Colletta — Restaurant in Alpharetta

We went on Saturday 1/25 with a party of 12 for my wife’s birthday. When we booked the reservation, the greeter told us that for large parties, the family style chef’s choice menu is required and to expect a 2-2.5 hour meal. No problem

A 7:15 reservation, we were sat 15 minutes late, which at the time wasn’t a big deal, but was clearly an omen of the meal to come. Our server was very nice and attentive when they were table-side, but clearly they were behind the gun all night, the restaurant was short staffed, or a combination of the two.

Salads and appetizers came in a normal amount of time, as did drinks, but we were left waiting so long for main courses, that 2 of our guests had to leave as their babysitter had hit their limit. After having to ask about main dishes once, and being assured they were coming out at that moment, we waited another 15 minutes and finally received our dinner about 10pm.

It was a similar experience with desserts, except this time, one of us went to flag our server down to ask to bring the check as we preferred to leave than wait any longer. At this point, the celebratory nature of the evening had turned to repeatedly apologizing to our friends for subjecting them to the ordeal. We eventually did receive our desserts and check and was finally able to leave just at 11pm. Not the type of experience one thinks they’d receive for $60/person requirement. And a quick side note, we had one guest that was vegetarian in our party. Instead of delivering a vegetarian chef choice option, she was brought her own ravioli dish, but charged $30 for it. The cost of the meal was already extravagant, but penny pinching like that was injury on top of insult.

The cocktails were fantastic, a bright spot in an otherwise poor experience, the food was good, not great, when it finally arrived. The atmosphere was cool, but the service experience kept me up last night. We spent $1,500 last night, and at no point was the the wait acknowledged by the staff or a manager that could have assured us this was an exception, rather than a rule. The fact that we had to chase up courses with our server, not once, but twice, and was made to feel like we were being out of line for doing so was the icing on the late cake. Maybe large parties aren’t handled well there on a Saturday, but how confident the greeter sounded when we booked, I do not think that was the case. I’ve worked in multiple restaurants before, and have sympathy for staff in long waits, but only if they acknowledge it, perhaps offer a comped dish or drink to make up for the fact. We felt like the automatic gratuity was taken for granted and we suffered as a result.

Will not return...

I have dined at Colletta more than a dozen times giving I live in the proximity. The problem with restaurants is keeping good help. But then it becomes management’s issue to keep the service and food consistent with the ever changing staff. One time, while entertaining business guests, I ordered lasagna and it was burnt on one end and cold on the other - an indication it was warmed up lasagna microwaved in a non-rotating microwave, made the previous day or earlier in the day. Here is today’s meal. Sat at the bar on a Friday evening - as I mentioned in other restaurant reviews, bar service is different than table service. Bartenders should be proficient in both attending the bar and providing table service. The bar could use an additional bartender on a Friday evening (2 were present). Service: 2/5 stars, hardly initiated the asking of what we wanted. Instead, we needed to hail them down for almost everything - a drink, a food order, a check. Food/drinks: ordered the initial drink, The Phoenix. This was not made but rather poured from a pre-made mixture that was heavy on the passion fruit, and could not taste the habanero vodka. We ordered an extra shot of vodka to cut the diabetic sweetness of this drink. The second drink was an Old Fashioned, quite good. The shrimp scampi was excellent, the side bread was over toasted and was not touched by my wife and I because it was so hard, it didn’t absorb the delicious garlic-cilantro-olive oil base. Tragedy. The Caesar salad was abundant enough for two. The main course: ribeye. We ordered it rare and it came out as medium done. This indicates an inattentive cooking staff, because a rare steak is about 3 minutes on each side, a short period of time that requires attention. Dessert: we were asked if we wanted dessert but we were already dismayed by the earlier service that we opted out for dessert. Had either of the less than 24 year old bartenders asked us for another drink, we would have said ‘yes’. That never happened. Ambiance: 4/5, restaurant is an open experience with no walls to separate so don’t expect a quiet experience. Bill = $116 + tax+ $24 tips for $150 total for 3 drinks + 2 extra shots, 1 appetizer, 1 entree. Some of the entrees are excellent, and I would consider going again, but NOT to sit at the...

We were able to make a reservation for 8p on Sunday, 12.22. Once we arrived, they mentioned they were a little backed up with reservations, so we were probably sat at around 8:20.

Ambience- The restaurant is small and cozy. Beautifully decorated. When we called for our reservation, she told us the only availability was the patio. We were hesitant because it was very cold, but she assured us that it was warm and it was. They have heat lamps above providing heat to each table.

Service- Vince was our server with Brad, (Blake Shelton look-alike). They were both great! Very attentive and knowledgeable.

Food/Drinks- We ordered the meatballs for our appetizer. They were VERY good. The polenta that lay underneath was also very smooth and delicious. We ordered a full Ceasar salad, which was good as well.

I ordered the Piazza Martini, but our server misheard and brought me the Mazzini Margarita. He corrected this and brought me the correct drink. Both very good.

My husband ordered the Malfadine Nero pasta. He loved it. I tried a bite and agree that it was very good. He had a bad experience with squid ink pasta at another restaurant, so thoroughly enjoyed this meal.

I was not very hungry, so I just ordered the shrimp scampi with flat bread. I was disappointed because the flat bread was more like chips. I wanted to put my shrimp on the bread with the sauce, but unfortunately, I could not. I would recommend a different type of bread. The shrimp was very, very good!

We absolutely loved the restaurant and...