Cafe Amore

Food:
3/5
Vibe:
3/5
Service:
3/5
Value:
3/5
Overall:
3/5

I went with a friend that recommended it. The owner seemed to know her and spent a lot of time talking about her trip back home. I was really looking forward to a great meal, however I was not as impressed as I hoped. More of a very small town restaurant. Maybe I should have had a glass of wine first.

sharon welker Verified

9 months ago
Link to this comment | Suggest removal

Food:
4/5
Vibe:
2/5
Service:
1/5
Value:
3/5
Overall:
1/5

In the half dozen or more times that my wife and I have been to Cafe Amore, we want so much to like this restaurant. The food is fantastic and the pricing is just right. The variety on the menu is pretty good with both traditional classics and a few not-so traditional dishes. Portions are very modest so you definitely won't leave hungry. Since it's BYOB, we liked the fact that we could show up with our favorite bottle of red. The restaurant itself has a very pleasant atmosphere with Italian paintings reminiscent of the Sistine chapel. It's not overly fancy but just enough to make it feel like an Italian restaurant. If food and atmosphere were the only things I was judging on then I wouldn't hesitate to tell anyone to try it.

However, whereas the food and atmosphere are good, the service is anything but. Granted, out of the times we've been there we've had a few waiters/waitresses that were good and had plenty of personality and offered good service. Other times though it just seemed like the life was sucked out of the place. Not only did the wait staff seem uninterested to be there but so did just about everyone else we encountered that worked there. As such, the overall quality of service reflected this. On average, we usually had to wait about 10 minutes before a waiter/waitress would take our drink order. After that it was like pulling teeth to get anyone to actually take our order. At first this sort of thing was somewhat forgivable. Again, not every waiter/waitress we had was like this, but there did appear to be a growing trend with bad service in the place.

The last time my wife and I went to Cafe Amore was the final straw. We decided to go there for lunch on a Sunday around 2 PM or so. Upon entering the restaurant we were greeted and seated by a gentleman who would end up being our waiter. He took our drink order and promptly returned with our drinks. Right from the get-go we could tell that he had a bit of an attitude problem. There just wasn't any sort of enthusiasm about him. It was almost like he was hung over or something. We were still looking at the menu and were deciding on an appetizer. A few minutes later we looked around to see where our waiter was. He was up at the bar counting cash at the register. After he finished he saw at the bar for a few minutes just watching TV. It took him a total of over 10 minutes to get back to our table to take our order for appetizers. Granted, we weren't in that big of a hurry but the least he could do is check in on us and make sure we're alright. Again, no enthusiasm. So we waited a few minutes for our appetizers and, when we heard a bell in the kitchen, glanced over towards the door to our kitchen and noticed a dish that looked like our appetizer up on the hot plate. Nearly four minutes go by and, I kid you not, nobody came by and picked up this dish to serve it. It wasn't until the bell rang again, this time three times in a row, before another guy, a different guy than our waiter, grabbed the dish and served it to our table. It took nearly five minutes from the time the dish was finished till it was served to our table. Keep in mind, other than one table that was nearly finished we were the only table waiting to be served in the place.

The other semi-slap in the face came when just about the entire staff appeared to be bringing out dishes of their own to eat for lunch in the middle of the restaurant (salads, pizza, pasta, you name it). We were so pissed off at that point that we asked our waiter for the manager. What we were told shocked us...no manager was present at the restaurant! We asked our waiter then for the manager's phone number. You'd think that would be a hint, right? We asked for the check and he asked if we wanted to order entrees. Umm...no, we don't. At that, we paid for our appetizer and left.

We're not hard people to please. Honestly, it actually takes a lot to piss off my wife and I. In fact, we don't really care whether the wait staff has any real personality or not. All we care about is that we're attended to in a reasonable amount of time and that we're checked on from time to time. Much of the staff at Cafe Amore failed to do that with the last waiter sorely lacking in quality of service. I honestly do not know how they will stay in business given the current economy. The restaurant business is as competitive as it gets, especially in a time when people aren't going out to eat as much. Even if your food and ambience is outstanding, your service has to be just as good else you won't retain customers. Customers will remember the service just as much as they remember the food; they almost go hand in hand. As such, even though I really enjoy the food, I honestly can't recommend Cafe Amore until such time as their problems with service are remedied. Till then, keep them off your radar.

jeffwhitfield Anonymous

1 year, 3 months ago
Link to this comment | Suggest removal

Food:
3/5
Vibe:
3/5
Service:
1/5
Value:
3/5
Overall:
2/5

The pasta was adequate, the pizza was pretty good, and the garlic rolls were delicious. We wanted to like it, especially since we live only a couple of blocks away and love to walk places when possible.

Unfortunately, however, the staff was discourteous enough to warrant our seeking out other neighborhood establishments. Our server was nice enough, but someone else on the staff hounded us rudely for bringing strollers (we were with a neighbor, so had two of them). I would have been more sympathetic, but there was only one other table when we arrived and perhaps 3 or 4 when we left; it was nowhere near full. The staff member in question really left us with a bad taste - enough to ruin the competency of the food.

Drat. We really wanted to like it!

(posted by my wife -tk)

Trey Kazee Verified

1 year, 9 months ago
Link to this comment | Suggest removal

Food:
5/5
Vibe:
5/5
Service:
5/5
Value:
5/5
Overall:
5/5

Cuisine Italiano authenic molto squisito! Very delicious authenic Italian cuisine - In any language, Cafe Amore has "Little Italy" old-world charm, great food, fast service and all at very reasonable prices. Lunch specials under $4.00! A family favorite in our house - from romantic lunches with my husband to Friday night with the whole family. Richardson's best kept secret.