Enrigo Italian Bistro — Restaurant in Cary

EDIT!! - If I could give ZERO stars I would. After submitting the below review within the hour after my meal, I was contacted by someone who claimed to be a "Partner" at the restaurant. He asked for the whole story to which I complied, and was told I would receive a call on Monday regarding this situation, to which this never happened. Clearly this restaurant has NO intention of making things right. I would not recommend this restaurant to my worst enemy. Below I will post the full story, followed by my original review.

As per our receipt which I will attach to this email, our server was Ksenia.

We were seated as a party of five, at a table clearly designed for 4. A fifth chair was added to one end of the table, giving us VERY little room to be comfortable. Most restaurants would typically toss two tables together to give everybody ample room.

We were waiting on two guests to arrive, and while we waiting we were urged by our server to get our entire order in quickly because the kitchen was “busy” and you had a lot of”reservations”. First the kitchen couldn’t have been busy because the place was less than 50% full when we sat down. And from what I was told you don’t take reservations, so how could she know there were reservations?

Our two missing guests arrived and even prior to sitting down (they were taking off their coats), they were asked if they wanted anything to drink. Like cmon. The server stepped away for 30 seconds so they had a chance to look at the menu, and came back and gave them the same monologue about getting the entire order in now cuz of the busy kitchen and full reservations.

We order Calamari as an appetizer, which we ate was very bland. Absolutely no seasoning in the breading.

My mother in law (whose birthday it was), and her sister both got Saltimbocca. One veal one chicken. They both got mashed potatoes, which had GIANT chunks in it (they had to mash themselves with their forks). Both meats looked as if they had a slice of cheese simply slapped on top, the veal was VERY tough, it had to be sawed through to get through it, and both dishes again, lacked any seasoning.

My wife got the Carbonara, which again, is not a “black pepper first” style dish, however it was so peppery she couldn’t finish it. And when the server asked her and she said she didn’t enjoy it, the server said “oh okay” and went on about her business.

I had a pizza, which was alright. It wasn’t life changing, but it was pizza.

My wife’s cousin got the Linguini allo Scoglio, which again suffered from lack of seasoning.

It seemed the general consensus was that everything lacked seasoning. And frankly, I was appalled that we were rushed to order order order, when not a SINGLE other server asked the same of their table. And lastly the sheer lack of care when it came to seating was just entirely unappealing

I went with my family here for a birthday dinner this evening, and this experience was an absolute disaster. The food was BEYOND bland. I guess maybe they are trying to save money by not using salt on ANYTHING.

Our server was an older female who kept rushing us to get our food orders in. I could hear the other servers speaking to their tables and not being rushed, why just MY party? Absolutely rude and friendly.

As for the atmosphere, there was a tall bald guy singing VERY loud and talking VERY loud as we were seated near the door and greeting the people he “knows”, but like damn, quiet down.

The biggest disappointment was the Carbonara. This place couldn’t even make a simply pasta dish. The pancetta is supposed to be cubes not giant thick strips, additionally, the pepper is intended to be an addition to the dish, not the only thing you taste. And when my wife was honest and said she didn’t like her food, the server “oh okay” and took it away. I will NEVER step...

| Overview

Authentic Italian pasta dishes Brilliant customer service from Angelo Pleasant ambiance ideal for Valentine's date & other date nights Vanilla Panna Cotta is a delicious dessert Complimentary bread served with butter instead of dipping oil

| Full Review

For our (belated) Valentine's dinner, my girl & I went to Enrigo Italian Bistro, located at Waverly Place in Cary, on a Saturday night, and we arrived around 30 minutes before its 9:30 PM closing time. It was our first time coming to this restaurant, and the entire Waverly Place open-air shopping area. We just found out about Enrigo after watching an Instagram reel from lindaeatsworld earlier that week.

It was a rainy evening, and entering the cozy ambiance of Enrigo with its dim lights and relaxing and vibrant environment just felt right. We were welcomed by a friendly Italian staff who greeted us in Italian. The first thing I noticed inside was the bar but the entire night I was focused on my Valentine, and of course, the Italian food.

Angelo was our server; his positive energy is a wonderful representation of the Italian spirit as he served food and wine with grace and warm hospitality.

The complimentary bread was good but we were a bit surprised to see that it was served with butter in the same kind of packaging that you get with airplane food, rather than the dipping oil other Italian restaurants serve with their bread.

Angelo was kind to give us a couple of Bruschetta - toasted Ciabatta bread with tomato marinated in Extra Virgin oil & garlic. Every bite was a healthy crunch, and we ate the Bruschettas and the bread while we waited for our main pasta dishes.

