Bartolini's Restaurant — Restaurant in Bremen Township

I wanted to love it because I have heard so many wonderful things about it. Unfortunately, I will not go back. From the moment we walked in the service was poor. There was no hostess at the front counter, and in the dining room you could see 4-5 servers trying desperately to figure out how to rearrange seating for a party of 8. The line of people waiting to be seated or even just acknowledged continued to grow and not one of them, or any other employee could be bothered to tend to the guests waiting in a line nearly out the door. Once we were seated I was hopeful things would take a turn for the better. They did not. It took quite awhile for a server to come to our table. We ordered drinks and an appetizer right away because by now we had figured out that things run slow there. Once they arrived we ordered our dinners right away. Again we were hopeful. The first meal brought out had the wrong protein. No big deal- it happens. Then came everyone else’s melas. There were 4 of us total. 2/4 us ordered chicken parm. Immediate disappointment. A bowl of pasta topped with diced up chicken covered in cheese. It looked like a bowl of dog food. Never in my life have I seen chicken parm served chopped up. To make matters worse the chicken was beyond dry and overcooked. The 2 who ordered it tried to eat it, but every every bite was drier than the next. The 4th meal ordered was chicken bruschetta. Simple dish right? Oddly enough it was paired with mashed potatoes and broccoli. I knew that when I ordered it, but when it arrived the combination looked so strange and it was served in a bowl. The chicken breast or whatever was in the bowl looked like 2 tiny chicken tenders. The chicken was flavorless, dry, and so hard to cut. The mashed potatoes could have been balled up and used to break a window. The tiny scoop of bruschetta that was in the bottom of the dish was good, but there was so little it was like it was a small side of dipping sauce. For a dish called chicken bruschetta there should have been way more of the main ingredients. I forgot to mention the chicken “dumpling” soup, zero dumplings and the soup no doubt came from a can. Overall our experience was beyond poor. We didn’t want to complain, but probably should have. It wasn’t just one meal- it was all of them. I thought maybe the server would notice since the food was pretty much untouched. 2 of us brought home the leftovers simply so they wouldn’t go to waste., and instead could be fed to the dog. Maybe it was an off day. Hard to believe the business has been in business 30 years if this is a daily occurrence. Unfortunately we will never return to determine whether is was just a bad day or not....

This was my first time going here. I was pleasantly surprised they had a gluten free menu. It's always so helpful when they take the time to do that. I was impressed by their wonderful staff. They actually volunteerily checked if the mozzarella cheese on our gluten free pizza was indeed gluten free. It's highly unlikely, but possible that it would have wheat in it. Throughout the 16 years I've been gluten free I have only found one sandwich place that said there was wheat in their cheese, but I was still appreciative they checked at Bartolini's...and the pizza was delicious with a yummy cauliflower crust that was slightly thicker/hardier than many GF crusts. I also had the basil sauce pasta and it was delicious, and I ordered it with the gf meatballs. They were good, but not as good as the ones I make from my mom's recipe (she was born in Italy)..if they ever want to reach out to me, I would be happy to compare notes! My husband had their delicious ribs. I was so surprised how good they were, because, honestly, I was not expecting that at an Italian restaurant, where ribs are normally not their specialty; however, I learned later that they sell their own BBQ sauce, so I guess ribs ARE one of their specialties! I will definitely be going back there. Thanks to their great staff for being so helpful and thoughtful with our allergies. I didn't give them 5 stars because I thought the meatballs could use improvement..and the atmosphere on the patio was not that good. They must not have had the time to plant Flowers in the pots because it was very baren out there...hey, I would have done...

Have been coming here for over 20 years. Some of the items I have eaten..appetizers ( mini meatball platter, pub fries(tossed in garlic butter and parmesan cheese), dough bites(Amazing) Thefried chicken (Amazing... don't sleep on it!!! I went to a party and they had a tray of fried chicken I started eating it and couldn't stop and asked my buddy where he got it from he said Bartolini's!!.. been hooked on it ever since it's so juicy and crispy on the outside) The gnocchi with Diablo sauce 5* all day. Elvis burger, 1 lb of amazing fill you up and make you feel satisfied. Calzones are phenomenal, baked to perfection with a light tasty shell and all the toppings inside your heart desires. I've had all these items on the menu and more I always go back to the meatballs and yesterday I had the meatball lover's pizza with some extra cheese and well done... I love that it comes pie sliced and I don't have to ask for that; Cracker thin crust holds up well to the weight of the toppings..sauve has nice flavor made from scratch. Anyone who enjoys meatballs and pizza (bartolinis has the best of meatballs) this is the best of both worlds. Highly recommend you do yourself a favor and come try it and support these guys. Chances are you will even run into one of the owners if you stop in for happy hour or dinner. Used to participate in the meatball eating contested but mostly invest every year... All the meatballs I could eat it was...