Friday, April 23, 2010

GLORIA'S LITTLE ITALY

I have had a hard time in my search to find a good Italian restaurant since Ottavio's on Center Street in Provo closed it's doors. If you have any suggestions, please send them my way.


One place I do NOT recommend is Gloria's Little Italy (1 East Center Street, Provo...just a few doors down from where Ottavio's was). Maybe it was just a bad night for them but here's my review:
*super small tables with not enough room for the food.
*instead of getting oil and vinegar to dip your bread in, we got a basket of burnt toast with a little oil already splashed on it and no plates to set it on if needed.
*world's worst server award goes to Meghan.
*it took a long time for our order to arrive and once it did the person said, "Thanks for waiting. We have too many people eating here tonight." What?! What place complains about too many customers and maybe he should have said, "We're sorry, here is a complimentary gelato or Italian soda because you have waited so patiently and our service is horrible..."
*my gnocchi was overcooked and mushy.
*$40 for a salad and 2 plates of pasta. Dessert looked good but we didn't have another hour to wait for it.


The best part of the evening was when I played chubby bunny to see how many dumplings I could fit in my mouth while we, now a little impatiently, waited for the check. 15...not bad.

7 comments:

Jeff said...

I am sad. When I started reading this post I thought you were going to tell us about a fabulous restaurant you found. But, alas, you just told us where not to go. While that is valuable information as well, it's just not as exciting.

Good luck in your search. I hope you find a great Italian place. Let us know when you find it.

Brandon said...

My favorite part was when the waitress knew nothing about the menu. Or when she didn't refill our waters. Or when she would just look over at us and not say anything. Or when no one thanked us for coming in. So many great moments to choose from!

Anonymous said...

You should try Ottavio's canned soup, as it's apparently all that's left of their cuisine.
p.s. I bet you could've fit 20

Cecilia said...

you need to be a food critque person. your column would be perfect to read!

Anonymous said...

they overcharged me once on a price that was clearly listed on the menu as lower. i don't like them.

braden said...

I have had good experiences there, so I'm sad that yours was so bad. Of course, I haven't been since they changed locations to Provo Center Street. Maybe that was their problem. I really enjoy their salads and their pasta was fantastic last time I went. Sorry it didn't work out for you.

braden said...

The Penne Rustica at Macaroni Grill is amazing and I will never get anything else there. Just a suggestion if you're looking for good Italian.