When we were trying to decide which wine to order, Angelo recommended based on the pasta each of us ordered. He recommended the $11 glass of white wine for my girl's Linguini Allo Scoglio; and he recommended a glass of red wine for my Rigatoni Al Ragu Di Maile. He let us taste-test each of the wine before we decided to go for them.

It didn't take long for our pasta dishes to arrive to our table. Angelo lightly sprinkled grated parmesan cheese on my Rigatoni Al Ragu Di Maile & my Valentine's Linguini Allo Scoglio.

I enjoyed the meaty pork ragu sauce of my Rigatoni, and the combination of carrots, celery, onions, rosemary, sage, red wine, and marinara was satisfying. And the cheese was just right. The glass of red wine went well with my perfectly-cooked pasta. The extra teaspoonful of grated parmesan cheese I requested didn't affect the flavor of the Rigatoni much.

My girl wanted to eat pasta with seafood, and the Linguini Allo Scoglio was the best seafood pasta dish she's ever tried. There's a generous amount of shrimp, flounder, clams, and mussels on her plate, and it was well-sauted with olive oil, cherry tomatoes, garlic, and a touch of tomato sauce. She was wondering why there was no meat inside the clam shells, but it seemed that the mixture of briny, clammy juices formed the base of the sauce, which she enjoyed with the linguini's texture. Her glass of white wine went well with her pasta.

After devouring our delicious pasta dishes, we were already full, so we didn't consider ordering dessert. Thankfully, however, the gentleman Angelo served each of us Vanilla Panna Cotta, small vanilla custard topped with strawberry puree. The custard wasn't too sweet, and the creamy texture and the strawberry flavor on top just made our Valentine's dinner more memorable.

As we headed out of the restaurant, we told each other how much we enjoyed our pleasant Italian dining experience here, and expressed our intention to explore the rest of Waverly, and of course, our desire to return to Enrigo Italian Bistro.

I'm planning to share a reel of our pleasant dinner experience in Enrigo on my Instagram - jakevyper.

| Overall...

Disorganized and Unprofessional. I am usually very understanding when it comes to interactions, but I was genuinely shocked by the staff.

We first walked in to a very busy restaurant (to which we have never been) and were looking around unsure of where the host stand was only to found out it was behind us where the host was just standing there watching us look around. We were clearly unsure of where to go and she and never said hello or asked if we needed anything. This actually resulted in another couple coming in after us and putting their name down first because she just watched us... weird, right? She then said it would be a 30-45 minute wait for a party of 4, which we felt was reasonable, and gave our name and number.

We decided to grab a drink at one of the bars at Waverly place and waited about 30 minutes to call to check in on the status. The person who answered sounded very annoyed that I was calling to check and she acted like she couldn't find our reservation even though I watched the host write it down myself. Then, she said "It will be another hour", which I found frustrating as it had already been 30 minutes and was being told it would now be twice as long as originally stated. I sought to clarify this and asked if there was a reason for the long delay (sometimes accidents happen or people call off and we understand that). To which she said "I don't know, it's based on when people decide to leave". Obviously. So, I said okay and to let us know when the table is ready.

The other people we were with decided not to wait, so we went to another restaurant. About 15 minutes after I was told "another hour", the host calls back saying our table is ready. I asked for a moment to check with the party if we wanted to go back to the restaurant and they decided not to given the poor service they have provided that they would be unlikely to hold the table for us to drive back. I then told them "Actually, we have decided to go to another restaurant since you said it would be - " and she hung up. The host hung up on me. I literally cannot remember the last time someone hung up on me - maybe, middle school?

I cannot state how shocked we were. One of the people in our party has been a loyal patron for years and we were treating him to his birthday. After this, even he said he won't be going back. The service here is utterly ridiculous. I understand things are busy and hectic, but apologizing for misjudging the wait time by twice as much would go a long way. Also, not hanging up on customers (which feels like shouldn't have to be stated) is also a good starting point. If she had just explained they were busier than expected (or really anything) and apologize for the longer wait, I wouldn't be upset. Also, when I said we went somewhere else, a simple "I understand, we are sorry for the long wait, we hope to see you another time" would result in us maybe trying again. But don't not accept reservations and then get an attitude when you can't do your job of estimating wait times and showing basic (even faux) courtesy when interacting with customers.

With so many other great places with great service (e.g., Farina Neighborhood Italian) and many places that take reservations, don't bother with Enrigos. Unless you are in middle school, then you should give them a call and see...