Delvino's Grill & Pasta House — Restaurant in Belfast

I’m going to preface this review with a qualification: I started working in restaurants in 1994, and have worked every position in a restaurant independently at one time or another, from dishwasher to general manager.

We showed up as a party of five for an early (6pm) dinner reservation. We were told we would be sat when they had enough menus for us…this is a weird reason to avoid seating a table. As a small point of advice, never let the guests see behind the curtain. The correct answer is “your table isn’t quite ready but I’ll get you as soon as it is, if you wouldn’t mind waiting a moment.” After waiting twenty minutes for menus (time in which we could have been sat and ordered drinks) we were put in the center of a party of 8 and 4 2 tops. This means that there were pinch points for the service staff on both sides of us. Constant bumping and chair moving. Less than ideal, but I’ve sat through worse for good food. We ordered drinks, a pretty typical round. A peroni, a couple of dirty martinis (with bleu stuffed olives), a glass of wine, and a mocktail. We ordered a couple of small plates and started to review the menu. After about 10 minutes the drinks showed up. My Peroni was mistakenly poured as a blueberry beer of some sort. The martinis had regular olives because they had “run out”. The wine glass was in a sad state of polish. These are all normal restaurant problems but when they all show up at once my red flags start to rise. Our first courses showed up. Unimaginative, under-seasoned and just…boring. Did they taste bad? No. Did they taste good? Also, no.

After about 15 more minutes the waitress showed up and told me they had an issue with the peroni so I would need to change my decision. I opted for a glass of barbera and acquiesced to a bottle for the table. Every empty wine glass that showed up was dirty in some way. One with visible food on the outside. Our entrees were middling, one of our parties food was completely wrong, and honestly, I should have sensed the issues before I even ordered. Chicken Parmesan for 28 dollars. A Sysco bag breast, breaded incorrectly in Sysco Italian breadcrumbs with nameless “Italian” cheese and watery red sauce with some “fresh” pasta. I say this in quotes because I would be hard pressed to believe that this somehow busy restaurant was making enough of the pasta they’re serving to accommodate the demand they’re under. Which means it’s a packaged fresh product which was sauced incorrectly and served unseasoned and wet like an afterthought. An insult to pasta everywhere.

To add insult to injury we were never offered any of the actual Italian cheese they had roaming around with a micro plane, and one of our party had to ask for it from a server helping a table nearby.

Dessert was a tiramisu that was…fine? Hersheys syrup on the plate and a shot of canned whipped cream were the hallmarks of a restaurant that doesn’t really care what you ordered as long as you’re not there too long.

I give this two stars because our server was, against all odds, trying her hardest to keep the ship afloat. We are not unpleasant people to wait on. We left a generous tip (on top of the 3% kitchen gratuity that I personally would have forgone in this instance). From the beginning to the end it was a largely disappointing experience. Mediocre food, poorly designed drinks and menus, and almost no attention to detail. There are shining examples of how good restaurants can be all up and down the Seacoast of Maine. This is unfortunately not...

Not to sound overly harsh, but after seeing a line out the door and amazing reviews online I had high expectations for Delvino’s. We didn’t have reservations so weren’t surprised when there was a wait. We put our name on the list and were told it would be 25 minutes wait and they would call us. After around 30 minutes we checked again and were told just a few more minutes and then were seated at the bar. There was a freshly empty table but I assumed it was for a reservation (it ended up being seated nearly an hour and a half after we sat at the bar so we could have been in and out before then). Their waitlist system was just on a notepad and it didn’t seem like they were ever actually going to call us. When we got to the bar, we sat there for nearly 20 minutes before anyone even looked our way. During that time one of the servers/bartenders was sneezing and coughing on/near the kiosk/computer that they put the orders in. Should have been a red flag. The main bartender was new and CLEARLY lacked training. She was nice but clearly overwhelmed and kept touching her hair and face when she was nervous, which grossed me out. There were also fruit flies at the bar. My husband ordered the “Maine Manhattan” which was supposed to come with Maine Bourbon per the menu. She didn’t know where that was or if they had any. As she made drinks (which she took a long time doing), she would put the alcohol in ice and let it sit and die on the bar while she ran around the restaurant doing other things. She also chilled glasses using ice water, which diluted everything. When she messed up a few drinks she just added the ingredient she forgot (which was in the name) instead of remaking it. My husbands drink was super watery and diluted. I should have not ordered a drink when I saw the bagged wine (which reminds me of a frat house not a nice Italian restaurant). When we finally ordered food it took a while to come out. My chicken parm had a weird aftertaste and let’s just say that the sauce tasted like the same quality as Pizza Hut tomato sauce. For an entree over $25 I expected at least a fresh sauce. I didn’t even finish because the pasta had a strange aftertaste. My husband got the salmon and it smelled very fishy (like more than good fish should). The only way I think someone would like the food here is if they have literally never tasted good Italian food in their life. (I have lived in several states over the US and am Italian American so I KNOW there is better stuff out there). Near the end of our meal (but we were still eating) the coughing bartender put a drink drying rack right by my plate which was off putting. The main bartender did remove it. I think she was nice just really lacked training. For all my bar rescue fans, I think Jon Taffer would find a lot of issues with this place. If you’re a tourist visiting and want a good dinner, I might avoid this place. If you’re a local I love your town outside of...

Food is great at a very reasonable price. Only problem is that there was a bus boy who literally paced himself and walk from the wall to the side corridor non-stop. Very distracting when you finally notice a person walking a very small almost tavern-style setup, and you can't help but watch him.

The food was good but the side salad that came with the meal was literally 12 arugula leafs with shredded carrots and a single cherry tomato sliced in half. However the balsamic vinaigrette that you pour from what looks like an amber medicine jar was to die for.

I ordered the cheese ravioli with a single meatball very good but the pasta was well overcooked for an establishment that prides itself on home cooked made from scratch food.

My son had angel hair pasta with butter and my wife had the haddock sandwich both telling me that it's tasty and a great value for the price.

We also ordered the roasted garlic bulb with the complementary bread and oil seasoning; a must have item when you come here.

They use a chalkboard to write the daily specials and desserts. I haven't tried them yet but I'm sure they are good, the daily special dessert for today was a pumpkin spice tiramisu.

I give the service 3 stars because even though our food came out quickly it's the beginning and ending that ruin my experience here. You get started and then you wait thinking they forgot you and then when your done I asked the waitress for a takeaway box and I literally got so tired of waiting that their staff is just standing there and I know they could see us waiting until I asked one that just standing there to grab me a box please!!

I hate the feeling of being forgotten it totally ruins it for me as well as the guy pacing...