Sasso Pizza Market & Bar — Restaurant in Hamilton

I have been to Sasso several times now and have thoroughly enjoyed each time, prior to last Saturday Evening. I called the prior Tuesday and made a reservation for 7PM for 4 people, and had no issues doing so. We arrived a few minutes before 7PM, and were told they didn't have the reservation in their book. After standing around for a couple of minutes we were seated by the greeter in a booth that contains a pole, therefore doesn't comfortably sit 4, only 3 people. We were told this is all they had and we would be moved to a 4 person table as soon as one became available, so we squeezed in. We were also told for our trouble we would be recieving a free appetizer. Once we were seated, we were trying to decide what we wanted for our free app but was told by the greeter that chips were on their way. OK so we were given a free app and weren't even allowed to choose, interesting but whatever, chips are good. Then the waitress took our drink order and after a few more minutes the greeter stopped by again and told us chips weren't coming but Bru chetta was. So now they changed their app again and decided again for us (noticed it was one of the cheapest app's but I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not). We placed our order, but still received no app by the time we were given our meals, we asked the server about the free app and she had no idea what we were talking about. She went to talk to the manager but they were busy so we would have to wait. We stopped the greeter and asked about the free app, and she apologized and said it would be out shortly. By the time we recieved the Bru chetta we had filled up on everything else. We were never sat in a 4 person table (they took the 4 person table that did open up and split it into 2, 2 person tables, so to be clear one did open up). After all this, we paid for our meal and while leaving noticed the 4 people that came in directly after us (and I mean directly as all 8 of us were standing together while they sorted out the reservation issue), were sat at a 4 person booth, that was empty when they sat us down. This was the final straw. I have been there many times with 0 incident, but the way this situation was managed is appalling. I have never left a bad review for a restaurant before but I felt this story needed to be told. The food has always been enjoyable, and I used to look forward to going to Sasso, but I don't imagine I...

Note: food alone would be 3 stars, but the rest of the dining experience drags the overall score down to 2 stars.

The staff was amazing. There was a food allergy in our group and our server and the kitchen handled it expertly.

Food was a mixed bag. The soup of the day (apple and parsnip) was excellent. So was the seafood pasta dish. However, the wood fired pizza was a disappointment. The oven deck was not hot enough, so the pizza dough did not fully cook despite the fact that it was super thin.

Where Sasso falls part is in the dining experience:

Sasso has at least 4 different competing restaurant styles (none of which work well with each-other). Most of the restaurant is decorated in an industrial style with exposed pipes, and they play house music. However, they have soft wood behind and over the bar area (like a wine-bar) but almost nowhere else in the restaurant. They also have the pizza out front so you can watch the chef toss the pizza like one would at a casual dining restaurant. The price ($6 for the soup of the day and $18+ entrees) and the hour plus dining time was in keeping with a fine dining establishment. But the servers (all female) in tight low-cut tops and jeans made me feel like I was in a sports par (especially when combined with the T.V.s (playing wrestling and hockey), and cheep tables and chairs (which were uncomfortable over the hour and a half it took to have appetizers...

Never coming back again! Ate in the restaurant. Ordered 2 different appetizers, some cheese puffs (tasteless) and fried mushroom pieces that tasted like fish and chips( as described by the waitress!!!!) apps were ..palatable but not impressive. Proceeded to order 2 pizzas, the ABC, and Nutty pig. Where to start; the pizza makers are very young and inexperienced. They were not cleaning the bottoms of the wood fire oven, therefore creating a charred, completely black bottom. I returned the pizza, and they brought me back an undercooked pizza, with the charred dust still layered on the bottom of the pizza. As for the toppings, all piled in the middle of the pizza making a very soggy center and tasteless/ topping less border. After dinner we ordered a small gelato for dessert. It was salted Carmel, absolutely unpalatable, grainy texture that left a flour like consistency in my mouth. The two scoops in the oversized bowl, seemed to have been melted on the plate and refrozen. I showed the manager by flipping the plate upside down, and the gelato didn't move. After all the complaints, they removed the price of the ice cream from the bill... Total for two pizzas and appetizers for 2 people $50.00. The manager did nothing to entice us to comeback, and only made excuses for their errors. Also, Beverages were not topped up for the entire duration...