Uncle Gino's Cafe & Ristorante — Restaurant in Sault Ste. Marie

Girlfriend and I decided to come here for dinner tonight, hindsight would later teach us that we had made a poor decision. MY girlfriend has Celiac Disease and we thought we were in luck when we read the menu and there was a note that said all entrees could be made gluten free. She decided to order the Chicken Piccata and made it clear to the waitress that it needed to be gluten free, which the waitress showed us she had made a note of on our order. When our dinner arrived my girlfriend had gluten free corn pasta and a breaded piece of chicken. When we asked the waitress about this she went to double check with the kitchen and came back to assure us that it was only bread crumbs and it was ok to eat. We explained the situation to the waitress and she promptly removed the meal and said she would have it replaced.

A few minutes later the waitress returned with a bowl of pasta for my girlfriend to eat and told us that a unbreaded piece of chicken would follow shortly. Upon inspection of the pasta and taste tests by both myself and my girlfriend it was evident that the pasta they had sent out was not gluten free. MY girlfriend promptly returned it to the kitchen and asked that they not bother with the rest of her order as she had now lost all faith in their ability to provide a gluten free meal as promised.

Upon cancellation of the order we were visited at our table by the owner/cook who had prepared the meal, holding a unopened box of gluten free pasta, and assured that the pasta she had just served was the same kind. We explained to her that we did not trust her and we did not wish for her too make anything else for us. The owner swore again that it was gluten free and that she, the same woman who had sent out a piece of breaded chicken for a gluten free meal, had cooked it herself and she knew the difference. She then proceeded to tell us several times that she would not remove the meal from the bill despite the fact that no one had actually asked her to do that and that she had made it wrong twice. Not wishing to cause anymore of a scene we simply got up, paid our bill and left.

I am not really sure where it all went wrong. Perhaps the cook was misinformed twice in a row some how or possibly she simply lacked the knowledge to understand what gluten free means. Maybe it was just apathy coupled with a lack of humility on the owner and staffs part that caused an incorrect and potentially harmful meal to be turned out that clearly no one was willing to accept responsibility for. The waitress did apologize to us for the owners reaction on the way out but sadly it is too little to late. I cannot bring myself to dine at this establishment again and I seriously recommend any one with a gluten allergy to avoid it at all costs. Mistakes I can understand and forgive, we are all human after all, the hubris however I...

Went to Uncle Gino's for dinner one Thursday evening with a group of friends before heading to the Esquire; overall it was alright.

The server was very friendly and attentive considering how busy the restaurant was, so props to her. Also the interior of he restaurant was really nice; clearly it's been upgraded recently.

The food, however, was hit an miss for the group. The appetizers were really well done, in particular the bruschetta was on point. I went for the gnocci which were good but mountainous compared to everyone else's meal. Not usually a complaint but it just seemed strangely too much. The daily special was (I believe) cannelloni, which one of our group ordered. Unfortunately this was the complete opposite of the aforementioned gargantuan gnocci serving; with our friend being finished his meal 15 minutes before he rest of us. Finally two of our group had the risotto which we agreed was very average and lacked anything to elevate it above salty-cheesy-soggy rice. Granted, those are likely the adjectives used for a typical risotto, this one just wasn't special.

Price was relative to above; the cannelloni was way over priced due to the small portion and the risotto was fairly expensive considering it's mediocrity. The gnocci seemed about right though.

Hopefully that's not the best Uncle Gino has to offer. Overall an average meal with random portion sizes and a fairly lofty bill.

On a side note: I am told that their breakfasts and panzarottis are their...

Party of 9 here. From the moment we walked in, I was not impressed. We were waiting for our table to be ready, and I noticed there was a freezer with frozen meals. I wanted to inquire about the price of the frozen lasagna. When I asked the server at the bar what the price was, she said, "There's a price list right there," and continued to stare at her phone placed on the bar. The gentleman at the bar who was a customer was kind enough to point out the price.

When we sat down to order our drinks, it was 11.45. They came back to say there was no ice tea, and the server was very overwhelmed, it seemed. I felt bad for her at first, so we continued to be patient.

We put our order in, which was all breakfast items.

An hour later, my husband and cousin in law got up and talked to the server at the bar and inquired about our food. The server stated "oh your order didn't go in." He stated his frustration and told them we would be leaving. The chef came out and asked if we wanted our food or not, and when we said no, she said, "ok, good."

It's such a shame. Not even an apology, just the bill for our drinks.

Needless to say, we won't be back. This is a shame because we really liked the reviews on this place and heard nothing but good things.

Hopefully, the owner can speak to their staff about how to handle large tables. We always tip quite generously, so...