Dolce Osteria — Restaurant in Charlotte

I'd never eaten at Dolce before. They used to be just Dolce and have since added "Osteria"...not sure why. I placed a pick up order through the restaurant tonight (Mon, 5/13) for the chicken cutlet dinner. You can see from the photo I posted what it looked like when I got it. NOTHING like the picture on the website. Just a slab of dry chicken cutlet, no garnish, butter sauce on the side - which I'm not sure why it was packaged this way because I did not ask for anything "on the side". And the chicken was so tough I was unable to eat it. I drove 7 miles/20 minutes through heavy Charlotte rush hour traffic - I was so disappointed to find that once I got the meal home, I found the chicken too tough to eat. I even tried different sections of the chicken cutlet, thinking maybe I'd just gotten a particularly tough section. None of it was edible. I called the restaurant and asked to speak with a manager. The woman who answered the phone, I believe her name was Marguerite...? Not sure - I know she had a spanish accent and I believe that was the name. She said she wasn't the manager but she was "the one in charge". She also proceeded to tell me that I would need to bring the meal back TONIGHT in order to get a refund. Here are some other things that she said during my call: "We can't refund a meal unless it's brought back", "We can only refund your money if you bring it back tonight", "You won't be able to speak to the owner/manager because she is Italian and does not speak English" (I'm sorry but this place has been around for 8+ years...I'm not sure I believe the owner doesn't speak enough English to at least chat with me), "We have never gotten any complaints about our food before", and when I challenged her on this she edited her comment to "We have never gotten complaints about this dish". Everything she said to me sounded like a lie. In complete disbelief that this woman was refusing to refund my money based on what I was describing to her, I asked again, politely, if she would just refund the $28 - especially since it was going to be impossible for me to get back in the car and get back there this evening - and she refused - again, insisting that I would need to drive the 20 minutes back to the restaurant tonight in order for her to "decide" whether or not she would refund my meal. I asked if I could come back tomorrow - and she said no, because they were closed on Tuesday - and she said by Wednesday would be too late to get a refund. It was bring the meal back tonight, or nothing. What a scam. I feel utterly shocked and ripped off. In all my years of dining out and getting take out, I can honestly say I have NEVER received this kind of horrific treatment. The fact that this place is still operating with "management" and food like this is beyond belief. I fully expect to hear that this place is closed within the next 6 months. I genuinely hope that the owner does the right thing and reaches out to me - and I hope that the woman that I spoke to on the phone is held accountable. Most restaurants train their personnel on how to handle complaints - and I will say that most places do it very, very well. It would NEVER suit a restaurant to treat a customer in this way - because especially in this climate of super inflated prices - people expect to at least get good food and great service for the high prices they're paying. AND dissatisfied customers can just do what I'm doing now - go online and leave a very bad review. What restaurant would ever want to risk...

This is stop 2 on my quest for the best Italian in Charlotte. So far it is the top choice but I have a lot more to try. The meatballs were the star of the show by far. They had such a great taste! The shrimp diavalo was a close second. My husband and I both decided when we come back we are going to ask for that dish but over pasta for an entree. The sauce with the shrimp was the tastiest sauce of the entire meal. We also had the prosciutto with burrata and the stuffed mushrooms. Both were very good as well. For my meal I had the Bolognese mainly because on this tour I have one of us try the simple meal with a standard red sauce. It was good. The meat in it was perfect. I wanted a more flavorful sauce though. My friend got the gnocchi and it had some chunky sauce with it. I took a spoonful of his sauce and mixed it with the Bolognese and it was perfect. If I get Bolognese here again I will ask for a bowl of that other, more tomatoey sauce to mix in. The gnocchi was pretty good although I'm not a huge fan so I can't say a ton about it. Obviously the sauce was good though. I also tried my friends veal marsala. It could have had a more masala taste in my opinion but the meat was wonderful and veggies that came with it were top notch amazing. For dessert I had the tiramisu. Also something I try on this tour. It was pretty darn good. Not the best I've had but it was a pretty perfect blend of flavors, not too dry, not too moist. I'd definitely recommend. I also tasted the limoncello cake which was mega lemony. I liked it but my friend thought it was too much. I also tried the cheesecake. It was pretty good but I believe it was ricotta based and I'm not super fond of that texture. The strawberry puree on the top was quite good. Also had a cup of cappuccino which was pretty delish. A couple notes. The wine list is decent. I don't think the servers are very well versed in it though. I asked for a great deep red and the guy recommended a Malbec from Argentina. I'm sure it was great but I was in an Italian restaurant with a ton of Italian wines on the menu so I thought that was odd. The restaurant is small so you're tightly packed and close to other tables. The bread with beans they give everyone was ok. I felt like the bread was a bit stale tasting to be honest but they do give you some pretty tasty vinegar for the table and that was yummy...

I am not sure where to begin! I was invited to dinner, it was 3 other people and myself. It was restaurant week we were not interested in the limited restaurant week menu but, there were no other options! I felt bad and hindsight I wished I had not ordered anything and just enjoyed the room temperature water and the warm can coke! Our server, I guess did his best, not really sure! Let's start with the lobster bisque it should have been just called bisque no trace of lobster NOT even a size of a mustard seed! The table bread had to be at least from mid week at best! We were served water from a pitch no ice and warm can coke products! I had Gnocchi with lobster and spinach, the lobster was imitation, and the gnocchi was under cook. Someone at my table had Prosciutto and it looked like leather when she told our server it was dry, he said "that's how we serve it". I wish we had taken pictures of our food, but we decided to enjoy seeing each other and great conversation! We checked the reviews before going an was very excited and had planned what we would order! We did not have an issue with having to choose something different it was just not good! The service was sub-par, I honestly felt like maybe we did not belong there and was not welcomed! We did not make a stink or no fuss, nor did we ask for a manager. The white table cloths and online pictures, lead us to believe we would enjoy an authentic Italian meal! I think by far this has to be the most disgusting meal I have ever had in Charlotte NC ( I dine out on a regular bases ). The online pictures and reality were very different I can not recommend anyone to eat here! This restaurant has to be supported by friends, family and the community I can imagine it surviving otherwise! Maybe their regular menu/food is better, I will never know! Thank God for amazing family/friends to STILL enjoy our evening out! If you are thinking of going here DO...