Lento Restaurant — Restaurant in City of Rochester

Visited Lento back in May and had a nice main with rabbit. Nice dimly lit ambience and very cozy. Only my second visit to Lento was deeply disappointing.

Not my first lobster roll but first one at Lento. There was not much lobster on the roll. Tried cutting into the lobster roll and bread roll was too tough, so I requested a steak knife from the server. I saw some black crumbs and I flipped the bread over to find a completely blackened bread roll (see picture).

I notified the manager and asked her if the rolls are normally this charred. She said they are grilled but this one was a quality control issue. She offered to replace the lobster roll. I needed to leave soon for my event soon so I just asked her to replace the roll lightly toasted and I would reassemble it. Someone brought another roll after 5 minute wait. The lobster roll didn’t taste like much, had little to no seasoning and chives didn’t perk it up at all. And the dry roll didn’t make it any better. Because of the light and faint flavor of the lobster and the strong taste of scorched bread, my taste buds were already tainted and everything else I ate tasted burnt.

Duck fat fries were tasty, but also only filled about ¾ of the small container it arrived in. In this picture I’d only eaten about 3 fries, even though it looks half empty. Half of the fries were shorter than one-inch stumps.

After I reassembled my meal, the bill came and there was no reduction for the inconvenience. I asked a server for a discount and she said the restaurant resolved the problem so no discount was needed. Later another server brought a bill with a 5% managerial discount. I asked to speak to the manager. After a 5 minute conversation, I requested 50% off the ticket and she removed 25% from the boil because the market cost of lobster was so expensive and said she hoped I’d give it another chance in the future. I’ve never had to ask staff so repeatedly for a discount for a food error or service error but looking at other reviews, I should have done my...

We picked up 2 to go orders here. We were disappointed. They didn't wrap the red fish dish in plastic wrap and it leaked all over. Had to do a deep cleaning to the car to get the fish juices out so it wouldn't smell. The fish really didn't offer much, taste wise nor with the sauces and sides. The price paid really was far more than what I believe we got. Full disclosure the meals we did get were a fundraiser for the Seneca Zoo. The other meal we had was the bison. The bison was delish. The cuts of meat were very small and very very fatty and had plenty of silver skin still attached. We ended up with pieces that had more hard fat and silver skin that had to be thrown away then we got to actually eat. The best part of the entire meal was the potato side dish with the bison. Everyone wanted more. The included drinks were called Strawberry Fields. While everyone thought they were tasty, they were on the small side of drinks and there was in our opinion too much alcohol. I actaully enjoy whiskey and the amount in the drinks killed the strawberry goodness. I left 2 stars. 1 star because the potato side was amazing. 1 star for supporting the zoo with a fundraiser. As a side note Lento needs better signage to know where to park and where they are. Having never been there before if we hadn't prepaid for our meals we likely would've given up finding a place to park and even trying to find the place. Be prepared for a long walk down a hall before you get in the restaraunt. Something to consider would be a place for the less abled and or the older folks to rest on the way down. My MIL would never make it from the front door to the restaraunt without being able to sit. Just something to consider...

Consistently disappointing... I come back to Lento about once every two years and it is always the same... just "okay". There are so many really great restaurants in ROC at the same (or lower) price point that I am always left saying, "well that is the last time I will go there."

For dinner last night (a Friday around 8pm) the Egg Battered Sautéed Artichokes were soggy and the Greek style yogurt, lemon & fresh herb sauce was just boring. The Roasted Red, Chioggia & Gold Beet Salad with Bolton Farms arugula, pistachio crumble, First Light feta & honey ginger vinaigrette was the best choice of the night. I greatly respect Lento's efforts to source locally and it is the main reason I keep coming back. My friend ordered the Coriander & Fennel Crusted Yellow Fin Tuna for her entree and was very disappointed stating the spicy peanut sauce tasted like lumps of JIF peanut butter. The tuna preparation was also not up to standards. I ordered the Grilled Hudson Valley Duck Breast. Compared to recent duck offerings I have enjoyed at REDD, Cure and Roux, this preparation was just not that good. I did enjoy the parsnip horseradish puree with duck cracklings, however the balsamic grilled radicchio tasted like it had been cooked the previous day and reheated. When the parsnip puree is the best part of a dish, you have a problem.

Besides the food, the atmosphere and decor could really use a refresh and a good deep clean.

The staff we interfaced with were terrific. Friendly and knowledgable.

Lento - it's time...