Patricia's Downtown — Restaurant in Beachwood

Perhaps a diamond in the rough? Growing pains? Hope for the best? Patricia’s downtown is open for just about a month. The first few months are always rough for a new restaurant but being a local, I and three of my friends leaned in. The staff was very friendly but unfortunately the place seemed a bit “under” staffed. We had the chopped salad which was fresh and delicious. The appetizers that followed seemed to take an inordinate amount of time yet no bread was served. Ever. Kind of shocking for a NJ Italian restaurant! My husband had the octopus appetizer which he said could have used salt. The grandma’s meatball appetizer was delicious and I was grateful to my friend for sharing as I was hungry again post salad…bread might have filled that nagging bit of hunger? My chicken parmigiana was hot, thin and crispy. Unfortunately the sauce was a bit bland. No salt or pepper to be had on the table…maybe offering some Parmesan cheese or fresh pepper would have been nice? Just an idea. My husband chose a fish dish that was on the specials list but unfortunately the chef forgot to tell our waiter it was no longer available. (Our reservation was at 5:30…kind of early to run out and not tell the staff)…Oops! He ordered the seafood risotto instead which was offered either with pasta or “rice”…what happened to the “risotto” part we wondered? My friend/said her shrimp was rather cool but the pasta was nice and hot…shrimp not-so-good/pasta good. We’ll try their take out and see how it goes. I wish them well in working out their kinks…the first year is...

We were expecting a nearly empty restaurant because of the pending snow and it was already snowing for a little while when we arrived. While it was only a few tables, it started to fill up. I can understand why as the food was very good. The Grandma's meatballs appetizer was as close to my parent's recipe as I have tasted in a long time. Very enjoyable. If that is the sauce that comes on other dishes, I look forward to trying those. I had the chicken marsala and she had the rigatoni. My chicken was tender and tasty, but the marsala wine sauce didn't taste like marsala wine at all. It was good enough and the fresh pasta (for an upcharge) worked well with it. The rigatoni came with a Marzano tomato sauce that I found to also be very good, but the other half was not as impressed. Admittedly, her taste for food has been off since she started a new medication. The bread and olive oil dip was good, but hard to mess up. The atmosphere was good, but other diners were very loud. The range of those that stare for multiple rings at their phone before deciding to answer or ignore to the obnoxious belly laugher were present. The waitress was not very attentive. Drinks were often empty and refills had to be requested. Maybe this is a consequence of not ordering a bottle of wine? It is hard to find good wait staff these days, so I sympathize and hope it will improve. The almond cake was a highlight and the coffee was strong (think European coffee). Suspect we will be back again given the close...

Came here for a birthday dinner and unfortunately left very disappointed.

Bullet points: BYOB fees not quiet! food is oily and mediocre service rushes

It is BYOB, but we weren't given an ice bucket to keep our white wine cold. Not that we needed it (explained later.)

There is a 3.29% service fee on the receipt. They will charge it for debit cards, too, which I was under the impression that's illegal.

There is nothing in there to absorb all the noise, so if you have sensory issues this is not the place. Both of us are constantly at concerts and this was overwhelming. We couldn't talk to each other comfortably.

The bolognese ($24) looked more of a vodka sauce than tomato and had way too much oil in it. His gnocchi ($24) was a good sauce, but the gnocchi itself tasted like it came from a box. The real star was the bread and dip they brought out. Had a bunch of garlic and crushed red pepper in it. I ate more of that than my pasta.

From the moment we sat down we were rushed. The server was kind, but we barely had time to look over the menu. Once the check was brought she hovered. My bf barely got his signature finished before she collected the receipt and tried to take all the glasses off the table (she did put the water back down.) It was very crowded so I'm sure they want to turn tables, but back off. We felt unwelcome, and it certainly wasn't a dinner we needed to rush through.

Safe to say we...