Aldo's Restaurant — Restaurant in Brooklyn

I was visiting from out of town and one of the ladies at the hotel suggested this place after her and her son ate there a couple days prior. The other 2 people in my visit went their own way visiting friends and family in the area. Since I was solo, figured I'd take the clerk's suggestion. When you first walk in, there's a short lonely hallway that you enter into. Go down it and there's a welcome desk there. At that welcome desk, they will tell you to read the board for the "specials" because they won't be saying them.

The restaurant was about half full. Within a few minutes, I was seated. A couple of minutes later I was able to get a menu (no drinks listed on the menu). I ended up debating on the lasagna, veal parmigiana, and the calamari steak. I went with the calamari steak that came with Italian wedding soup...something new and hadn't seen it before. Beware...all their non-alcoholic drinks are sold by the individual can/bottle.

I got my meal rather quickly and looked great! The soup came first (not counting the awesome rolls with room temperature butter that spread so easy versus that basically frozen butter) and it was delicious. It did basically taste like chicken and rice soup with spinach though. The calamari steak arrived with mixed vegetables and a small bowl of spaghetti. The vegetables were cooked well. Not over done or too al dente. The calamari steak was tender and cooked well at the same time. The flavor at first was good, but it tasted much better with the sauce. The sauce alone was just a tomato sauce...nothing special. I make better spaghetti and sauce at home.

The service and overall flavor of the food though was 4 star for sure. The previous reviews about the owner and his aggressive/baiting right wing debates...are true unfortunately. I was able to have a civil conversation (mostly...didn't let me have much of word in), but he is pretty strong in his want to show his thoughts. Just be aware of this when going. The place looks nice and is a nice cozy(ish) atmosphere. Would I try it again/revisit? For the flavor of the food (excluding the spaghetti) and level of service....sure! I can ignore or get out of the conversation. They did offer a...

I could keep this short and simply state that this was, hands down, one of the best dining experiences of my entire life, but I will go into some detail about what made our first visit so special and memorable. First impressions on walking in were "cozy and feels like home". It's a small dining area which made me glad I made reservations. The only empty table was the one waiting for us. That's a great thing to see when a place has no empty tables! Upon being seated the staff was very friendly and welcoming, like we'd been there many times before, which was nice. The next thing my wife and I noticed were the family photos all over the wall. Not generic artwork that is attempting to make the place feel authentic(we all know those places). Nothing is more authentic than photos of the family and people that founded the place and getting to see where the food experience you are about to embark on comes from....I loved that. We even got to meet the people in the kitchen that make the magic happen, and they were happy to come out and tell us who was in a photo and where it was taken. The next thing to "wow" was the fresh bread brought to our table(multiple times cause we couldn't stop eating it ha), it was perfect. I couldn't find a thing I would change about the bread. Then the Italian wedding soup came..... WOW! I was speechless while eating it. I will be afraid to order wedding soup from anywhere else because I know it wouldn't compete. The main courses were as amazing. My red sauce seafood linguini was mesmerizing, and the presentation on the plate was that of a 5-star place. The drinks were tasty and a cultural experience too. Overall, my wife and feel that if we are feeling Italian and don't wanna cook ourselves, we're going back to Aldo's. I can't wait to try the entire menu and fully expect to visit enough to try everything there is to try. On a funny note, my wife and I lived in the apartments across the street for two years and never went....wow were we missing out! The drive across town is so...

So I write this review with a heavy heart. Some words of advice for the owner. You do not need to share and impose your opinions on your customers. As a woman I don’t like my food served with a side slab of a male chauvinist comments. Just shut up and let your customers enjoy their dinner.

Your conversation was inappropriate and offensive. This may be the reason why you no longer have patrons waiting to be seated on a Saturday night and your small dining room is not even half full. I love the fresh food you make, small intimate setting and until now good customer service.

Halfway through my dinner the whole mood of the room changed. The owner started a conversation with a table near us and a woman at the table asked to change the conversation because she did not want to talk about politics.

Owners response”it’s facts not politics” Each to their own on if it is fact or conspiracy theory. I know I just wanted to enjoy my birthday dinner and you were now ruining the nice experience I and your customers were having.

I am sure their table spent close to $200 by the time tip was included. Instead of leaving it there you had to come back to ask them if they agreed women should not have equal voting rights, because they are not capable of picking a strong military leader due to the fact they do not face being drafted. Wow have you ever served? I signed up was shipped out to boot camp 3 months after graduating high school.

The woman got up and walked out and you did not care. You then stated it was totally understandable that she was upset because going back to the Bible women are weak minded because there were two bites in the apple and the woman was first.

I know you said your wife is the one who pointed this out to you and you are both in agreement on the subject. I hope one day she can see that she has value. She is as smart and...