Delmonico’s Italian Steakhouse — Restaurant in City of Utica

“My family and I came here for a 6:30 reservation. We arrived about 15 minutes late. We were seated in the back, and I could not help but notice something concerning. Nearly every family of color, whether Black, Latino, or Asian, was seated together in the same section. All of the patrons in the front of the restaurant, by the bar and entrance, were white.

This stood out to me. Although my actual server was Caucasian, I called over another server who appeared Latina just to share the observation. She said she had not noticed before, but she acknowledged my point. Not long after, a manager came to speak with a nearby table of white patrons and discreetly glanced toward our section, which made me feel as if my comment had been passed along.

What troubled me most is that when we first checked in, the hostess asked if we minded sitting outside. I initially thought yes, but then decided no because it was too muggy and I was tired. She said she asked because there was only one table left. Yet when we were seated, I saw at least four empty tables inside, and those tables remained open during our meal. That justification felt unnecessary and made me wonder if there was more behind the seating decisions than I was told.

It is possible that we were seated in that section because we had a toddler, and perhaps the hostess thought it would be easier to group families with young children together to manage noise. However, what I noticed is that the grouping also fell clearly along racial lines, with families of color placed together and white patrons placed elsewhere. Whether intentional or not, that arrangement gave the impression of separating guests not only by family type but also by race.

I want to be clear. My husband and I have been to Delmonico’s many times in Albany, in the Utica area, and at this location. Delmonico’s has always been our go-to place. This is the first time we have ever noticed something like this. That is why I believe this issue had less to do with Delmonico’s as a brand and more to do with whoever was handling the seating arrangements that evening.

Whether based on assumptions about children or something else, the outcome was uncomfortable. Restaurants should be mindful of how these decisions appear, because even if unintentional, they create the perception of segregation and leave guests feeling excluded.

We came to enjoy a meal as a family but left reflecting on this experience. I share this feedback in the hope that management takes a closer look at seating practices so that all guests can feel...

My husband and I made reservations to celebrate our Anniversary last evening, August 13, 2018. We requested a table ‘not out in the open’, but in a more intimate setting. We arrived prior to our reservation time and when we were greeted we were told by a gentleman in a suit (a manager?) to let him know when we were ready, as we told him we wished to have a drink at the bar. When we were ready to be seated the same man told the hostess (a girl in a hat) to seat us in a private setting. She non-chalantly turned away and started walking away. We followed. She brings us to a table right out in the open. People seated all around us. A couple with a very young child near by. Being that we don’t like to make trouble, we sat down. Our waitress came to our table as we were pondering the idea of ‘speaking up’ and asking to be moved, but because she was pregnant we were thinking that it may be taken personally. Yes, we over-think. Okay, let’s just stay here. We were looking around. Right next to us, there was this little private section of the restaurant. Really? You couldn’t have seated us there? Our dinner comes. My dinner was good. My husband’s, on the other hand, was not! He ordered his steak medium, because from experience it usually comes more like he likes it...medium rare. Not the case. This ordered medium steak was medium well to well. So, we are sitting there eating our dinner. The hostess with the hat walks by. Followed by a couple. She is way ahead of them. She drops their menus on the table before they even got there and walks away. No words exchanged. That is just wrong. During our dinner that same man that we had interaction with when we arrived, was moving about the area in which we were seated, talking with patrons. Never once did he approach us. They were well aware of our request and that we were celebrating our Anniversary. We will...

We came to Delmonico's Italian Steakhouse to celebrate our daughter's 16th birthday in December. The restaurant was beautifully decorated for the holidays. The regular decor is of hollywood or famous people caricature on the walls. There's a beautiful engraved image of Frank Sinatra which is breathtaking. The ambiance is definitely a plus. The staff and manager were very nice. Very positive upbeat vibe. For appetizers we ordered mozzarella fritta; crab cake (liked that you could order one) and calamari. Everything was good except the calamari, which tasted gummy to me. The steaks we ordered were Filet Mignon and NY Stip. Both steaks were flavorful but thought it odd that the side is pasta with marinara. We paid extra for potatoes. My husband was in the mood for italian and ordered himself chicken marsala but for some reason it came with mash and stuffing instead of pasta. Not sure if that was a mistake or not but we didn't ask. Loved that the birthday girl received whatever dessert she wanted compliments of the manager (usually cannoli but my daughter doesn't like that dessert and they were kind enough to change it). All in all the experience was great. Would come again if we...