Italian Table — Restaurant in Lethbridge

Decided to have a nice dinner date w/my partner on Boxing Day. I got a gift card since everyone knows it was one of my fav restaurant to eat at. The way I was treated that night, along w/my partner, I’ll have to find somewhere else to go. We were harassed all night by this guy who we had no idea was the assistant manager, had issues w/him on various occasions as a server in the past. He kept coming to the table constantly, even after bringing the food; would make snide remarks. Prime example was “oh looks like you have enough of everything especially cheese”? I personally found that comment rude & uncalled for. Then he asked me if he could get me anything else and I asked him if he could bring the pepper to the table, he just walked off so I had to wait for our server to come back to ask. My partner ordered the pasta & steak. She was having issues trying to swallow it bc it had so much fat/grizzle. She didn’t wanna say anything, I’m like we should mention it so that guy kept coming back & since we didn’t know that he was the manager, we waited until our server came back (which wasn’t that often) soon as we told her she ran off to grab him & he came back flipping out on my partner asking her why when I was just here didn’t you say something?!! We explained that we didn’t know we had to specifically tell him (personally since he’s been rude in the past) & still rude, ignorant he basically just blamed her/us for the situation. He never really cared about trying to fix or deescalate the situation. He just said it was our problem, what did we want him to do about it. I’ll link photos below. After he walked of, told my server how upset & uncomfortable i was & it’s sad that he had to ruin a good night. She didn’t even ask how we were doing, and he also caused me a panic attack. She acted very differently after i told her I’ve had issues with him in the past bc I’m a regular. I usually am there 2-3 times a month bc i enjoy it and she just kept asking to bring the bill. We stayed for dessert & asked if he could not bother us or comeback to the table. He’s always ever caused an issue before we ever even had an issue. We had dessert, I could still see him lingering in the window above me (which was very uncomfortable). Finally asked for the bill, packed my own stuff up & seen that nothing was taken off the bill. Which is fine I don’t mind paying for a steak my partner had to spit most of it out. I asked her about it, she was short w/me, said that it was his decision & I didn’t argue. I asked to leave my name & number for another manger, she said I couldn’t just to call the next day, I did & was told he wasn’t in & was never scheduled for coming into the restaurant. Then the next day I called again, left my name/number & was told that he would call me the next day & nothing. I’ve waited days now before writing this for a call & nothing happened & it’s ruined my experience of ever going back. Which is really sad bc i usually always recommend this place & always choose to come here to eat & w/the way we both were treated was extremely uncalled for by that guy (which I won’t name here to be professional) but he shouldn’t speak to customers so poorly like he’s on some power trip. Regardless of how the servers attitude changed I tipped her, our bill was over $130 & we just walked out. I’ve never been so appalled & disrespected like that by a manager or assistant manager in my life from any restaurant I’ve been to before let alone one that I speak so highly about!! Also it was the holidays which I don’t appreciate being treated that way when they have no idea what someone else is going through. Needless to say I won’t be wanting to go back...

I wish there was a 2.5 starts option but when having to choose between 2 and 3 I gotta go with 2 on this one. It's too bad too as I really wanted to love this place. Here was our experience.

My family and I started out this Friday night looking for a place to eat. We hit one spot and it was line up but then my wife remembered this Italian Table in the old Lodge hotel. We hadn't been there so thought lets give it a shot. We arrived and it was busy but not jam packed which is never a great sign on a Friday night but we were happy to get in. The decor is amazing. I was blown away with how great it looked inside. We got a booth which was perfect. The menu was a little confusing but in their defense the server did offer to explain it to us and we (not wanting to eat our pride) said ah no we got this:) The server brought us this great water jar/jug thing so we could refill our own water and it was ice cold. That was really cool and classy. So all good up to this point right? Alright here is where things start to slide.

The server left and we carefully decided what we wanted. The menu is just a sheet so there is no menu to "close" alerting the server we are "ready to order" so we just kind of hung out for a bit. Maybe 10-12 minutes but that's a long 10-12 minutes. What kind of worried me is I didn't see any food coming from the kitchen. That is never a good sign. Finally our server (who was really nice) came for our order......then we waited.....and waited.....and waited. After about 30 minutes the server did apologize and say the food should be out soon. The next 15 minutes was probably the most awkward as this nice server just avoided us (and I don't blame her) as what was she going to say? Finally about 40-45 minutes after ordering (and waiting to order) we got our food. I would describe the food as "very good" but this is not a place where you leave stuffed. Whoever runs/owns this place is definitely looking to cut costs. Staff for one, but the portions were very small and the even the presentation was small. My wife had the lasagna and it was served in this little bowl. Maybe the thinking is the smaller the dish the larger the portion looks? Oh, and the bread. They give you the most delicious bread with your pasta dish but it's (no joke) the size of 2 crackers. I don't know how much bread costs to make but they were saving some money there. Honestly had I known I would have ordered two meals. The reason for the 2 stars (and wanting to go 2.5) is the staff was amazing. The (what I think was) the manager brought us our food and the server was great. I thought the value was pretty good actually....and then I saw the portions. The guy beside me had the steak tho (another table) and it looked pretty good. So - in recap. If you want great atmosphere, very friendly staff, very good food, are not that hungry and have a lot of time to spend......this is our place:) Too bad too as this would be so easy to make a 5 star place. Throw an extra scoop of pasta on the plate and tell the person cutting the bread to not treat it like it's the last loaf before the great depression, and do all that in under...even 25 minute and I think we would...

Thanksgiving antipasto platter while travelling was amazing!

The past few years my family celebrate with a table full of charcuterie that we all contribute to building. Italian Table helped me celebrate our family Thanksgiving tradition even though my family is home, 3 provinces away.

Thank you! The staff was all wonderful and the decor was as excellent as the food. The attention to detail in the little touches such as the in-house herb gardens come across in full force with the flavour of the meal.

I like that the booth design is actually very comfy couches so you can scoot closer to the table or add space if you're a larger person like me who loves great food.

The restaurant can be entered via the doors to the left of the hotel lobby as well as through the hotel lobby. So you don't need to feel silly if you choose the wrong entrance.

Now the antipasto... my portion was meant for 2 and so I have the other half refrigerated here for an awesome late night snack. Notice the olive bowl...they're warmed! I'm now questioning if I've been eating olives incorrectly my entire life since this was a game-changer! You've got to try it, Lethbridge!

The pink, pickled veggies in the middle are sweet-pickled onions and fennel. Normally fennel is overpowering for me, but the pickling made it mild and sweet to contrast some of the stronger cheeses, meats, and pesto.

The white cheeses might have been made in-house. If not they were definitely dressed and mixed in-house with fresh ingredients. Contrast them with the spicy, coarse grained deli mustard to treat yourself to a true experience.

I made sure to save room for their house Tiramisu. The perfect ending to a delightful, filling meal. The blend of bitter cocoa, strong espresso, and sweet velvety mascarpone cream cheese... Wow! They make it the way it's meant to taste. In my travels I like to compare Tiramisu and this comes in with top marks.

You've got to eat here!

Thank you Lethbridge and Italian Table for helping me enjoy my Thanksgiving with you, far from my...