Gemelli — Restaurant in Asheville

My family attempted to visit this restaurant today for the first time. This will be to only time we attempt to eat here. We didn’t even eat. We walked in and was sat at a table that was right in the sun. Since there was no other patrons at the restaurant yet, we asked to be sat at a different table. We were met by a rude staff member who said the restaurant was booked… There were three other tables that were set up exactly like ours in a row with no one there. The waitress looked at two of the tables and said “those two are already reserved”. There was no reserved signs and we had reservations just like anyone that would be eating there. At that point I did say, I’m not sure I want to eat here. That was because the waitress seemed like it was such a chore to move us. The waitress was hesitant but left to ask someone if we could be sat anywhere else. She returned and said, “I guess you can sit over there”. I was definitely not wanting to eat there after we were met by that. My wife and daughter talked me into staying. The waitress walked us to a smaller table and walked away. We agree to sit down. We watch the waitress walk over and start talking to a gentleman who immediately stares at our table, says something and rolls his eyes. The waitress then walks over to another two employees in behind the bar and one of the ladies immediately stares at our table as they are shaking their heads. We got up and walked out. As we leave, no one says anything to us or makes any attempt at to find out what the issue is. Also as we walk out, the waitress looks at us and rolls her eyes. Absolutely the worst interaction that we have had in a very long time. It really is sad because the food looks great. And since they are also co-restaurants with strada, we were excited to try it. Strada is a favorite restaurant of ours. But no patron deserves that treatment for simply asking to not be sat at a table where you are going to get roasted by the sun with a restaurant that is empty. I know that by us leaving, it will not hurt this restaurant, but if the staff do not change how they treat patrons, they certainly will hurt the restaurant.

in response to the owners response

First, I completely understand that Just because a restaurant is empty, does not mean that it will not be shortly. Second, your staff did not move use to a table of exact same size/seats etc. we walked past two tables that were exactly the same and there was a table past the table we originally were sat at, that was exactly the same size/seating etc. We were not sat at any of those. Instead, we were sat a smaller table that had a small bench against a pillar. Your staff fed you a line. As for my perception. Perception is reality. What we saw and experienced was spot on with my review. I know what I saw and experienced. I understand you want to protect your staff and stand up for them, but again, they are handing you a line. As for understanding, I don’t. I don’t understand how there are multiple reviews of poor quality in staff and you basically go on each and tell the person leaving the review that they are full of garbage but wrap it in a lot of fluff. What I do understand is that not only will I not return to this location, but I will not return to your other locations. Maybe you should spend more time training your front end staff on quality service, while also addressing your own service delivery and response to...

I was really excited to try Gemelli's and made a Saturday evening reservation during restaurant week. I had looked at the special menu online and was excited to try it. I don't like writing negative reviews, but unfortunately the food did not live up to the wonderful descriptions on the menu. Hopefully it was an off night and others have had better experiences, but it was not so for us. The burrata appetizer was the better of the two apps we ordered, but the crackers served with it were so heavily salted you almost couldn't use them to eat the cheese. I would have been much happier if it had been served over some arugula or something other than the pool of olive oil and drizzle of balsamic that stuck to the bowl. (I actually stole some of the arugula off of the plate of calamari my partner ordered and it was much improved. The calamari, however, was overcooked and rubbery, but the marinara was nicely seasoned. The paprika pasta I ordered was so heavily seasoned it was inedible (and I love spice... it wasn't too spicy-hot), the pepper from the paprika and the salt levels were way out of whack. In addition to that, the sauce was almost non-existent (maybe it dried out if the pasta sat in the window too long) and the ground lamb was cooked so much it was dry and grainy. I barely ever send food back, but I did and asked if they could bring me one of the other entrees, the mushroom and truffle risotto. The flavor of the risotto was wonderful, but maybe because they were rushing the order, the rice was a little too al dente, even for risotto. It shouldn't crunch. My partner's venison hash had good flavor and the venison was tender, but it was served over large chunks of fried potatoes (think home fries) and I would not have called it a hash. The egg on top was barely runny, which is the best part of a hash in my opinion. They actually didn't even ask how the egg should have been cooked. We just assumed soft. That may have been our mistake. The highlight of the meal were the desserts. The cannoli and bombolini (I think that's the right name) were light and delicious and just the right size. Our server was gracious and friendly, even through all of our frustrations, and brought her manager over at the end to hear our feedback. After the disappointing meal, there were also incorrect charges for my partners food, and an unidentified add-on charge at the bottom of the invoice. After inquiring, our server apologized and told us that it was a credit card service charge. No problem with that, but it needs to be itemized, or at the very least vocalized, when the check is brought to the table. After all of that, the manager just said she hoped that we'd give them a try again. No offer to take anything off the bill or even a discount on our next visit. That's not at all expected, but would have gone a long way to making me want to give them...

My husband and I went out on a date… I was excited to try this restaurant because every time I go to Earthfare to grocery shop I smell garlic in the air and I love Italian food with plenty of garlic! We were greeted and seated in a very friendly manner. The decor and ambiance is pretty nice, I chose to sit in the chair and my husband sat on the bench style seat against the wall, I am short and the bench was a bit high…the chair was ok for comfort…what made it awkward and not so comfortable was the floor… the wood planks were uneven which was challenging to slide the chair in and then whenever a person would walk behind my chair I would feel the chair move in an oddly crooked manner, it was strange feeling and unpleasant. I looked around to see what other type of seating they had and their booths in the back look nicer to sit at but they were all taken. The waiter was “OK” it was hard for me to hear him as he spoke in a very fast way and towards my husband, so after he walked away I asked my husband what he said, he was describing a few things that we had asked about on the menu. After the waiter poured the water and walked away my husband and I took a sip and both of us immediately were like ooh yuck, it had a strange smell but didn’t taste bad, so we decided we would drink wine instead. We were disappointed that there was no bread offered… after all this is an Italian restaurant… My husband ordered calamari and Cesar salad for us to share as an appetizer, it was OK, the Cesar salad came drenched in dressing and had a balsamic dressing drizzled on top that was TOO sweet, the lettuce was not crisp, too soggy the croutons had NO FLAVOR, they were too dry and crunchy. The calamari was deep fried it was a bit over cooked in my opinion, it was accompanied by arugula covered in oil (not sure it it was olive oil?) and a small bowl of red sauce for dipping. We were pretty disappointed at this point and nothing on the menu for the entrees sounded that appetizing for the high prices $$… we decided we would share a dish and ordered the pasta dish that had long wide noodles described to be like thinner cut lasagna style noodles, red sauce and marinated “fall of the bone” short ribs meat mixed in with the pasta and red sauce. It arrived barely warm, no added cheese for on top was offered, sadly this expensive meal turned out to be not the tastiest! We asked about bread, the focaccia with olive tapenade was suggested (again it was OK, nothing great!) my husband and I both enjoy cooking and making tasty food, for us Gemelli’s recipes were lacking in yummy flavors throughout this whole experience. We decided to not order dessert… we went next door to Earthfare for some tiramisu. Sorry Gemelli, I had to be honest. Only...