Valentino Ristorante Italiano — Restaurant in Clearwater

Finally made it out to Valentino last night to meet friends. The location is far from us however I feel for the area, the location is good and easy to get in and out, free valet but a really roomy parking lot!

The decor and outdoor grounds are really, really amazing. The inside is very romantic and elevated. It feels very thoughtful when it comes to a lot of touches. However, immediately there were 2 things that threw me. 1 the ladies restroom does NOT have a hook to put a bag. This is often overlooked in newer restaurants so it’s not the end of the world but definitely something that should be addressed. Especially when asking for a dress code, many women wear higher branded bags that really is a bummer to set on a bathroom floor as even in the large stall, the sink doesn’t even have space to place the bag. The second thing is the amount of candles. This place has scented candles lit all over the place, one is even on the back of the toilet in the ladies room which is a disaster waiting to happen with someone with long hair. Two people in our party struggled bad with allergies at dinner due to the overwhelming vanilla scent burning from all the candles. The whole candle thing is very interesting as for example, the table next to us ordered some shrimp appetizer that came out still boiling. The appetizer smelled DEVINE. We all immediately regretted not getting it. The food here is so good and smells amazing, let the food be the ambiance not a vanilla candle.

Our server was crazy attentive, addressed all of our needs, offered great suggestions! There is a whole team of people moving and grooving here to help from refilling drinks, bringing food, clearing, the whole nine yards. We felt very welcomed, all our our needs addressed, the chef and manager doing active check ups. Really great meal and experience with the staff. We ordered varying things from the lasagna ( as highly suggested by the waiter), the bolognese, some seafood pastas, calamari, bruschetta, etc. everything was great.

We did bring our 4 year old who ordered the kids fettuccine which was honestly the best fettuccine I’ve ever had. At first I was very alarmed by a 28$ price tag for a kids meal, but i will still say it’s high but I’ll let it pass due to the flavor and the fact that it is a higher caliber place that most won’t bring kids anyways.

The deserts were impeccable, gelato great and good portions.

The only other complaint i have which is why i deducted a star is the finale. The service staff takes the food to package, which is standard in these environments due to price point and experience. Usually i like to pack my own food but i still allowed them. They then bring you a nice bag all ready to go and set it down on these cute stools instead of the flood ( which in very thoughtful and why the lack of hook in the bathrooms caught me off guard ). The problem is when we arrived home after separating from our 2 other parties, the left overs were swapped. My bag had my daughter’s leftover pasta and someone else’s pasta. Not the barely eaten 40$ lasagna I ordered. This was such a bummer. The appetizers, bread and all had many of us stuffed and we all prepared to bring much of it home, so to not have the correct meals is a little disappointing.

All of the items that i removed stars for can be easily remedied by the restaurant ( should they choose) or just be a personal item id keep in mind ( like being cognizant of the candles and double checking bags) therefor i do think this place is a solid 4.5 stars. We would definitely come back and overall had an...

I don’t normally write reviews like this, but I felt it was important to share my experience for anyone considering working at Valentino’s.

I was hired as a server and told I would start training right away to be fully prepared by Mother’s Day weekend — a notoriously busy time for restaurants. I was excited and committed, even leaving another serving job based on the offer I received.

During my third training shift, the owner, Gabby, pulled me aside and said, “ Based off some feedback, we think you should run food this Mother’s Day weekend to get a better look at the plates.” I took that in good faith, assuming it was part of the training process — that I’d get the full picture and then move into serving tables like we had discussed.

But I remember thinking: how could there be any feedback at all, when I was still in training and had been strictly told to only observe during the two days prior? I had followed instructions exactly and hadn’t even had the chance to actually do anything yet.

From that point forward, I was never actually trained to be a server. I was used as support staff all weekend — running food, folding linens, and helping on the floor — doing tipped work for a flat $13/hour training wage. There was no one-on-one service training, no chance to learn the POS, and no shadowing of a full serving section. Just general support.

After the weekend was over, I was told that I wasn’t “ready” to serve and that my only options were to stay on as a food runner or reapply for the server position in the future. I was completely blindsided — how could I be expected to be “ready” for a job I was never trained for?

I brought this up respectfully to Dana and Roderick explaining that I wasn’t actually trained — just asked to help. The response I got was essentially: We’re not going to pay for any more training.

This left me in a really difficult position. I had already quit a previous serving job to take this opportunity, trusting what I had been promised. Now I’m stuck with a position that pays much less, is over an hour away, and doesn’t cover my basic expenses. Management was aware of my situation — I was upfront about my need for steady income — but they showed no concern for how their actions affected me. It honestly felt like I was brought in just to help them through their busiest weekend of the year, with no intention of ever letting me serve.

I’m not sharing this to be negative — I’m sharing it because I wish someone had told me what to expect. Job opportunities should come with honesty and follow-through. Unfortunately, that wasn’t my experience here. If you’re considering working at Valentino’s, just be cautious and make sure you’re truly being set up for success — not just used to get through a busy weekend.

Respectfully, I’ll continue to update this review over time so it doesn’t get lost, in case others find themselves in a similar situation. People deserve to be informed and...

I don’t normally write reviews like this, but I felt it was important to share my experience for anyone considering working at Valentino’s.

I was hired as a server and told I would start training right away to be fully prepared by Mother’s Day weekend — a notoriously busy time for restaurants. I was excited and committed, even leaving another serving job based on the offer I received.

During my third training shift, the owner, Gabby, pulled me aside and said, “ Based off some feedback, we think you should run food this Mother’s Day weekend to get a better look at the plates.” I took that in good faith, assuming it was part of the training process — that I’d get the full picture and then move into serving tables like we had discussed.

But I remember thinking: how could there be any feedback at all, when I was still in training and had been strictly told to only observe during the two days prior? I had followed instructions exactly and hadn’t even had the chance to actually do anything yet.

From that point forward, I was never actually trained to be a server. I was used as support staff all weekend — running food, folding linens, and helping on the floor — doing tipped work for a flat $13/hour training wage. There was no one-on-one service training, no chance to learn the POS, and no shadowing of a full serving section. Just general support.

After the weekend was over, I was told that I wasn’t “ready” to serve and that my only options were to stay on as a food runner or reapply for the server position in the future. I was completely blindsided — how could I be expected to be “ready” for a job I was never trained for?

I brought this up respectfully to Dana and Roderick explaining that I wasn’t actually trained — just asked to help. The response I got was essentially: We’re not going to pay for any more training.

This left me in a really difficult position. I had already quit a previous serving job to take this opportunity, trusting what I had been promised. Now I’m stuck with a position that pays much less, is over an hour away, and doesn’t cover my basic expenses. Management was aware of my situation — I was upfront about my need for steady income — but they showed no concern for how their actions affected me. It honestly felt like I was brought in just to help them through their busiest weekend of the year, with no intention of ever letting me serve.

I’m not sharing this to be negative — I’m sharing it because I wish someone had told me what to expect. Job opportunities should come with honesty and follow-through. Unfortunately, that wasn’t my experience here. If you’re considering working at Valentino’s, just be cautious and make sure you’re truly being set up for success — not just used to get through a busy weekend.

Respectfully, I’ll continue to update this review over time so it doesn’t get lost, in case others find themselves in a similar situation. People deserve to be informed and...