Baia Della Italian Kitchen — Restaurant in Baxter

First off I'm a pretty laid-back person I'm far from a male Karen I understand wholeheartedly every place I've ever been to has off days The food is subpar or orders get messed up not enough staff, lunch and dinner rushes I get it and then I go back and The place totally redeems themselves but this time I felt compelled to leave a review My family has been talking this place up for a year now they made it kind of a tradition every time my great-aunt comes into town they meet her there and they had nothing but great experiences they really talked up the place this time I decided to decided to tag along with my wife . There was six of us in total me my wife my grandmother and my great aunt my mother and my brother we all ordered our food and drinks The waitress seemed friendly enough but she felt kind of agitated very short I couldn't put my finger on it when we got to the place there wasnt hardly anyone there we could hear a pin drop in the place people did start coming in though after we ordered but it wasn't extremely busy she brought our drinks most got water me and my sister-in-law got a cocktail we never been there so why not they came out pretty timely they tasted great My great-aunt ordered iced tea it had a couple of ice cubes floating in there she likes her iced tea Arctic cold don't we all though as our food came out she asked the waitress if she could get some extra ice on the side she said she would grab a cup of ice and on we went eating talking drinking after some time though The waitress was back and forth tending to other customers My brother tried to flag her down there was a little bit of commotion in there but he did kind of what most people do he raised his hand snapped his fingers and made a little motion like hey can you come here for a moment thinking nothing of it literally everybody does that to a bartender or food service at a game anybody you're trying to get attention to in a place with a lot of commotion without standing up and physically waving the person she comes by with the glass of ice stoops down close to him looks him in the eyes and says you don't ever snap your fingers at your waitress as she set the cup of ice down and just walked away everybody was silent looking at each other I mean the way it was said the tone The mood just changed instantly My brother didn't even know what to say obviously that wasn't his intention to upset her or come across rude we all were drinking and eating and going about our meal and my aunt was just staring at her iced tea as sometime has passed and he tried to flag The waitress down for her I feel that was entirely unprofessional and she let her emotions get the best of her and she just assumed that he was being rude if she let him speak before marching off he would have been able to say that wasn't my intention to come off rude I'm sorry I was just trying to remind you about the ice it's been a little while that kind of ruined the mood for everybody before that we were talking about family and current events after that that's kind of all we could think about another waitress came by and took care of the table pretty much for the rest of the night her attitude wasn't exact mirror opposite very pleasant The original waitress popped in here and there but I think she could tell we were not happy she had every opportunity to say I'm sorry I jumped the gun a little bit and we could have talked it out like adults eventually My sister-in-law had a couple of words with her but it didn't go anywhere she was convinced that he was rude so yeah that was my first experience I'm sure it's not like that all the time but from what I saw the table right next to us was upset as well they got an argument at the till and left there to go boxes right at the counter and marched out so we weren't the only ones I guess someone was having a bad day and it showed. The food and drinks were decent atmosphere was nice but for the money you spend at a place like that and be treated that way I don't believe...

Disappointed. My friend and I ordered the Chicken Cannelloni to share after the waitress told us the serving sizes were huge. The meal came on a small dish with a handle and contained 3 short small cannelloni. In comparison to the enormous bowls of Chicken Fettuccine and another pasta dish that our other friends had ordered, the size of the Cannelloni was remarkably small. We were well into eating our meals when the waitress returned to our table. I told the waitress that my food was not hot and she offered to microwave it, I declined. My girlfriend commented that she felt there should be more bread provided to complete the meal experience, ie: bread service so the waitress said she would send over the manager. When the manager came to the table, I said that my food was not hot. He made some remarks about my liking to be burned and seems to play down that my food was not hot. He offered to reheat it or replace it, I can't say for sure because it was very noisy and others were speaking at the same time. I told him that we were sharing. He never said anything else to me about it but engaged my friend about the bread and left the table. I continued to eat food that was not hot to eat, and felt a bit befuddled. In addition to my food being cool rather than hot, I found the salad portion for a table of 4 people to quite inadequate. The lettuce was wilted and beginning to turn brown as well as soaked in dressing. Certainly not what I consider a salad. The lettuce should be crispy and the dressing should be light to add flavor, not drowning the lettuce and veggies. The lighting was very dark in most areas and overly bright in the area where we were sitting. The music overhead was too loud and distracting rather than a pleasant background effect. As well, the noise from customers was very loud and disruptive for the level of restaurant it appears to want to be and for the customers it seems to want to attract. I felt like I was more at a Chuckie Cheese pizza joint rather than an upper scale restaurant. It was very difficult to have conversation and to relax and enjoy our ladies birthday night out. Was really excited to hear about the new Italian restaurant in town. Sadly it turned out to be disappointing. I wish them success but I don't think it is for me. I want my meal out experience to have tasty food properly prepared and at the temperature it should be, excellent service, a relaxing quiet atmosphere, and attentive management who properly addresses the customers concerns, without jokes and before moving on to another customer.

I posted my comment 6 days ago. I find it interesting that the owner has responded to every other comment with the exception of mine. Even those comments that posted after mine. Apparently he prefers to respond to the comments that are glowing and complimentary while rewarding customers for their positive review. Yet does not respond to a customer whose comment is less favorable. Indicating change and improvement. Certainly is something else to remember about this restaurant...

For a too long didn't read: the food was really good aside from my salad, the cleanliness was alright except for the table, the wait staff feel not feel welcoming. I will give this place another chance on a Friday night and adjust my score as needed.

The booth we were sitting at was very obviously not wiped prior to us sitting down, it had two leaves on it and felt a little grimy. Throughout my meal the wait staff gave me this apprehensive feeling. I also waited just a little longer than I wanted for almost everything My father ordered their lasagna, which the waitress ended up coming back and saying that it was not available. Though, most of this can be rationalized by the fact we showed up at 4:30pm on a monday, while they had a banquet going. They are closed on Sundays, which I think is quite alright, however that means when they open at 4pm on Monday, they don't have Lasagna prepared. I had the Mango Italian soda to drink which was a sweet mango flavor served with lime that added nicely to the flavor of the soda. No refill on this, but it was more than enough for me. Calamari for an appetizer was soft with a hint of a citrusy flavor to it. It came with a sauce that gave the calamari a delicious creamy flavor that made me wish I didn't have to share it. You receive a salad and breadstick with all pasta. The breadstick was good, but the first bite of the salad was way too strong on the dressing. I ordered braised short rib rigatoni for my entree and it was very good. The short rib was very tender and the rigatoni was cooked perfectly. The sauce it came in was quite savory with a bit of a spice to it that enhanced the dish without overwhelming anything. I was a little skeptical of the sweet peas, but they went well with the dish and I felt it brought more of a texture than a flavor. I asked for dessert and they didn't have the menu complete but our waitress said she would ask what was available. I had tiramisu cheesecake which was a great finish to a nice dinner. Altogether, I really like Baia Della. Aside from the salad, the food was all very good. The cooks and/or the chef that came up with the menu did an excellent job. I'll give the wait staff another try on a friday when they should be more prepared. They were probably quite frazzled with the event right as they opened on a monday and can't be faulted for a missed table or longer wait times, but i can also not be blamed for not...