Anima Cucina — Restaurant in Bismarck

I’ve been here several times and would rate it a little higher based off of those visits but honestly the food is normally just a little above average. The environment/ambiance is a solid 4 stars. Normally the service is decent/good. Pricing is a little high for what it is at dinner time but not beyond reasonable.

It’s going during lunch that killed it for me. The place was nearly empty and I can definitely see why. While (unlike many restaurants) the prices and portion sizes don’t allow for any lunch pricing, this would be acceptable if you received the same quality and service at lunch time.

First, nobody there to seat you, you go up to the counter and order for yourself and find a seat for yourself and take a number to your table like fast food. I’m not too important to order at a counter or seat myself so it’s ok, but it’s the beginning of the lower customer service experience for which you’re still paying dinner time prices. You pay in advance, and they leave space for a tip just like when you’re receiving service - which of course I’m going to tip. I’ve been here before. Once I get to my table the service will surely warrant it - I’ve been here before. Carry my (dirty) can of Diet Coke to the table (at the same price as a fountain drink with no glass or ice or anything).

The food (I ordered the walleye which I’ve had before and was actually quite good in the past) comes in a reasonable time, but is nowhere near the standard they normally adhere to. The fish is flavorless other than the very distinct burnt flavor. It’s dry and chewy and in general just gross. The food is plopped down on the table while the person gestures vaguely in the direction of the back of the dining room and says, “the silverware and napkins and water (a room temperature container) are over there”. And then resumes post standing around talking to some friends at the counter area. Nothing overtly rude, just a general, I don’t care that you’re spending quite a bit more for lunch here than you could most places and not really getting anything better than McDonald’s service (and to be honest, on this occasion at least less than McDonald’s food).

In the end I wasn’t sure what to do with my dishes, due to the lack of service in every other phase of the visit, but there weren’t any other customers to watch to see what to do and they didn’t really say. I decided that since I had tipped in advance about 25% of my bill as I usually do, I’d leave my dishes (neatly) at the table.

Long story short - I wouldn’t tell anyone not to go at dinner time, it is a better experience then, but don’t blow your cash at lunch. There are several options in very short walking distance and all of them provide a far better service experience, better quality, and a far better value...

I wish I could say better things about this restaurant. After looking forward to this restaurant for weeks, my husband and I were so excited to stop by and enjoy breakfast on a Saturday morning. Unfortunately, we would have been better off going to a fast food restaurant.

From the moment you walk in there is no clear direction on how the restaurant operates. You order at the counter, which is fine, but there is no clear direction on where to get your drinks, if you pick up your own food or where you get the things you need. Water, silverware, dishes, napkins are all self serve. Which we are completely fine with doing but this was not clearly discussed when we ordered our food. We watched other customers look around in confusion and try to navigate their way through the restaurant process to figure out what we were supposed to do as well.

They did not have the menu item my husband wanted, which was fine he chose something else. He ordered a cafe item and the woman at the counter placed it on the heat press, but never gave it to him once it was heated.

After waiting 30 mins for our food, I noted our order that was clearly marked with our order number was at the order counter. Considering the rest of the restaurant was self serve I also assumed this was self serve. I approached the window and asked the woman if we were supposed to pick up our own food because we had not been instructed either way. She said no that someone would deliver it to our table and that I could not take our order. I apologized and sat back down. We proceeded to wait another 45 mins until someone delivered our food.

The food was disappointing. My egg scramble was nearly raw. My scrambled eggs were floating in raw egg. I grasp that some scrambled eggs can be slightly underdone and I am completely okay with that, but this was raw. Considering it had been sitting out for over an hour at this point I didn’t even attempt to eat it. My husbands chorizo scramble did not have chorizo in it. It seemed as though they had taken cheap cubed ham and just added it to scrambled egg. We also ordered the toast tray which came with a raw egg cracked into a bowl for some reason.

Only positives were the toast and the mocha I received. Otherwise, the food was not good and extremely overpriced. $70 for a terrible breakfast with unfriendly staff is just not acceptable. Unfortunately, we will not be back.

Oh, the cafe item that my husband ordered was still in the heat press when we left.

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It is a shame to leave a single star for a place with such potential. Recent experiences here have become more and more sparse, as each time I've never been impressed by the service, except for the single time my friend Kira was looking after me. I used to work at a restaurant, so I do know what great service can be. The servers seem to avoid serving altogether, not bothering to make you feel welcome nor check up often. Maybe something is flying over my head here, but during my most recent visit, I came for the wine bar with 2 friends, and absolutely no one approached us about what we were looking to drink. Never handed a menu, water, nor spoken to. I waited, just out of curiosity, and eventually lost interest, simply enjoying the sun while completing homework. I remember servers walking by confused, yet still no one thought to ask if we sought anything. At this point I'm holding a social experiment, not feeling that I should have to be assertive for basic service industry hospitality and no longer wanting to spend any money. It felt like we had upset a staff member or two, and they would walk by huffing and puffing, as if to intimidate us to leave? Hours of productivty pass and finally, someone approaches us, only to ask that we move so the wine bar can be open to others. Mind you, the resturant was not busy, and we were the only ones at the bar area for some time. At this point, as per the social experiment, I don't really blame them for asking, but still. Atrocious.

Go elsewhere if you are looking for...