Cortese Restaurant — Restaurant in City of Binghamton

Myself, My husband , my father and mother in law and our two kids (9 and 5 YO) went there on Monday for my birthday dinner. I was so looking forward to it. I usually only go once a year and hadn't been there since New Years last year so I was very much looking forward to it. Well what a disappointment! The pina colada was terrible, served in a pint glass and just completely overflowing. The diet soda was flat! We never got any bread brought to the table until I asked for it. We ordered two appetizers, calamari and the sampler. BOTH we soggy and just grease ridden. Then we got our salads/entrees... I remember they have the BEST Italian dressing so I surly was looking forward to that.... NOPE/ BLAND and no garlicky kick like I expected... the ranch dressing was pretty good which means a lot coming from me because I don't like ranch dressing at all.... my husband ordered a chicken and mushroom dish.. my husband is 6'4 ... 290lbs... the portion size looked like it should have been on a kids menu! My mother and law and daughter both ordered lasagna and the noodles where so over cooked they were mushy falling apart. My son got spaghetti and honestly I have no complaints about that. My father in law ordered Filet mignon with garlic Milanese and said he enjoyed it. I ordered the junior cut of prime rib with garlic Milanese and mushrooms and onions... the baked potato was good! Unfortunately the prime rib, mushrooms and onions were SOOO BLAND!! If it hadn't been for the garlic Milanese, I probably would have sent it back and ordered something else . No one got dessert so I can't say anything about that. Overall the bill was 191.00 dollars for 4 adults and 2 children! Because the server was VERY GOOD and had nothing to do with the food portion of our visit, he received a 40.00 dollar tip! Overall, I think the place has gone downhill over the past few years and would recommend going to Applebee's or...

First time at Cortese’s tonight and after hearing amazing things, I was disappointed, especially after the almost 50 minute drive.

Our waitress, Sabrina, was inattentive and moody. She never smiled and seemed to be annoyed when I wanted to confirm the kitchen could prepare the veal Marsala gluten free as I’m celiac and was told via phone they could. Because of the severe aversion, I was also instructed to confirm with the server when ordering my meal.

Additionally, She brought me the wrong wine and when I asked about it, as I ordered a sparkling rose and the wine delivered was nothing of the sort, she, without a word, took the glass of wine and finally brought me the correct glass without a word. She charged us for the more expensive, non-sparkling wine on the check twice, as I had 2 glasses. It was Only $1.50 per glass difference, but nonetheless was incorrect. She hurriedly took my boyfriend’s and my order, interrupting him midway through, before again abruptly walking away. When filling water glasses, she faced the wall without an acknowledgment to either of us. She never checked on us, only in passing while walking by the table asking “everything good?” And not waiting for a response .

The veal Marsala was decent, except for a heavy hand with the thyme and the boiled brussels sprouts were bland with what appeared to be bacon bits on them.

I’ll give this place another try, hoping it was an off night due to the customer volume and the time of year. However, the customer service most certainly left a very bad taste in my mouth. While I understand the restaurant business is a difficult business, if you can’t be at least somewhat personable, maybe the restaurant industry is the wrong place for you. One thing is for sure, a poor server can severely impact a customer’s perception on the establishment. Not a great...

Traveling here from NJ staying at hotel and ordered delivery during Covid lockdown. My husband is an essential employee. I get that they are very busy because I was on hold 2 times for awhile, and the person I spoke to wasn't the friendliest. (Guessing they don't usually deliver at all) because I specifically mentioned the hotel, and that we needed paper plates, napkins, utensils etc. The restaurant here is shut down and we have nothing.

I ordered Chicken parm which came with a side salad and bread. Ordered spaghetti w/ meatballs for my husband. Came with same- (salad and bread). Good thing we asked for side dressing because that's it for $46! (We also added a tip)

When we asked the delivery person where the plates and utensils are, he said "I'm just the delivery guy". The food was good. It would've been really good... Unfortunately it was really tough to eat out of containers with no utensils and no plates. We went down to the hotel clerk, she had no access to anything but dug around to find 2 plates lying in a drawer.

So $46? I called and started to say something but was told "the delivery guy left already " Click! I. called back. (That wasn't the question) I asked about the charges after I looked at their menu. I was told there's a $5 delivery fee, but seriously? It didn't add up and it's not worth it. Also No plates, no utensils, no napkins, no butter, no salt/ pepper no parm cheese. "We don't have that here!"

If you're Not used to delivery or take out then Say something! I would've ordered elsewhere. I definitely will do that next time.

Honestly I'm not seeing $20 for spaghetti and 2 meatballs, but I didn't get to check the receipt because it was greasy and the delivery guy practically ran away v.s giving us a copy.

Disappointed ...