Postino Ballantyne — Restaurant in Charlotte

I have been once to Postinos once in Scottsdale and was excited to try here in Ballantyne. My friend and I came for a last minute girls night but we were a bit disappointed. I know this restaurant opened very recently, so my review is being made in hopes that service gets better. First, the staff seemed super out of it…It took our waitress 30 minutes to take our order once we got there. We felt ignored and kept trying to get her attention, but did not succeed. She kept talking to the tables on both our right and left (who were so close to us) and walked away when we flagged her down. We were only then able to finally order drinks and food once we got her attention (but they were out of some food..so we had to readjust )…later on another waiter came to bring our drinks but he didn’t say a word to us when arriving and just put them down on the table… 2 seconds later another waiter came right behind him…with two more drinks.. and the first waiter picked up the original drinks from the table and never said a word to us (to then which we later realized he brought us the wrong ones but as he never acknowledged us or said a word about what happened, it felt awkward). We did enjoy the food, however the atmosphere was incredibly over-stimulating. It was so loud for a Thursday, considering it wasn’t a packed house. To top it off, there was a very loud, drunk, older gentleman at the bar screaming incredibly loud. A lot of patrons turned around numerous times to see where the screaming was coming from and it was very distracting. Not one staff member told him to quiet down or assist with the situation. We were ready to leave at this point and honestly just very stressed with our “girls night.” The restaurant gave more of a loud bar scene, rather then a cute and casual restaurant/wine/ bar. I hope the service gets better as the food is great and the Ballantyne Bowl...

This place has such a cute atmosphere, perfect for a girls’ night or a date. The panini and burrata were amazing, and they had a great wine selection with an extensive variety of beers on tap. However, the service was disappointing, despite the servers being very sweet. We had to track them down multiple times for things we’d ordered, and even then, some items were forgotten. We didn’t realize until after we left that one dish was missing, and we’re unsure if we were charged for it.

The steak also had an odd taste. With years of experience in the restaurant industry, I tend to notice every detail, and it’s hard to relax when things aren’t running smoothly. Given we were the only table besides a half-full bar, it was frustrating to experience this level of service, which really undercut the restaurant’s potential. We might return for the ambiance and food, but the service would need to improve — it was about a 3/10.

• Update* The day after I left my review, I decided to call the restaurant and request a receipt be sent to my email. The manager—her name started with a K—was incredibly kind and understanding. You could tell she genuinely cares about both her staff and the restaurant. She even recognized me immediately from the review I had left the night before. She promptly sent over the correct receipt and stayed on the phone to help resolve the issue. Sure enough, the receipt was incorrect, but she quickly offered to adjust the payment for my group and even invited us back to make it up to us. It really goes to show how much of an impact good management can have. She was easy to talk to, and I’m really impressed with how professionally she...

I finally tried out this spot after seeing a lot of publicity around its opening online. I went during late lunch hours, which I know is a slower time for most restaurants. My group of 4 was seated right away, and our waitress explained this was a “group serve” concept. Coming from the service industry myself, there’s nothing wrong with this, but it certainly can cause confusion and miscommunication. At one point, another employee tried to get us to pay our bill, assuming we were finished- before our entrees hit the table. The entrees were okay, but I will say that the bruschetta board was excellent. Unfortunately, one of the people in my group was unable to eat any of it as one waitress assured us there was “No Tree Nuts, only Hemp Seeds” in the dish, while the person who brought it out stated all of the pesto was made with Walnuts. Nut allergies are no joke- we informed the waitress of a severe allergy and she should’ve double checked, because had the other person not dropped it off, my friend would’ve ended up in the hospital. This overall put a damper on the experience, being that one of the four decided not to eat out of fear after that. Towards the end of our meal, the original waitress was eating at a table across from us (again, coming from the service industry, I understand she was probably on break, hadn’t eaten, etc. but that’s one of those things that never looks the best in front of your own active guests). I was so excited to try this place out, and wish we would’ve had a better experience. Again, it wasn’t bad, but the allergy issue and lackadaisical staff made it difficult to...