Tuscan Kitchen Burlington — Restaurant in Burlington

I went here with my husband and in-laws for my birthday. The atmosphere is absolutely stunning. Upon entering we were sat and waited about 10 minutes before we were even greeted by our server. We then had to wait another 10 minutes for bread. I had asked for some grated parm cheese for the oil, our server told us she would bring it right out, never showed. About 15 minutes later she asked to take our drink order and I told her I wanted to put some apps in. She brought everyone else’s out (about another 10 min) and forgot what I had ordered, no big deal things happen. The apps came out pretty quickly, and as we were finishing she came to ask if we wanted to place orders. We of course said yes as it was about 45 minutes in. She took our orders, and forgot what I had ordered again. My mother in law joked that she didn’t like me for some reason. I joked with the server, I guess I was forgettable. Food came out and was again delicious, the server came towards the end and asked if we needed anything, I wasn’t even done with my drink and she took it(not much left but still) I asked her for a soda as did my husband. We waited almost 25 min for that soda.. my husband and I were sharing our water because his was empty and never filled. She came back again with the wrong drink order for me again. At this point I told her it was no big deal and I was all set. She brought the correct drink, saying she felt bad and not to worry, but she said it in such a tone that it was so passive aggressive I wanted to walk out right there. I was nothing but nice and even told my in-laws I think she’s just really busy and was defending her after they expressed their frustration, and for her to be so passive aggressive with me for messing up so much of MY order was absolutely ridiculous. She attempted to make it right and brought out a piece of dessert with a candle placed it on the table and walked away. She was so passive aggressive for the rest of the night. I work in the customer service industry and I get things get overwhelming, but you never make a customer feel like she made me feel, especially when she was the one messing up and I was trying to be as understanding as possible. My father-in-law even said something and he is the most understanding man I’ve ever met. We were there just under 2 hours, about an hour to an hour and fifteen just waiting. At the end of the day I feel she was just overwhelmed, but it made it for a very poor service experience and we will most likely not go back there for that reason, despite the food...

The food is good. There is a problem however with understanding what a gluten intolerance and Celiac is. When the desert comes you cannot put regular desserts piled on top of a gluten-free cake. This needs to be really enforced. A person with celiac disease has an autoimmune disease and cannot have cross-contamination. We had a a nervous type of a waitress she was very kind to us but I also felt that she wasn't paying attention.... she was not unkind to us, just seemed stressed and I am not going to put her name here because I think she is genuinely a nice person but I want everyone to understand the severity of celiac disease. Things must be brought out separately and usually by the chef or somebody in the kitchen rather than just the waitress. People with Celiac need to be reassured that their meal is 100% gluten free and not because they might get a belly ache which is bad enough but because it needs to be 100% gluten free because it's an autoimmune disease that eventually can kill somebody with celiac. I've had this disease since 2008. I am not rocking the boat here but I want everyone to understand just how serious an autoimmune disease is. Other than that the restaurant is lovely and the food is pretty good. I am Limited in what I can order but from what I understand all the other meals were absolutely delicious. Lovely restaurant. Just a little education for some would go a long way. Side note. I did not order a desert it was just brought out for all of us. Another thing is I simply wanted an antipasto because I figured it was safe. When I mentioned that I was going to have an antipasto she asked me if "that was it" and when I hesitated she said"That's fine that's fine that's fine" I felt like saying to her the reason I am ordering an antipasto is because I am very leery about ordering other thing in a restaurant because I have Celiac. I should not have had to feel that way. I quite honestly should not have had to feel that way in front of the group of people I was with. I was embarrassed...no one was really listening to me. It's hard enough being ignored or going out with folks who can order elaborate things, therefore getting better treatment. We don't chose to have CELIAC. it's a tough...

I have been to Tuscan Kitchen multiple times in the past, and this might just be the last time I went.

My wife had made a reservation for my Birthday, as I had had a great experience in the past. However, things were different this time.

We started off by getting seated, this was a Friday, but the restaurant was not busy. We thought we would be seated in a good spot but we got seated in the middle of a restaurant in a normal table. That was fine as I asked the waiter to change to a booth or somewhere more private and they moved us.

However, from here, it probably took the waiter another 20 minutes just to get us water. After that, they came back for drinks, and we decided to just place the whole order so it didn't take longer. The overall service was not good. It felt like we were forgotten about throughout the night, and the waitress seemed like she had a fake attitude.

The food also took a while to come out. However, when it did, I was extremely disappointed. To start, we ordered Baratta and Fried Calamari. The Baratta cheese Seemed like it wasn't fresh and soft, and the fried calamari was a bit too oily.

We then got our main plates, which was the short-rib ravioli and the bolognese. Again, I was disappointed. There seemed like there was no presentation at all, at best, the presentation seemed like it was an afterthought. The worst part was the flavor. The sauce seemed too heavy, the pasta way too al-dente, and the meat under-cooked.

Honestly, with what we got, Olive Garden would put this place to shame. The only thing that saved the meal was the warm bread they brought in the beginning and the tiramisu dessert.

To top everything off, the price more than doubled. Which I get if we were getting quality, but this was not even fine dining. I ended up getting an upset stomach the day after, and just overall disappointed. In the past the restaurant has been miles better, but with what I witnessed, it seems like it is going down hill.

Really make sure read the reviews and make a consideration before you attend...