in the basket for the two of us. Didn't think much of it until a couple sat down next to us and got an overflowing basket that also included breadsticks. We did request some, and received those along with some truly mediocre white "Italian" bread. We found that part rather odd.

We started by splitting a salad special (actually, they split it in the kitchen--something I appreciate) that was wonderful; it had apples, walnuts and a stunning lemon vinaigrette. My friend had the spinach and ricotta ravioli in butter and sage. They were beautiful on the plate, huge triangles of homemade pasta, but they just didn't have a whole lot of flavor to them. My orecchiete with sausage and broccoli rabe was very tasty, and the portion huge. Prices are very reasonable.

We waited far too long for everything, including the bill, so we decided to pass on coffee and dessert. About half an hour after we arrived, so did a large party, and that's where we lost what little attention we had from our waiter. It's a shame, because I know so many people love this place, but I can't say that my first impression was a great one, and now I'm reminded that many others have reported on service issues. I'd like to go back for dinner with a decent-sized group so I can try a number of dishes, as there is a lot on the menu that sounds terrific, but I'm just not in a rush.