The Italian Osteria & Cheesebar — Restaurant in Township of Langley

Please read*

My friends and I came to eat at this place yesterday. We had the worst experience. Few friends have been there before and said it was good but yesterday I have no idea what's was going on. First our expresso martinis were brought to us and we were told that was the last of it. The drink was filled with coffee grinds. My last sip was coffee grinds all in my mouth and the others. You would think if the drink was like that the server would ask if we still wanted it or offer us half off as the drink is $14.50, That's expensive for it not to be done right. Our pizza that my friend had before (she wanted us all to try) came out cold and very dry. The bruschetta could have been more crispier the bread was on the soft side. Our spaghetti and meatballs was absolutely disgusting it tasted like it came out of a can and even with us adding salt and pepper and parm on it, it was still gross. This is not even the worst of our experience. One of the runner girls literally spilled a steaming hot plate of food all over my friend!!! Burnt her and everything. We were all in shock! The runner was clearly in distress from it and she was panicking she apologized and asked if I can do anything for you but at that time my friend was just in shock and trying to clean herself. She also didn't want to cause a huge scene so she said it's okay please just get me some napkins. As time went on we sat there in absolute shock thinking okay accidents happen but that was a bad and we were certain they were going to make it right we just waited until we got our bills. Keep in mind with a mistake like that, we shouldn't even have to ask to make it right. When we got our bills my friend said we weren't very happy and the expresso martinis were terrible. She also said that our other friend who had the food spilt on her should have her billed taken care of. She said they are taking care of her bill and she came back with our expresso martinis taken off but still we felt very rushed when we were trying to explain about our experience we didn't get to discuss about our other food being cold and gross. The most important thing was getting the food spill dealt with. At the very end we all sat there in shock that nothing has been made right about the situation. Sitting in frustration I finally asked our server "so is nothing going to be done about my friend literally having a hot plate of food spilt on her" the server said we took her bill off, sorry again. I said well that's not good enough. You would think the manager would walk over, give a formal apology and take action for the incident and say here's what we're going to do for you. We'll take care of your bill, here's a gift card or something more than just that. She said she thought her manager came over to deal with it and no one came to actually give a formal apology and made it right. The server even agreed thats what should have been done and apologized for her manager not doing that. When though it wasnt her fault why not then go get your manager to deal with it? And the fact that no action was done by the manager says alot. It felt like they wanted to sweep the incident under the rug. We wanted a good experience and good food that's why we choose to come to a more expensive place for a treat and we left in shock and anger by the way this was handled. Ive had better experiences at just my local bar I go to all the time. This was a big disappointment to say the least. Thank God she was wearing gym clothes. If she was dressed up in something nice it would have...

We were wanting to try this restaurant for some time and recently we finally did. I phoned in a take-out order, which was repeated back to me. I was told that our order would take 30-40 minutes. I arrived right at the 40 minute mark.

Looking around, I noted that tables were pushed together so that couples had to share a table with a family of strangers. Everyone was seated pretty close together, even if they didn't have connecting tables. Reminded me of a lunchroom or high-school seating. I wouldn't want to bring my young kids there because they'd probably start chatting with the couple on a date. And vice versa, if my husband & I got a night away from the kids, paying for a babysitter, I wouldn't want to sit with someone else's kids.

When I arrived, there was zero staff out front. There were three other couples standing and waiting. When a staff member finally arrived after about 5-10 minutes, our order was not ready. After another 5 minutes our order came out. Our bill was almost $200 and it didn't look like everything was there. I asked if everything was there and staff realized that they missed our drinks. For some reason it took another 5 minutes to get the cans. I saw one couple receive a gift card because of some mistake with their reservation. I asked again if my full order was there, not wanting to start opening bags, and I listed everything that should be there. The hostess got another staff member who basically felt the bags to see if everything was there while looking at the receipt. Staff said that it was all there. I was sweating from standing beside the pizza oven for so long. When I left the couple with reservations were still standing there looking stressed.

When we got home, I realized that the full-sized Caesar salad that I ordered was not there. And one of the desserts, an orange tart, was smushed. I tried to call the restaurant several times, but no one answered and the voicemail is full.

Lastly, I'm not sure if it's because we had takeout or not, but the portions were super small. The spaghetti's were child-sized and the lasagna only took up less than half the tin. Desserts were plain and tiny as well. Plus the churned butter we paid extra for- a mere teaspoon in a little plastic container, not enough for a family like I had asked.

The good news is that everything tasted good. But this experience was not worth $200 (including tip), along with all the hassle or nor a restaurant experience.

*A manager emailed me and apologized for our experience. Thankfully we did not pay for the salad but we’re still disappointed that it was not included. I’m surprised that I didn’t pay for the salad since the bill was almost $200. I do not feel like the restaurant rectified the situation but at least they did contact me, which some restaurants don’t...

Update: Late November I returned after a more traditional experience = lasagna and Tiramisu; this was time to try something: Squash and Brie Canelloni and Canoli(last two pics.)

The Canelloni is an incredibly creative blend of flavors- truffle, maple, squash, brie, spinach- AND green apples on the side- not for a Normal-seeking palate. I had a Moment on first bites at the sheer range of flavors and how well they melded; I found it was really well done.

I followed my entrée with a Canoli- I think fairly well done. It had more of a "fair food" essence(fried) than I would seek out but I took my time and could definitely appreciate the rest of the flavors.

Service was pretty good, just depends who you get and how busy the restaurant is!

I still enjoy the ambience- quieter music than previous time, apparently at some of the [few at that pre-supper hour] guests' requests, but noise has not been Loud either time. It's been a few weeks and I'm hoping to return[again] soon.

Previous review, Nov. 8th, 2024: If you want details on food, server and atmosphere(and first two pics.):

I ordered the lasagna and, as mentioned in answer to one of the questions here, I found it smaller than I expected(takes up space width-wise but is shorter than what I expect from lasagna) and tasty!! So, a bit confusing on that note, and for $31+/-.

I finished with Tiramisu- the lasagna was easy, and then I found the mousse quite heavy(kind of to be expected...ish) that, while the flavor was soo good it was hard to put the spoon down(!), I didn't get very far before taking the server up on a take-home box. I enjoyed some warm tea for the heavy mousse later. 😄(Lasagna gone before thoughts of a pic. dawned on me!)

Server Keira was just right in not hovering but also attentive enough to ask how it was as I progressed and promptly notice I needed a water refill. Her table-side manners were so approachably professional that I was quickly at ease- and at Friday supper time!

Warm but modern design inside- balance between low-grade pub and stiff-and-expensive. Lower lighting this Fall eve., but brighter for window-side tables. Music loudER but it wasn't overwhelming as I thought when I walked in the door. 👌

I would like to try other dishes- cannelloni, pizza?? And mayyybe another dessert in the near...