Uno Di Martino: service doubts

Now I have been to this restaurant three or four times and have always been pleased by the food and the service. Therefore, my fiancee and I are planning on introducing our parents to one another there. However, just this last weekend a trusted friend of mine, who has also been to the restaurant before, detailed a traumatic service experience coupled by an unsatisfying owner response. To top all of this off, she claimed that two of the entrees were served cold and one appetizer never showed up.
Now, to me this seems very daunting because I figured this would be the perfect place to get our parents together, but now I am having doubts.
Has anyone else had any bad experiences there?

After my experince this weekend, I would never, ever return. Our server had to have been intoxicated or high (something the management actually verified later in the evening.) He forgot our appetizer orders three separate times. When they finally arrived, one was missing, one was terrible, and the other was good. When our entrees arrived, two of the three were cold. NO ONE during the course of this meal ever checked on us or asked how things were, even though it was obvious to the management that this man was not only completely unprofessional (offering to feed me my dessert and insisting that we meet him out for drinks after our meal), but also seemed completely unstable. After serving us our dessert (and I repeat, OFFERING TO FEED IT TO ME), he proceeded to put on a black trench coat and gaze at us from the bar. We did not feel safe leaving the restaurant until we had seen that he had left.

Our water glasses were never filled, and our plates were only cleared after I flagged another server down from across the restaurant. As if it could get worse, when we complained to the management, we were told that our server had actually shown up two hours late to work that night smelling of alcohol-- and for some bizarre reason, was still allowed on the floor. The owner was brought out and were were finally told, "I guess we can give you a free dessert next time you come in."

I am actually a server in a popular Chicago restaurant, and never ever thought that I would be a person to post this kind of reply, but I have to say that this was the worst dining experience I have had in my entire life. I cannot recommend this restaurant, even if the server was fired because the management allowed the situation to happen and essentially abandoned us at a table with somebody who was incompetent and unstable. It's really too bad given that the other experiences I have had here have been really good, and there is at least one really terrific server here. If this posting does anything, I hope that it changes the way the management hires and deals with servers.

Welcome to the board, GL. There are many disturbing aspects to your post about Uno di Martino. What might be most disturbing is that the management failed to recognize what was happening as bad for business, and only offered to compensate you for a dessert the next time you returned. After reading your harrowing tale, it would be hard to return to a restaurant like that no matter what promises awaited me at my next meal. To say that you experienced an off night is an understatement.

Lincoln Square has many excellent restaurants (Spacca Napoli & Bistro Campagne come to mind) that place a premium on pleasing their customers so it makes one wonder why Uno di Martino would let something like that occur. Certainly there are plenty of other places to spend your hard earned money and be permitted to have an enjoyable dining experience.

But getting back to Bern-Bern's original query, having also been to Uno di Martino, and having had good experiences I would be apprehensive to dine there on such an important occasion. Maybe other area BYO options (Pizza Rustica for one, Dorado for another) would be better.

I have gone to uno di martino several times and find that the service tends to be odd. There is one server in particular, who likes to throw things in the air. We were there this past weekend and wanted to order the gnocci with blue cheese.
Every other time we have had dinner there, this dish has been on the menu and it is the reason we went there for dinner.
the waiter became arguementative and told us that that this item is not always on the menu. Fast Forward to dessert. The same waiter is flipping the dessert menus in the air and balancing a chair on his chin for a patrons birthday. Very odd. The food is good, but to me the only reason to go here is for the gnocci stuffed with gorganzola. All in all, a odd dining experience.

als2554 wrote:I have gone to uno di martino several times and find that the service tends to be odd. There is one server in particular, who likes to throw things in the air. We were there this past weekend and wanted to order the gnocci with blue cheese.
Every other time we have had dinner there, this dish has been on the menu and it is the reason we went there for dinner.
the waiter became arguementative and told us that that this item is not always on the menu. Fast Forward to dessert. The same waiter is flipping the dessert menus in the air and balancing a chair on his chin for a patrons birthday. Very odd. The food is good, but to me the only reason to go here is for the gnocci stuffed with gorganzola. All in all, a odd dining experience.

Not disregarding your experience, but the outlandish aspects of the story read smear-like ala bitterwaitress.com. Whereas "Flipping dessert menus in the air and balancing a chair on his chin" are entertainment(engaging or otherwise) not "very odd."

Christopher Gordon wrote:"Flipping dessert menus in the air and balancing a chair on his chin" are entertainment(engaging or otherwise) not "very odd."

Not having been there, it's tough for me to evaluate the oddness/acceptability of this all, but the experience described, under the right circumstances and with the right company, could be just fine, even desirable. Something I might tip extra for.

Depending upon the vibe, I might even let the wait person feed me dessert. I might even let him/her smash dessert in my face, and I might, under the right circumstances, cheerfully reciprocate.

But it all depends,

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:"Flipping dessert menus in the air and balancing a chair on his chin" are entertainment(engaging or otherwise) not "very odd."

Not having been there, it's tough for me to evaluate the oddness/acceptability of this all, but the experience described, under the right circumstances and with the right company, could be just fine, even desirable. Something I might tip extra for.

Depending upon the vibe, I might even let the wait person feed me dessert. I might even let him/her smash dessert in my face, and I might, under the right circumstances, cheerfully reciprocate.

But it all depends,

Hammond

Robert Towne wrote:I don't blame myself. You see, Mr. Gittes, most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and right place, they're capable of anything. Take those glasses from him, will you Claude?

(The last bit there is inapposite, but also sancrosanct, so I left it in. But you, David, no doubt get the point.)

I've had very mixed experiences at Uno di Martino, related to both food and service.

My first trip there was shortly after they opened. the food was very, very good, and the service was spot-on. I had a great time and really could not wait to go back.

I went back with another group of friends, and they all thought I'd lost my mind. The food was bland (the gnocchi, which had been light and flavorful on a previous visit, was chewy and pasty), and the service was awful. we waited and waited to have our orders taken, water glasses weren't refilled, and when we ordered dessert, not only did it take them thirty minutes to bring it to our table, they omitted one person's order. We called the waiter back to the table to point this out, and he said he didn't forget, they just ran out. When we asked why he hadn't told us, or asked if my friend wanted something else off the menu, he shrugged and walked away.

I haven't been back. I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to giving it another shot, every restaurant has bad nights, but I left feeling unenthusiastic enough that I just...kinda can't be bothered.

I have only been to Uno Di Martino once -- it must have been nearly a year ago. My dinner was fine, but I haven't been back. There are just too many great restaurants to try out there, I guess. I don't remember the service being bad, however, I do recall our server telling us that he was not used to waiting tables but since he was the boyfriend of the daughter's owner he was helping out for a night. Could it be that the management relies heavily on family members for employees in order to save on overhead? That might explain their unwillingness to "correct" any problems. If the server is a family member, or is just "helping out," they can't really fire him.