Tonino's Osteria — Restaurant in New Providence

I wish I could give more than 5 stars. Our experience was great from start to finish. Making reservations via email for 10 people was flawless. We arrived via taxi from Baha Mar and were greeted with smiles from everyone. Our waiter Nico was so kind and attentive. We sat outside and started off with drinks (bottles of wine and some Cosmos) and the most amazing tender melt in your mouth Mama's Meatballs ever. They are a MUST have. You won't regret it. The Speidini (sort of like Mozzarella En Corozza) Sooooo good. We also ordered the Arugula Salad and the Calamari(not alot of breading almost all Calamari. Everyone loved it. ) for our appetizers. For our dinners we ordered The Prosciutto Pizza, Chicken Parm. OMG SOOOOO DELICIOUS! My son was very sad he ordered it because it was so good and now he will never have it again. He will only get to dream about it. The Pollo Paillard ( tender chicken lots of flavor and light). Rigatoni Bolognese my mother in law ate the whole bowl even though she was full because it was so good and she wanted to savor every bite. Lol. She NEVER eats her whole dinner. The Filet Mignon special with mashed potato and sautéed garlic spinach. Cooked to perfection and so much flavor. We tried to order the Pork Chop special but they were sold out. I can only imagine how good it would have been. So if they have it again order it and let us know so we can be jealous. We had 1 kitchen mishap but it was taken care of immediately and to our satisfaction. I wish we had a Tonino's back home. This was by far the BEST meal of our entire vacation. I highly recommend visiting Toninos and make sure you sit outside. They are a cash only establishment (which I totally understand because for a small business the service charges on credit cards machine would be so high) and I was told this while making my reservation and before we sat down. So just bring some money with you. You are on an island and everything is imported so take that into consideration when looking at the totals but it's really not more than what we would pay at a good Italian restaurant...

I'd like to preface this review by saying the service staff was very short-staffed the night we went and were apologetic throughout the dining experience... But overall, we had a pretty forgettable experience at Toninos, especially after having heard nice things.

We were seated at the very beginning of dinner shift and ordered their spicy vodka sauce pasta and a pork chop for our entrees as well as some fried mozzarella and pear salads as starters along with an old fashioned and aperol spritz. The night started nicely with wonderfully crafted drinks by our server/bartender as well as a delicious appetizer and salad.

That's when things went south - both our entrees came out terribly oversalted. After mentioning this, the staff promptly apologized and rectified the situation with food that was slightly less salty on the pasta and unfortunately less flavorful and salty on the pork chop. The server even mentioned how oversalted the first run of food was (after trying it).

So 2+ hours into dinner, we asked for our food to go since it was getting late and also asked for some desserts to go. At this point, the restaurant was much busier and we waited for over 25 minutes to get our desserts and check so we could pay - we actually went to the bar to pay as the servers were nowhere to be found.

Overall, we feel bad for the servers but this is an oversight on management. Also, not that we asked or hoped, but comping something like a dessert or part of the meal would have been a pretty respectable thing to do. You could tell the servers had no control over this part and had to just do their job.

Having managed small businesses, having good service and appreciation for the way you manage your product is key to running a successful business, especially on an island where many tourists come seeking a good experience. We were let down and it's...

Party of 2. Stayed at Bahamar; restaurant is not that far from hotel. Pros; good place to drink; bartender is knowledgeable and they are willing to make your fav. cocktail; we noticed it’s not a popular choice in the area so if everything else is booked this might be a good option. Restaurant is small so easy to summon waiter. Cons; it’s small space that you might have to call to reserve but the food isn’t worth it. The restaurant outdoor seating is very much on the highway. Heavens forbid a driver crashes into your dinner but there’s no safety guard and the area didn’t have many street lamps on that highway strip. We collectively agreed that the food was bland. The only seasoning we tasted was salt. On the menu we didn’t see where they state that they charge 15% gratuity. I’m not sure if that was norm but I would have preferred to have given the standard 10% because service was subpar. Only 3-4 parking spots rear on their property. There’s boutique next door with parking but I’m not sure about Bahamas parking laws. There’s no mosquitoes/fly cover for customers with outdoor seating. We were able to see kitchen from the ajar window from parking lot; kitchen staff did not...