Misto Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Cape Coral

We arrived around 7pm, got seated and were in a timely manner and by our waiter. He got our drink and appetizer orders (cocktail and a wine and fried cheese) and we got those fairly quickly. It all went down hill from there. The cheese appetizer was a big breaded blob of cheese nothing appealing and not easy to eat, way too big for two people. In the meantime we had put in our order one seabass special and one risotto (vegetarian). We were done with the cheese after it was half gone and it sat for half an hour without our waiter coming to our table once to ask how the appetizer was our if we needed anything. We hadn't been given any water this entire time nor were we asked. Also this must be the only place that doesn't serve bread and butter.... When he finally came i and for water and that I wanted to take the other half of the huge cheese ball. I guess he had misunderstood and thought I told HIM to take it. In all fairness this was at the end of the long to hour dinner experience and he offered to make one to go which we declined. After the cheese ball was gone and my cocktail was done (I don't drink fast) and we had finally gotten water, we sat for another half hour while our waiter was tending to two larger tables (6 and 5). Not once did he bother to ask if we needed anything besides another cocktail. Finally when he brought out or dishes they turned out to be quite delicious but the piece of fish was tiny even to my standards and cooled down while my sweet potatoes were steaming hot and the asparagus just right. My husband's dish contained a blob of cheese risotto with asparagus and he didn't like it. I thought both dishes were delicious and the only high light of our evening. They were presented beautifully but again the wait time on a simple like of cheese risotto and a tiny piece of seabass was ridiculous. We felt our waiter was neglecting us and since we didn't complain he just looked at us every time without saying anything waiting on his big tables. Another thing that bothered us was the fact that at 7 they were out of eggplant parmesan (only vegetarian dish with the risotto) they only had one seabass special left and one other special. Later he came back and said there were 2 seabass specials after he had just gone to see and said there was one which 5 minutes later magically turned into 2. After I saw how small the fish was I wondered if it was a larger piece that got split into two small pieces. Honestly I really feel the piece was too small for the price paid and I don't ever feel that way even when the portions are small at restaurants. In all I do feel the food was high quality and we'll prepared. Waiting 30+ minutes between courses was ridiculous and I'm glad I wasn't hungry when I came. My husband's verdict was less favorable. He didn't like the wine (we were never asked if we liked our drinks and my Cosmo was definitely on the bottom of my favorite Cosmo places list) or the risotto (he wanted the eggplant). We were both bothered that dishes were already sold out at 7. But the biggest issue was the service. We were placed on the back burner in favor of two larger parties. It happens frequently but not like last night where our dinner evening took two hours of which less than 25 min we actually had food. Don't think we...

I admit I give critical reviews and can come off as harsh but I do so especially when it's necessary and I'm especially picky when it comes to Italian cuisine.

Misto is not the Misto of before, what was born out of the fabulous Giorgio's restaurant in the strip mall on Hancock Bridge Rd, Misto took over their current Del Prado location vacated by Carmine Street pizzeria and was once a fine dining experience I use to recommend above all others, after reading other reviews my suspicions were confirmed this is no longer run by the previous chef/owner and it shows. It no longer feels upscale, the lounge dining area is cramped they actually use a folding table for parties of six.

The Menu is very limited and nothing enticing. Wife had the French Onion soup which was tasty, but my Escargot was a abject failure, five knuckle sized snails probably from a #10 can from the restaurant depot, slathered in butter and broiled to a greasy mess, nothing to accompany it, no crosstini, I used pieces of the garlic knots they give you just to have something to eat it with.

Wife had the Grouper with key lime butter sauce all two drops of it. $20 grouper is suspiciously priced, when it's usually on the higher side of a seafood menu and often market priced, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt it was Grouper 😒 though it didn't look like the delicate, flaky snowy white fish I'm accustomed to, she ate it despite there being hardly any sauce.

Next you get a choice of sides Rissotto being one of them, horrible, it seems its made hours ahead and kept warm in a steam table, an ice cream scoop sized portion plopped on the dish, terrible, dry, tasteless. the whole entree was plated like nursing home food.

My dish was a veal roll up, looked like another commercially pre-made restaurant service product, scantily dosed in a heavily onioned brown gravy with mushrooms. I opted for linguini with garlic and oil, it came out in what I think is the trademark reboiled shortcut giving it zero flavor and not al'dente, it looked liked leftovers sadly presented, it was so bland I had to use every drop of the pesto they give you with the bread to give it any hope at all.

I'll add it wasn't just me, when the table next to us got their food after their first bite they all reached for the salt shaker.

Service wasn't great but not awful, wine selection good and fairly priced, I can go on and on what a disappointment the food was. This place is living off the reputation of the old ownership and name but anyone who knew Misto before will know better and its a cautionary tale for those who have never been there before

I Would end by saying we wouldn't go back but I don't think I need to, I have a feeling this place won't be around...

I seldom (if ever) review a resturant. However after today I could not let this opportunity pass. This is the best, and probably least known place I have been too. I would like to explain, I knew very little about this place except my wife and I ate there once before and she loved it. (She had a stroke a year ago and we don’t go out much as she is on O2. 24/7). There are two things that she loves in this world, her family and. Eggplant Parm: well for her Birthday I had the family help with a surprise birthday party for her, Brothers, Daughters, Grandchildren and GreatGand Daughter and her best friend. With Chef Mike’s help we pulled it off, a birthday party for 20 people and she was surprised. Then I was surprised: He had a power plug for her O2 equipment, we had a waitress that handled just our party (and ran for two hours) doing a terrific job, we seldom had to ask for anything as she anticipated our needs. Then the big surprise, all the meals were delivered to the tables by waitstaff and kitchen staff at one time, hot and prepared to perfection, new garlic rolls were delivered when a plate was empty, water glasses never got below half as well as the ice tea glasses. Nothing but praise from the entire family (and that’s not easy in our family), and we found out that some of the family had been there before and the guest that had not been said they had found a new favorite place to dine. Pleasant surprise when the bill came, it was lunch time but 5 days earlier we had been to FishTails (a place we also like) at lunch time and just had appetizers, this bill for Misto’s was the same or less for full blown meals and the quality was as good as if not better. The place is lovely, great place for a romantic meal, anniversary dinner, or as in our case a Very Special Birthday marking a decade milestone. Mother’s Day is coming up and guess where I have been ask to take her. They also had to go boxes as I was not able to finish my lunch (as it is a generous size) which I will enjoy tomorrow. The only problem is that it’s a little hard to find and you have to look for it, but it is like a hidden treasure, well...