Via Garibaldi — Restaurant in City of White Plains

Had great expectations and was really looking forward to having an enjoyable, small family dinner for my wife’s birthday but sad to say this was a very underwhelming experience.

We had 630pm reservations on a Wednesday night (not needed because the place was bone dry when you walk in). Now I understand it’s a weekday night so I wasn’t expecting a large crowd but the fact that this place as no music or any other sound to set a mood or create a nice atmosphere you could literally hear a pin drop, or in our case all the workers standing around talking to each other.

Upon walking in I made it very clear to our server that it was in fact my wife’s birthday. 4 times actually and on one of them I actually winked!! Maybe I should’ve been more direct but I also mentioned it when I made my reservations. I didn’t expect an Applebees style song and dance but they couldn’t put a candle on my wife’s dessert??? That really bothered me.

In addition, the menu from their website is different than that at the restaurant. We ordered a small pizza and was charged for their large. I asked for crispy calamari (as its written on the menu) and the server didn’t know what I was asking for and as she looked at the menu tells us, “oh you mean fried calamari”. Okkkk? Same thing.

My wife asked if her meal came with any veggies and was told no, only Yukon potatoes so we ordered a side of broccoli. Her meal did come with veggies (asparagus) so now we had extra veggies.

Also asked if my meal came with any pasta or potatoes and was told no, so I ordered a side of mash. My meal in fact came with potatoes in it so now I had two large services of potatoes. I asked her if we could get pasta instead of the mash and was told NO! That they already made the mash and the pasta would be extra. So, I told her to wrap it now because I can’t eat all those potatoes. That was a bit upsetting.

We also got a pizza to start with, a margarita to be exact. This wasn’t any margarita I’ve had. It was literally a regular cheese pizza. I asked my son if he liked it and he shrugged his shoulders, said it was good. Then whispers to me “taste like the school pizza I eat.” Yeah, he’s 7.

All in all, the food was pretty good. I never ate the mash, the pizza was average, calamari was subpar, bread with olive oil was delicious, my wife enjoyed her fish meal for the most part and my chicken dish was ok too. Desert was nice but again, hard for me to enjoy when she came out without a candle.

I just felt like we got nickel and dimed for more food than we wanted, and the server didn’t accurately let us know what our meals came with nor accommodated when we asked to change it. I was just really disappointment with our experience here and the silence in this large place added to the overall awkward vibe.

Food was decent though! Won’t...

Summary: we spent almost 4 hours here for a meal that should’ve taken half of the time at most. Owner gave us a free bottle of wine but we were still charged for it on the bill and had to get our waitress to fix it. The food was alright.

7:30 reservation for 8. Took a while to get seated but whatever. He brings us to a cramped table against a brick wall by the kitchen that barely said 6 people but we had 8 so whatever right? Got seated and a dude comes to pour our water in 5-10 minutes. 30 minutes passes before the owner comes and tells a waitress to take care of our table because he realizes none of us have anything other than water. She finally comes back with our drinks and we placed our entire order, including appetizers, just so we don’t have to deal with any more delays. The salad comes out for those who ordered pasta after 10 minutes. It’s another 30 minutes before our 2 orders of calamari apps come out. We snack on those...for an entire hour before our entrees finally make it to the table. The owner comes around and personally gives us another bottle of wine on the house. Sweet, thanks man. It’s a kind gesture, but I came for the food. I ordered the Steak Via Garibaldi with a side of potato croquette (which was cold in the middle). I asked the waitress what kind of steak and how big it was and she answered “ribeye” and that it’s “a pretty good size.” Sick, thanks.

Main entrees out of the way and we get the dessert menus but no one at the table wants to risk spending another hour to get them so we ask for the check. We finally get it and make it visible that we’re ready for our waitress to take it but she just stands in the middle of the dining rooming scanning in the same direction and refusing to look our way. We finally wave it at her and she comes over.

Best part was an Italian family of 9 came after us, had constant attention from the wait staff, and received their food before way before we did.

Thanks, guys. I’m glad I drove 2 hours to meet a few of my fiancé’s old...

This restaurant definitely gets 5 stars in our book. We've been there 3 times in the month of January! The first time we went for my husband's birthday, just the 2 of us. It was mid-week, quiet, and beautiful. Our waitress couldn't have been nicer. As for the menu, at this point I've had 3 different salads and loved them all. I've had 2 of their pizzas, both great, and last night I had a chicken dish that was excellent and too big for me to finish. My husband loves their pork chops and octopus. The second time we went, we had a birthday dinner for a family member, so there were 9 of us. They promised me a round table and did not disappoint. The waiter was friendly and impressively attentive the whole evening. Everyone raved about him afterward. Last night, we went with another couple. There was a huge party in the main room, so we sat in the back room which has sliding glass doors, so we could still be a part of the festive vibe while not having to deal with the all the noise. Once again, the waiter was exceptionally friendly and attentive! Our friends even remarked about the fact that he was quick and on top of everything we could possibly want, yet we never felt rushed for a second - in fact, we stayed for over 2 hours. The espresso martini and cheese cake at the end were a fabulous ending to an all around great experience. (Oh yeah, the Nutella pizza with strawberries and bananas at the family gathering was pretty outrageous too!) AND - all of this PLUS free valet parking! There's no way to have anything but a great experience at...