Serafina Ristorante — Restaurant in Apex

I was looking for a local restaurant to celebrate our anniversary together. We had high hopes for Serafina, and we wanted to experience it without reading the reviews. Many of the top rated reservations were from friends and family looking to support the owners. A shame that there wasn’t honest feedback from their friends and family. Greeting us at the door were two hostesses and a maître d’. We were seated at our table on the main floor, and we noticed two things. Nobody had dinner plates on their table to spy on perspective dinner choices from the menu, and the room is full of hard surfaces with nothing to deaden the sounds of the room. The ambiance isn’t a nice dining room experience, it’s more like a poorly attended sports bar. Loud, with people yelling to their dinner partners to be heard. Our waiter came to greet us and brought water. He scurried away, and came back five minutes later to take a drink and appetizer order. However, the next time he came back was to take a dinner order but drinks still had not hit the table. He quickly apologized for a busy bartender and a few minutes later he came back with our cocktails, which had melted ice cubes and well past fresh strawberries in them. A few minutes later an expeditor came and dropped our appetizer, warm burrata on the table. No plates. No clue. We had to prod him for plates and he did go retrieve some for us. A glaring error which some training might have avoided. By the way, the waiter didn’t even stop by. Which might have been good, since the warm burrata was colder than room temperature. We had hoped that was the end of the disappointment, but it was just the second act in a letdown of an evening. When our waiter came back to take dinner orders, we were praised for our choices and assured we picked his family’s favorites. However, the empty serving dish for our appetizer and our bread plates sat on the table until dinner was brought to the table. Now, I travel the globe for work. I have eaten at too many fine dining establishments. Raised in Chicago, I met my wife in NY, where she grew up and we lived together for 18 years. We do know Italian food. We do know bougie dining, which this place was hoping to replicate, but missed. The gnocchi which was served as a main was barely a side dish portion. It was not up to par, and certainly not worthy of the price tag. The Rigatoni Bolognese was more reminiscent of Hamburger helper, but at least a reasonable portion for the price tag. Not the quality we had hoped for, but typical of many of the attempts at fine dining in Apex. We sat with empty dishes on the table for 10 minutes. 10 minutes. Also, the only Italian restaurant where NOBODY offered Parmesan cheese for our entree. Nobody near us to even ask. My wife and I were politely discussing our experience while the maître d’ was bussing the table next to us, and must have overheard us. He immediately turned around and asked how our dinner was while taking away the collection of dirty dishes and asked if we saved room for sweets. We politely declined and asked for our check. He had it on our table in a matter of less than 1 minute. Then… several more minutes later, our server came by and apologized the place was so busy. Well, we watched him handle three other tables near us with a much higher level of attention, so to apologize for how busy the place was only showed his admission of ignoring us for larger groups. My wife and I wanted to experience Serafina, and thought our anniversary would be a good chance to do so. I wish their friends were honest with the owner, I really do. I fear that this will be another place in Apex that will have come and gone in a short period of time. Running a restaurant must not be an easy experience. I hope this team figures out the issues which are not unique to our experience, as we read the reviews after dining excursion. Those other reviews show our experience...

First visit to Serafina on a Friday date night and I’ve got to say that I was overly impressed with the greeting at the front door to confirm our reservation and was seated early due to availability in the dining area. There was a familiarity to the place as someone who has visited this building before, it was lively (noisy but not too loud-a great environment for my style!).

Wanted to give the menu a real test to our appetite and try some different things to get a feel for the chef and the dishes available to order. It was great to have some recommendations for someone like myself who does struggle with pronunciation of all things available to order! Chris was our server and made us feel right at home with some recommendations and a quick story about the chef, menu design, and some personal recommendations and wine pairings to get started.

Antipasti Order of the Taleggio Arancini and Prosciutto e Asparagi. The arancini was delicious! Perfectly crispy and a mouth full of flavor in each bite. The prosciutto salad was a fresh batch of flavors with asparagus that didn’t taste overly “asparagusy”. (That’s a word right?!)

Primi The Cacio e Pepe was an amazing dish of pasta. Perfectly seasoned and full of flavor. This was IT for me! Creamy, perfectly portioned to share and recommended to add a protein to go with. We opted not to so that we could fully enjoy the pasta. It’s amazing. Just do it.

Secondi Roasted Branzino and Filet Mignon. I mentioned during my meal that this was the best “first bite” of a steak I’ve had in a decade. There was so much flavor, perfectly cooked medium rare, and the onions and potatoes were a great add on with the red wine reduction. I couldn’t ask for more. The Branzino was such a fun dish, pleasantly plated and served, and was wonderfully filleted to make eating such a fun dish not a chore at all. Perfect crisp and flavor.

Dolci Tiramisu and Chocolate Gelato. The tiramisu is incredible. It’s just what you want from an Italian restaurant if you’re in the mood for it. The Gelato was recommended by our server and as someone who loves a good “chocolate ice cream” I was slightly hesitant but the richness, texture, temperature served were all nothing short of amazing.

The value for the pricing here is spot on overall. I left feeling as if we got a great deal on dinner due to the staff and flavors we enjoyed. I’m already looking at my calendar on when to get back and give that Tomahawk a run for its money. Thank you to Chris and all of the staff that made tonight worthwhile enough for me to spend my evening raving about how much I enjoyed...

A Delightful Culinary Experience in Downtown Apex!

Our recent visit to Serafina Ristorante was an absolute treat, striking the perfect balance between comforting Italian classics and elevated flavors.

We were a party of six and decided to eat family-style, ordering the Rigatoni Bolognese, Cacio e Pepe, and Bistecca for Two.

The Rigatoni Bolognese, with its braised pork and beef ragù, fruity olive oil, and Pecorino, was outstanding. The sauce delivered a beautiful marriage of zest and savory depth, clinging perfectly to the al dente rigatoni. Each bite brought a harmonious blend of rich meatiness and bright olive oil notes.

The Cacio e Pepe, made with bucatini, a peppercorn blend, and Parmesan, was surprisingly satisfying. Its simplicity let the rich, buttery sauce shine, coating each strand with creamy elegance and just the right peppery kick.

The star of the evening was the Bistecca, a massive 40 oz tomahawk steak cooked flawlessly to medium-rare. Juicy, tender, and full of flavor, it was topped with a vibrant chimichurri sauce. The Parmesan fingerlings and fresh arugula salad with bright red peppers provided the perfect contrast in both texture and flavor.

A special shoutout to our server, David, whose warm demeanor, attentiveness, and spot-on recommendations made the evening even more enjoyable. His excellent service truly elevated our dining experience.

From start to finish, every dish was thoughtfully prepared and expertly executed. Serafina Ristorante delivers an authentic yet refined Italian dining experience that’s absolutely...