Vinnie's Neighborhood Italian South — Restaurant in Asheville

The Neighborhood Italian that is Vinnie's. What can I say other than amazing. Main reason for doing this review is for 3 things, food, customer service, and service to community.

Food, this place is simply great. The food is nothing other than delicious tradition to the Italian NY style, hearty, mouthwatering, filling, yet simple all at the same time. I have had so many dishes and not a single one has disappointed me or was not what I was expecting once I received the dish.

Customer service is amazing as the focus to detail to the customer and kindness in which everything is presented makes you feel like you are at home.

Lastly, and the main reason for writing this review is the service to me outside of their restaurant.

Usually, I dine in at Vinnie's but with a pregnant wife of 31 weeks who did not want to dine in, so we choose to go the takeout option for the night, and I was unfortunate to have the first issue with my vehicle that I have ever had. My power steering went out right as I was to turn onto the 4-lane street out of the parking lot. Sure, enough I tried to figure out the issue. Which I thought was a faulty battery or alternator. Later to find out a day later it was my alternator. I called my wife and the moment she arrived and tried to jump start me which worked long enough for me to pull out of the parking spot and right Infront of the 4-lane road as mentioned previously. The manager whose name still gets away from me that starts with a C. I think Connor or Caleb was his name. This manager took it upon himself, right as the restaurant/kitchen was closing, to come out and offer help. He stated the car was fine where it was and that I could do what I needed to do and that if I needed tools or something that he himself had some to spare. I took my wife's vehicle and got the parts I needed from a store that was conveniently open. I returned with the part and Connor stayed outside with me in the cold the whole time to use his tools and his hands to work with me instead of closing the restaurant at the time to prioritize me instead. Which will stay with me to this day that this kind man decided to do this when he had no obligation of any kind to do so. As I was finishing the last little bit, he mentioned that since I have not left, and it had been almost an hour and a half since I ordered my food which was in the passenger seat with doors and windows down, that he would get someone in the kitchen to make our entire order once more to ensure my pregnant wife and I would have something warm to eat when we got back home from the cold.

I cannot express how much, that this has touched me. Now, I have more than just food, and customer service to be the reason to come to Vinnie's. They truly treat you more than just a neighbor as their restaurant name would have you believe but family as well. I do apologize if I did not recall your name in our short time but Connor or whatever it was, I truly thank you for your help and concern from your employees on a night that did not go my way.

Thank...

I have enjoyed good meals at the original Vinnie's location on Merrimon, but hadn't been to the south location since they opened. I have been missing out. We were lucky to get two seats at the bar in October on a Friday night. When we put our names on the wait-list for a table (arriving just before 7pm), the estimate was an hour and a half wait. Not sure I would have stayed that long, but thank goodness we snuck into the bar by asking a gentleman to move over one and give us the corner seats. My friend and I shared everything we ordered, one appetizer, two entrees, a side salad and dessert. We had leftovers to go home with, enough for each of us to take a snack size portion of pasta. Everything was served in a timely fashion, although I wouldn't eat there on a weekend if you were in a hurry, but for a leisurely dinner that involved good conversation, it was perfect. The smoky tomato sauce served with the arancini was wonderful. Without it, I might have said the fried risotto balls were a little bland, but together they were tasty! The real standout for the meal was the chicken picatta. The chicken breast was cooked perfectly!!! Just done enough to be cooked through, but not cooked to the point that so many restaurants do where it is dry. The lemon caper sauce held together and was balanced, not too lemony and not too caper-y, and the garlic spinach was a great accompaniment, along with spaghetti noodles on the side. The pasta Bolognese had a great, simple red sauce. The meat was a tiny bit drier than I prefer, but it did not detract from the overall flavor of the dish. The pasta was cooked al dente, with just the right amount of bite to it. And now.... dessert! We were not planning to order dessert but the bartender highly recommended the special (I guess they don't do dessert specials that often). It was a deconstructed canolli, with an apricot jam and pistachio crumble. Wow, was it a great way to finish off the meal. Not too sweet, with a perfect texture on the layers of canolli 'shell'. The atmosphere was busy and sitting at the bar, there were a few times where people were leaning over our shoulders to order drinks while they waited, but it didn't bother us. The wait staff and bar staff were always moving quickly but never once seemed frantic. They were friendly and professional and contributed to a great experience overall. I do wish they took reservations so I could plan for a special evening and time it out a little better. As long as your evening plans just involve dinner at Vinnie's though, expect to have a...

Update: Happy to share that it was just an off night! After Emily and Nan reached out we went back to Vinnie’s and had an amazing meal! The arancini, chicken parm and bolognese were all perfect! Can’t wait to go back and beyond happy to share that Vinnies truly cares about their customers

I have been to both Vinnie’s locations many times. I even had my rehearsal dinner at their original North Asheville location! So, needless to say I am quite a fan. But, left our visit tonight quite puzzled and disappointed at what has historically been one of my favorite restaurants.

Red flags probably should have gone up when we were seated and I saw an older couple returning their calamari for being undercooked and the table behind me saying their food was too salty. But, I sadly assumed it was just a “preference” issue.

I want to stay by saying our waiter and waitress were great! So, five stars to the servers. But, the food….what the actual?!?! Our Arancini sauce was cold and the Arancini themselves were not nearly as creamy as they usually are. I hate to “be that person” so held off on making any comments.

Then, the entrees came… the pasta in the spaghetti bolognese was hard and the sauce was basically non existent. I’ve ordered these dishes multiple times so at this point I know what it’s supposed to taste like.

We sent it back and we got a soupy version of the bolognese. Slightly better but still not good and definitely not in line with what we always get from Vinnies.

When the waitress came back she apologized again and I asked if there was a change in the kitchen staff or the recipe. She let us know the kitchen is quite green and they’re adjusting. As a customer I’d much rather them shut down and train the staff than serve low quality food. That’s when I would have expected a manager to pop by, but they never did. Yes, the waitress offered a free dessert and a coupon for next time.

Honestly though $100 later it just left a sour taste in my mouth. We’ve been big fans of Vinnie’s always going with friends and family and even hosting a big event there. But, if they’re going to go the route of $$$ over quality then we might have to close...