Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano — Restaurant in Cedar Rapids

So far we have been to Biaggi's twice, regret going there the second time. I usually write reviews after seeing some sort of consistency in service and food. Sadly this was not the case. The first time around we went for a family dinner, party of 5 on a weekday, bread was cold, food was good, service was excellent! The second time it was a complete disaster, we were hoping for a good dining experience, invited friends over for a farewell dinner. We had the reservation for 6 pm, arrived on time. Nothing wrong with the food, it was the server. Who seemed to be in a rush. It wasn't a busy Saturday, we were a party of 6, we were seated on the round table towards the end of the dining hall. There were a couple of empty booths and tables in between. I joined in late, she didn't bother introducing her self, took my order from two people seated over, (she could have taken a few steps over, but she stood almost across the table) she even did the hand gesture to her ear signaling she can't hear me, I had to call her over so I could place my order, I was the first one on the table to place the order. Just goes to show she was completely un interested in serving us, or making a good impression. It was these small thing through out the dinner that were extremely off putting, like we had to ask for dessert menus, dessert spoons, straws. She never came in between to ask if everything was good, if we needed anything, if we needed to order extra drinks, refills? We were never asked if we needed to order coffee/tea. We saw other tables attended to, it wasn't the case with us. It was almost like she is serving us from her personal kitchen, and any and everything we ask is extremely annoying to her. The impression from her service we got was that she could be anywhere else then working at Biaggis! In the end to our sheer horror and surprise, she placed the tab on the table and announced it was a pleasure having us over and walked away. We all had this look of shock on our faces, as we were still in middle of our desserts, and just for reference it was 7:15 pm, not that the restaurant was near closing and she was trying to signal us to leave. She definitely didn't deserve the tip we left her. I honestly felt like I was at a truck stop ordering a stake! I would have said something to the manager then and there, but again we were hosting our friends and it would have been calling attention to an already worse situation. If I am shelling out a 200$ plus on a dinner I do expect some service, its supposedly a fine dining place. Its certainly not a place with consistent service! I get better service at a subway for heavens sake! I wouldn't be going back again, after such a terrible experience. Pictures posted are from our first dinner experience, when we weren't made to feel like un...

We have been eating at this place for many years. Our most recent experience was similar to most of our past experiences, ok, not great. We went at 7 on Saturday evening and were expecting it to be busy, but were pleasantly surprised by only a short wait. Service on this occasion was a bit slow. It took a while for our server to get to us, and he did not check back with us until long after our food had been delivered. The check was slow in coming even after all the plates have been cleared and we declined any dessert or coffee. Our food was good but but as good as it had been in years past. I ordered the Baked Ziti, which used to come in a wide low pan that was baked till the cheese on top started to brown and formed a little caramelized rim. That's how I like a baked pasta entree. Now it is just warmed a bit and slightly browned on top. Not really baked at all. The pasta, sauce and all were still good, but more mass-market food, not really what I want from a nice restaurant. The menu is also somewhat smaller than it used to be, with a lot of the more interesting items having been eliminated. on this occasion we were not even offered any specials, so it was a bit disappointing. This is also the case with the atmosphere at this place. When it first opened it was a little bit nicer and more upscale. Now it has been down graded to the point that you can't sit anywhere in the main dining area without being distracted by TV's visible hanging over the bar. This is exacerbated by the darkness in the main dining area. It is so dark at some tables that we occasionally need to break out a flashlight to read the menu. In this environment the TV's stand out like giant beacons of tacky Americana. on this particular evening it was very cold, in the single digits. We were seated next to the giant stone fireplace that separates the main dining area from the large back room. Unfortunately it was not in use and just sat there as a cold dead reminder of what the place was and could be again. As with most places these days it is also very loud, and could do with some effort at sound deadening. Overall we were a little disappointed on this visit, as we have been with most of our recent trips there. Probably won't...

Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano used to be classy: a place you picked to go to on a special occasion. A place you dressed up a bit for. Biaggi's used to BE ITALIAN! There is no atmosphere. Not any more. I had the most heinous experience on Sunday, April 24th. I ordered Minestrone soup. First of all, it was room temperature. It looked like it was poured right out of carton. A few strands of old spinach floating miserably in chicken broth. No cannelloni beans, or Zucchini, tomatoes, or Parmesan cheese or basil. No flavor! We ordered spinach salad with beets and goat cheese. No candied walnuts or pecans. My son ordered Fettuccine with Marinara sauce. When it finally came to him, it was loaded with shrimp. Oops...back it goes. It comes back sans shrimp....he had asked for extra Basil...no basil at all, no Parmesan. He said it tasted strange...I tasted it. Unedible. I can't even describe it. Our waitress did nothing to advocate for us. She looked like a Denny's fry cook - disheveled, sloppy, unprofessional. The cost of this gruel? $69.00. I thought to complain then, but I didn't want to make my son's birthday any worse than it was and I was afraid they'd offer us a free meal! I called today and I did find out that there is all new management. So, if you are thinking of trying this restaurant...please reconsider. You might have to stop somewhere else to eat on the way home like we did!! I'll...