We have been dining here since 1994 and have referred many people based on the service and food. At our last visit, and I do mean last, we were greeted by blaring country music when we opened the door. After being seated by a host that didn't greet us, it took 25 minutes to get our menus. It took another 20 before a waiter took our drink order which came in about 10 minutes. We had yet to be asked for our food order. We each ordered a salad and a pasta dish, duck ravioli and spaghetti and meatballs. In the past the duck ravioli were tender, homemade pasta pillows filled with a delicious, hearty filling. The spaghetti and meatballs always tasted like the sauce had simmered for hours. It was evident when our pasta dishes arrived (after another 25 minutes, okay if homemade) that something had drastically changed. The spaghetti was spongy noodles topped with a raw tomato sauce, bright red and soupy. The meatballs were pale and tasteless. But the biggest disappointment was the ravioli. The sauce was very much a tomato sauce unlike the delicate, creamy sundried tomato sauce I was accustomed to here. I was eating the third ravioli before I found enough filling to taste it. I should be happy this was the case because it was horrendous! It was grainy and tasted like pate. It was at this time that the silent host (which turned out to be the new owner) made himself very available to a table of guests that were obviously his friends. He couldn't stop bragging about his limousine that he'd purchased (which took up 3 much needed parking spaces right in front of the door). Our half-full dishes were removed by our waiter without asking if everything was okay. As we were leaving, the host/owner was standing by the door but never said thank you or good-bye. After making the decision to never return to one of our favorite restaurants in the Phoenix area, we headed across the street to satisy our hunger with ice cream. A disappointing evening all around.
Pros: takes reservations
Cons: blaring music, extremely slow service, terrible pasta dishes, lack of parking
more