Vino's Ristorante — Restaurant in Cedar Rapids

UPDATED 12/27/24 - 3 stars is reflective how great our first experience the averaged with how crappy this one was! NONE of the servers from our first visit were there: the young lady bartending ignored us for a full 15 minutes though we were at the bar (they were busy, but literally 16 minutes not one word or acknowledging we were there).

We got our table 25 mins after our reservation, I watched they simply were not busing tables in a timely manner. Hostess spent a good deal of her time in her phone. Looked to be mostly young servers in the dining room.

Dining room service was not great, our server snapped back at my wife when she confirmed we wanted boxes for our left overs, RARELY checked on us, had zero people skills. We were NEVER offered a dessert option (and I was looking forward to that chocolate cake). Their loss her ineptness cost the restaurant a couple up charged desserts.

The food was fine, however the service was so bad I don’t know if we will return (at least not without determining if our previous waiter is working. This was an experience where it is painfully obvious the server makes the experience! Based on how crappy the server was we decided to throw away our leftovers just in case she’d realized how lacking her tip would be.

My tip reflected her service.

Cedar Rapids—This was our first experience at Vino’s, a group of 3: I had read other reviews ahead of time……DESERVES 25+stars!!!

Let’s start with ATMOSPHERE; it’s a quiet, intimate setting, well decorated. Cloth table cloths and napkins. Comfortable chairs which is a plus given how huge the portions are you won’t be in a hurry to leave! Music is pleasant, but nothing is too loud to create hardship speaking across the table. This is upscale date night material.

SERVICE; I believe our waiter’s name was Westley (if I screwed that up sorry) he was a seasoned server with the perfect attention to detail, phenomenal person skills, and a killer Sam Elliott mustache (nothing against the other staff, but I only want him when we go back!)

MEALS; we started with the baked mozzarella, I definitely recommend it -delicious. Salads were fresh and crisp, our three entrees were lasagna, shrimp fettuccine Alfredo, Italian sausage diavolo. Each portion was mammoth (easily enough left for second meals), prepared to perfection, presentation was top notch. Garlic bread was crisp, delicious, and Westley our waiter kept checking to see if we needed more garlic bread. Did I mention we were stuffed and each left with enough for a second large meal! But that chocolate cake I saw in the reviews was irresistible so what the heck why not! It was a slice big enough for 3 people, moist, flavorful, a great way to finish.

PRICE POINT: $110/3 meals, appetizer, chocolate cake, sodas… if you’ve read my other reviews you know I’m willing to pay more for a great meal and service. You may notice few of my reviews indicate those experiences met the expectations… Vinos (and Westley our waiter) absolutely exceeded our expectations.

CONCLUSION: We’ve tried the other Italian options in CR area, they are similar price point but far inferior to our experience at Vinos! It was a Monday night and we had no reservation, however if I was going on the weekend I’d call ahead (and will specifically ask for Westley again) to get a reservation. Given our experience, why would you want to risk it anywhere else -...

White linens, candle light, warm and cozy atmosphere so felt "special" for an evening birthday dinner. The host appeared annoyed we hadn't made reservations, but we were thinking a Wed. night would be slow and half the tables were open, but apparently the night before it had been full, so best to be safe and make a reservation apparently. Maybe it was a bad night for him as he seemed rushed and a bit dour. Our waitress was efficient, quick and appropriately friendly. (That was a tension for me-- workers all seemed in high speed, so the good was you knew they weren't dawdling, but it made me feel a little tight inside watching them in the context of a place that serves a nice, relaxing meal. Felt a little ironic. : ) We shared a bowl of clam chowder that was excellent in taste but not very hot. Same for the garlic toast. Our salads were fresh with dressing served on the side and offered with freshly ground pepper and freshly grated Parmesan. My pasta dish was generous, hot and delicious (something Penne... something Vodka : ) and not overly spicy for my tastebuds. (My parents also loved the leftovers!) I think I would have enjoyed it more served with my salad as the one down was it was a lot of the same flavor at one time. My husband's Fettuccine with Chicken was less stellar: not served hot, grilled chicken was a bit rubbery, and the dish wasn't very flavorful, but he also didn't accept the offered fresh grated Parmesan which probably would have helped. We've had better Fettuccine. The waitress surprised us at the end with a complimentary tiramisu with a candle on top, which was fresh, delicious and generously portioned; a perfect and thoughtful end to a...

Visit with a friend. Beautiful atmosphere but the service was terrible. There was only two couples in the building but sat me all the way in the back by the kitchen. (🤷🏾‍♀️No big deal). They turned on everybody little lamps but ours again (🤷🏾‍♀️ no big deal). I asked if they could make virgin drinks the server and manager seem unhappy about my request but I thought maybe I'm reading into things. I was told what I order was really rich but they brought me bland dry bread. When my food was served I shared with the waiter I didn't like what was served. She was appalled, walked away, and told the kitchen give table 46 their check and get them out of here. The original waiter brought the check still charging me for food they snatched (rudely) away from us. I had asked for a manager and my friend asked was the manager the one that just said "give table 46 their check and get them out of here". She said "yes" and went in the kitchen and repeated what she asked her. One of the males in the kitchen said "if they want to talk to the manager I'll go out there", as if she was making some kind of issue. When we left the manager tried to bump into my friend purposely. She stepped out of her way. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone but honestly I wouldn't recommend it to black people because everyone else that came in after us was...