Landini Brothers Restaurant — Restaurant in Alexandria

Updated for our 8th anniversary on Dec 28th :( Disappointing Experience at Landini Brothers on Our Anniversary

We've always cherished our anniversaries, and after moving to the US, Landini Brothers became our special place. Celebrating our fifth anniversary there was magical, so naturally, it became our "love and celebration hub." However, our recent experiences have drastically changed our perspective.

Last year, on our seventh anniversary, they overlooked the note in our reservation mentioning the occasion. We brushed it off as a minor mistake, not allowing it to dampen our spirits. But this year's experience was notably worse and has left us disheartened.

Upon arrival, we were ushered to a table that was, to put it mildly, not to our liking. I had specifically requested a table not facing the wall, yet there we were. Politely, we asked for a different table, emphasizing our need for a four-person setting, not just a cozy spot for two. The response was a flat "we don’t have any," accompanied by unfriendly attitudes from the receptionist and her colleague, who seemed displeased with our request.

Frustrated, I asked to speak with the manager, hoping for a better understanding. To my dismay, even when I pointed out empty tables, she insisted they were reserved. Curious, I inquired if it was possible to reserve a specific table when booking, first through the app and then by calling directly. Both times, I was met with surprising responses that didn't align with our needs or expectations.

The final blow came when the manager mentioned that some tables were reserved for the owner's friends. This blatant display of favoritism was shocking and unfair. It's a revelation I believe the owner should address.

Sadly, this visit has tarnished our view of Landini Brothers, a place we once held dear for our anniversary celebrations. To add to the disappointment, I'd suggest the owner try the carpaccio and see if it lives up to the authentic Italian standard. It's a subtle hint that perhaps the new chef's expertise in Italian cuisine might not be up to par.

In conclusion, what was once our favorite anniversary spot is no longer a place we look forward to. It's a letdown to see how a once-loved restaurant can change so dramatically, not just in service but in the overall experience. Landini Brothers, unfortunately, will no longer be a part of our anniversary tradition.

My first review on our fifth anniversary :

Wow, landini made our fifth wedding anniversary an amazing eve. Everything was naturally perfect. From making the reservation, welcome, table choice, food, vegan options for my hubby, the anniversary card, the cake 🍰 , and the sprinkles on the table twice from such a charming lady 😊 Everything was great. Thank you Eric from the great service and your smiley face... Believe my I’m stingy with compliments and very picky with service. When I do, I mean it. Thank you again landini brothers, old town team for making our anniversary dinner a great one despite all the odds we are going through lately. .🙏🏻...

To say I'm disappointed by the service I received here and lack of follow up once I contacted the restaurant directly to discuss my poor experience is an understatement. I heard back from the general manager, David Thompson upon my initial contact, but he never followed up with me after he asked that we schedule a call to chat, and offered a gift certificate to come back which I never received. I even sent a follow up email, plus called to talk to him, but nothing.

My friends and I dined here at the beginning of July and unfortunately the service we received from our server was subpar. I've dined here before with my husband and the service we received was great. So that's why when deciding on a restaurant to host my friends farewell dinner, I picked Landini Brothers.

Our server approached our table, and didn't introduce herself. I had to ask her name. She dropped off menus and said she'd be back when the third person in our party arrived. When she came back after my friend arrived her only question was "are you ready to order." I then proceeded to ask her what the specials were, and if she could give us recommendations because my friends were eating there for the first time. We put our order in and my friend ordered a sprite. Our food came out and my friend didn't receive her sprite. She asked if we wanted dessert and the dessert we ordered was fine. I also want to note that our food was delicious.

My friend at this point still didn't receive her sprite and she asked our server about it again. She acknowledged the Sprite order but never brought it out.

We asked for the check and saw that we were charged for the sprite we never received. My friend asked to get the sprite to go and our server said she'd have to bring out a can. My friend said ok and our server brought her out a warm can of Sprite.

We asked our server to split the check 3 ways and presented her with 3 cards. When she brought our cards back and for us to sign we realized that not only did she not split the check in 3 ways amongst the 3 cards as we requested, she charged two different amounts and only one card was charged which was mine. I called Elvina over and explained to her the problem and she said the charge had already happened and was correct. I told her there's two different amounts and only my card was charged and her response was that the charge already went through. She said she could take it back and see what she could do, but at that point we were frustrated and didn't want her to mess it up any further so we just said no. I wanted to speak to a manager but with it being my friends farewell and her moving to the other country, I didn't want to put a damper on the evening. Which is why I emailed them directly afterwards.

I'm really disappointed at the level of service I received, and lack of follow up and...

So I have been wanting to go to this restaurant for about a year now and could never get a reservation or I've been too busy,so on Saturday my daughter made reservations for the two of us and I was very excited to try their restaurant. Anyone who knows me knows that the price doesn't matter to me when it comes to eating if I want it I will buy it. So as me and my daughter sat down to our table we had been waiting for about 20 minutes before the waiter decided to approach our table after he saw that we had waved another waiter over so that we could get the drink menu our waiter brought the menu and placed it on the table and left,we didn't think anything of it we just thought that maybe he was busy but that was not the case. Each time this man came to our table he never had a smile on his face but each time he went to a table next to us he had this great big Ole smile so I asked my daughter do we look poor as if we can't afford this restaurant and she replied no. So we sat and waited for the menu so that we could order an appetizer which took a while to get but we kept calm and didn't loose our cool,especially me. We had to call on another waiter other than our own to place our order but again he took over. We sat and watch this waiter with the other guest and he read the menu over with them and gave them suggestions all with a big smile but we never received any of this treatment, I felt very discriminated against and I wasn't happy. I have ate in several restaurants in Old Town and has never been treated like this. I was so disappointed and don't think that I will ever return here. It's really sad that we have people who think that just because I'm black I can't afford to eat at certain restaurants but I have traveled to eat at places that are much more expensive. I so so mad that I just left without speaking to management. The food was very good but the service...