Cafe Classico

So my wife, my daughter and I ate dinner at Cafe Classico this evening. It was our second visit to the restaurant and we had been looking forward to it immensely as our first visit a couple months ago had been so wonderful following an event at the Clifton Center. Unfortunately, this evening was anything but.

The good;
The food was excellent. We have consistently had wonderful and flavorful meals each time we have been. For the price, the food and ambiance are wonderful.

The bad:
*Their serving staff is in desperate need of training.
*The young waitress stayed camped out by the bar continuously rather than checking on her tables after bringing dishes. So anytime we needed anything we had to flag her attention down from the bar.
*We had to ask for small plates for myself when the appetizers arrived. As there were three of us eating but she only brought two plates.
*We had to ask for extra silverware, for the same reason.
*Then, and this is my biggest pet peeve in a restaurant, they brought out the apps, and not five minutes later out came dinner alongside it. At that point enough was enough and I asked to speak with the manager, who it appears was the bartender. I told him of the difficulties we had had with service, and calmly explained the situation with the food coming out together. My dinner would be cold by the time I finished the apps.
At this point he asked if I wanted him to take it back and "keep it warm" while I ate my app. I told him since I assumed this would mean sticking my steak in an oven or under a hot lamp, and the steak would either be overdone or dried out by the time I got it, that no I would prefer he fire another order.

After all this the server never returned to the table, never apologized for the problem, nor would she even look at us if we needed anything. The manager/bartender came over each time to wait on us. His friendly manner and attempts to make up for the problem are the only reason we didnt walk out, and might be the only reason we ever come back.

These mistakes are like serving 101.
1. Keep glasses full.
2. Make sure the entire table has sufficient silverware and plates.
3. Check on your table after bringing out food to make sure everything is okay or if they need anything.
4. If there is a problem, apologize, offer to get the manager, and fix the problem.

As a locally owned establishment you rely on word of mouth to keep your doors open. And no matter how good the food is, you have to have the basics down in the front of house. Please, local restaurant owners, train your servers and wait staff.

I agree completely. I love Cafe Classico. My girlfriend and me usually split 3 appetizers because we always want the cheese plate and amazing french fries, but service is not good. Most of the time the waitresses look too young to serve beer, not that looks matter, but it is something I noticed.

The service is anything but great. They are not very attentive and have no sense of urgency as other restaurants. The manager/owner is very nice, but he seems ambivalent to the way the front of the house is ran. I am not sure why since he is always hanging out around there. Went to a Chimay tasting there back in 2012. The Chimay distributer rep could not make it to talk about the beer. The owner did not notify any of the attendees and it was $60 to go. I thought that was a little sad. I mean we had good beer, but no reference of history or food pairings.

My only problem is my love of the french fries. They kind of keep me going back.