Trattoria Sbandati — Restaurant in Bend

Last night my husband and I with our friends came trattoria Sbandati for dinner, 1st time!! We did not have a good experience, from the way we’re greeted the food and how our server was! Rather than, welcoming & asking us, How it should of gone was “ Welcome to trattoria Sbandati is this you first time? Whats the name under your reservation?

our greeter says in a anticipated tone in her voice, ready to kick us out! Thinking all ready that we don’t have a reservation, She’s say “hi,,,,, DO YOU HAVE A RESERVATION????” Wow is this how they greet they’re customers? “OK WHATS THE NAME??” Now I enlarged the letters because how do you write facial expressions and rude tone in here voice? Now our server where do we begin? Ok Hi no name over worked tired and trying not to be cranky!!! She did memorize the specials but gave us our menus and said she’ll be right back She came back and said, What can I get you to drink? I proceeded to tell her that this was our first time here, that the 4 of us want to experience a little bit of everything. I asked her, “ how big were the portions? She said that they were entre size that we could do family style. Ok, was happy about that The food: Wasn’t really impressed we had the antipasto for starter good portion, but the presentation was thrown together on a sharqutori board, with wilted lettuce. The bread was toasted fingerlings. Mediocre & the meats were over greased like they were old. Then we finished with 3 first course & one 2d course. Disappointing to wrap up this review quickly the sauces were Jared or can tasting and 2 of the pastas were mushy and the other, penne pasta wasn’t cooked all the way. The polpette ( meat balls) were covered in sauce & cheese to hide the fact that it wasn’t cooked all the way, and way too much dried bread crumbs, dry…. The spinach was way tooo salty and I pointed out to my server. Her response,!!! Oh ……. …………. She was more concerned about clearing our table and getting us on our way So in closing, we were all very disappointed underwhelmed and a little shocked! We read the eloquent website and menu and all of us were expecting more of a 4.5 to 5 star experience. Instead, it felt like 1.5 to 2 star experience especially for these prices, and the website presentation Too bad too sad I guess it’s safe to say that none of us will ever return Hopefully you will not have the same...

We came back to Trattoria Sbandati after such an amazing experience on our honeymoon two years ago. It was so good, that we ate at the restaurant two nights in a row during our honeymoon. The food was excellent, and the owner's wife was very hospitable and kind.

So we came back to Bend to visit a few family friends, and invited them to join us at the restaurant. When we arrived, it was a day that was 100 degrees at 5 pm. We had made for the reservation outside, not knowing that there was strict policy that once you decide inside or outside there would be no exceptions. It was four adults plus our infant son, and knowing 100 degrees would be terrible for a baby, we asked to move our table indoors where we saw several open tables. We were told by our waitress, Joanna, that it was not possible. Adding to this, one of our family friends was not feeling good from the heat, and even though Joanna noticed this, it didn't faze her to keep us outside.

Fast forward to our experience - that family friend ended up throwing up in the parking lot from the heat, and our son was also not feeling good. We had just received the food, and asked for it to be boxed up to go because we could not stay longer. Upon leaving, Joanna said good luck to us. I gave her a 15% tip by default mistakenly, because she didn’t deserve a tip - the service and experience were just awful. We rarely dine out with a young child, so when we do, we want good service, but didn't get it. The food was excellent two years ago, and was also excellent again: the charcuterie board was still excellent, and their bolognese pasta is something we could eat daily.

Now you may be thinking, why didn't we leave from the start? Because the restaurant has a policy, or at least with Resy, to charge $30 per guest for not showing up, and we thought this would've been applied had we left at the start. Crazy policy if you ask me, but I’m not surprised after the service and experience. Maybe the owners can correct us if we we're wrong, but they had our credit card information to make the reservation and could hence charge us. I also think the restaurant would do all of their guests and potential guests a favor by refusing to do outdoor dining when the temperature...

My wife and I have been dining at Trattoria Sbandati for years, drawn in by the authentic Italian cuisine and high-quality ingredients—like the zero zero flour that elevates their dishes. We’ve celebrated special occasions here, from birthdays to our 10th anniversary, and enjoyed it as a reliable spot for a night out. Reserving through Resy has always been seamless, and we’ve consistently scored a good table. Initially, we were impressed by the food’s authenticity and the friendly service, which kept us coming back.

That said, our recent visits have revealed a noticeable decline in service that’s soured our experience. The pace has slowed considerably, and during our last visit, the waiter got my wife’s main course wrong. Mistakes happen, but there was no effort to make it right—no offer of a complimentary drink, nothing. It felt dismissive. On that same evening, the restaurant was nearly empty—just us and one other group of about six, who seemed to know the staff. All the attention appeared to go their way, leaving us waiting longer than reasonable, on top of the order mix-up. The manager, who’s always struck us as aloof, didn’t once acknowledge us or check in. For loyal customers, that lack of basic courtesy stings.

We’ve noted milestone events like birthdays and our anniversary when booking, but there’s never been any gesture—big or small—to make those occasions feel special. In an intimate restaurant in a small but growing city like Bend, you’d expect a more personal touch, yet it’s always felt like just another meal. The food remains above average, and I’d still rate it highly for quality, but the service has slipped too far to ignore. Our last visit was, sadly, our final one. We’re taking our business elsewhere, to a place that values consistency and customer care as...