La Vespa Trattoria — Restaurant in Bella Vista

I'm Panamanian but I work in Canada. I came here came with a colleague I hadn't seen in a long time. I know a bit about Italian food and wine. It was clear that our server was brand new because he could not tell me which of the three wines I had selected was drier. I heard another server walk by him and whisper in his ear the appropriate wine to recommend. That's okay, I didn't mind that at all. And I appreciate the teamwork.

My first order of pasta was not al dente, it was practically raw. I sent it back and they agreed and apologized. The second plate of the same dish was still not al dente and raw on the inside. I understand that the concept of "al dente" is somewhat objective but I wasn't rude in the least. I simply thought it needed two to three more minutes.

The manager came out and said that he and the chef had tasted the pasta and they felt that it was perfectly fine and that they'd cooked it for five minutes longer. I apologized and said I didn't mean to bother them, I don't like making a scene but it still didn't have the texture I was expecting. Maybe I'm totally in the wrong and if so I'm sorry. I asked for some tagliatelle (made in house , I believe) with their plain marinara sauce. That was very good, and so credit to the quality of the tagliatelle and the sauce and the chef. The wine we had was also very good.

The servers were very attentive and nice and the atmosphere was wonderful. They didn't charge us for the two plates I sent back, so thank you for that.

I'm not really sure what else to say... I felt that the manager was not well trained for the level of the quality of the restaurant. I could see he was annoyed with me, that I was wasting his time. But I wasn't trying to get anything free. I told him I was happy to pay for the second plate, I just didn't want to eat it as it was a special evening that I didn't want to ruin eating food I wasn't going to enjoy.  It seemed that this type of restaurant would have a manager with a little more graciousness because I was simply stating my truth and he wasn't interested in giving me other options. He only implied that I was in the wrong.

BTW I'm not a stuffy person at all. I'm as comfortable at a Taco Bell as I am in a nice restaurant. But if the food is not up to par, I'll say something. It is our right to speak up, but I don't make a big fuss. I ask nicely. I hope this review helps. No shade on the restaurant. Please go and continue to give good reviews. I'm just sharing that you shouldn't be treated that way if you send something back. Even if it's twice and even if...

The picture of my Risotto Aranita (mini calamari and zucchini) doesn't do it justice; a nice looking and even better tasting dish. Angelo took care of us and between he and the other servers, they provided some of the best service I've had at a restaurant in a long time. The rest of the table got a pizza and a stromboli and they are big, if you're not fully hungry for dinner, 2 could easily split them. I didn't try their dishes, but the three of us were all happy with our meals. Pricing is good for the pizzas and very fair for the other options I saw. They do have some high priced items on the menu, which I'm sure are tasty enough to be worth it if you're looking to spend more, think $65 2.2lb steak. The atmosphere of the place is good, quaint with a proper amount of fancy thrown in to make you feel you're at a nice restaurant. They have music playing at a good level to allow for regular conversation. They brought mini margaritas (quite good) to the table when we were seated and, shortly after, brought a small morsel of polenta that had me wishing it was much larger. Free of charge. Was a small touch that was much appreciated. I will definitely come back to try more from the menu next time I'm in...

JAMAS volvere a este lugar!!! Fui discriminado por mi raza, humillado y victimizado!! Tengo una reserva con una colega y un cabellero que nos hizo la invitación quien va al restaurante seguido ya que él es italiano. Llego al restaurante antes que mis amigos pero prefiero esperarlos en la parte de afuera del restaurante, estoy escuchando musica mientras espero, veo a la parte de adentro del restaurante y hay gente del local mirandome un señor de camisa blanca y piel clara no me quita la mirada, no le presto atención, siguiente El señor de la camisa blanca que asumo era el gerente o tiene cierto rango arriba de los waiters cruza la calle y habla con alguien, sigo esperando a mis amigos... camisa blanca regresa al restaurante y no pasan nisiquiera 30 segundos cuando aparecen 2 policias de donde el habia venido. Yo ya sabia que iba a pasar, puse 1+1 y en efecto los policias vinieron hacia mi, me dicen que desde adentto del local habian reportado a alguien sospechoso y la unica persona alli era yo, me pidieron mi cedula para verificación, se las di. Me comienzan a hacer preguntas que donde trabajaba y que iba a hacer al restaurante me puse a la defensiva pero respondi sus preguntas, desde el restaurante estaban viendo todos!! Los policias me revisan de arriba hacia abajo como si fueran a encotrar un arma en eso llega una de las personas con las que habia quedado, el caballero Italiano, el cual me saluda con los policias aun revisandome, cuando les dijeron por radio que no habia nada malo conmigo me dijeron que solo era "procedimiento" osea que ves a una persona negra y lo comienzas a revisar y pedir cedula solo por estar en la acera?? Dije ok, y les pedi mi cedula pero ellos me siguieron preguntando que como yo podia tener un conocido como el señor italiano luciendo como lo hacia yo... me enoje y les pedi la cedula denuevo, me la dieron, me sente junto a mi amigo y segui mirando a los policias que entraron a hablar con camisa blanca y luego salieron, se quedan afuera y al rato sale camisa blanca con dos sodas para los oficiales...no hay que ser muy inteligente para darse cuenta de lo que habia pasado...digamos que los polocias hicieron su trabajo, ok no me molesta pero luego de eso nadie del restaurante nisiquiera el caballero de la camisa blanca " gerente" salio a disculparse conmigo por los inconvenientes causados o siquiera a dirigir el tema conmigo...Soy concierge en un hotel y suelo hacerle reservas y promocionar el sitio pero ya no, hay muchas buenas opciones en la ciudad para deleitar la gastronomia italiana pero mientras trabaje en la hoteleria jamas volvere a recomendar o mandar a unos de mis huespedes a este lugar!!! No me arriesgare a que discriminen, humillen y victimizen a otras personas por el color de piel o como luce segun...