Sainato's at Rivergate — Restaurant in Cleveland

I am extremely disappointed to report that I do not believe the management style of this restaurant (or owners, I’m not sure) understand how to be hospitable in business. We have ordered several times in the past and have been repeat customers. Unfortunately, the last time we ordered we did delivery through Toast and waited for over an hour and a half, called the restaurant numerous times, and then at two hours our order status was “available at the restaurant” on Toast, versus for delivery. The whole point of delivery was that we were without our vehicle that evening and had our friend come to the restaurant to help us secure the food, just to find out they were closed. PS, it was a Friday night around 7PM.

Their voicemail did not state they were closed. Toast did not recognize them as closed. It was a huge inconvenience to us to drive there after being at a total loss (and waiting hours) not knowing they were closed. After that we called Toast as well to get refunded or figure out that process and they said we had to deal with the restaurant directly. We called them when they were open and Sarah said she would cover something for us the next time we called. When we called back the night we were in the mood for pizza again, we were directed to Mer who spent more time assuring us we were refunded than simply honoring Sarah’s statement of providing us with a complimentary meal for our troubles. It is simply an insane way to do business in my opinion.

If your customer jumps through hoops and doesn’t get what they wanted, it’s really not about the money. It’s about showing them you care with a simple gesture. She literally asked me “why would we cover anything for you?” Okay, never mind. Not only did your staff say so, you should want to in order to retain our business.

We will not be returning and I hope others choose better options in the area. There’s plenty of other great pizza and Italian spots (don’t get me started on their sad buffet) and I hope you will choose elsewhere. Flat Iron is right down the road and has a ton...

I've had a couple of people tell me that Sainato's (at Rivergate) had great Italian food and then after reading some reviews on here, I decided that I was going to give this place a try. Today is my birthday and my Mom wanted to treat me to Lunch and so I recommended that we give Sainato's a try. (I always feel bad when writing a review and due to my experience, I'm unable to give the place what I would consider a High Rating). To start off, I was kind of shocked when we walked into the restaurant at 1:30pm and the place was totally empty, we were the only table. My first impression was that the dining room was clean, the atmosphere was comfortable and inviting, and it smelled great! I had read a few reviews that mentioned a Lunch Buffet, and even though I mistakenly decided to get the buffet, it was definitely sub-par in my opinion. There was a traditional salad option that was good, but then the pizza had been sitting out for so long that the bottom of the pieces had become soggy (which soggy bread is always a turn off for me), then there was some old penne noodles saturated in oil to prevent them from sticking and I imagine to try and give the impression that they were not that old. Then the pasta sauce to me was just average, nothing special, same as the meatballs. The price was not too expensive at least, and it's possible that on a different day, maybe when they're busier, they will offer fresh food items on the buffet. For the service, I wish there were 0.5 point increments, as one of the 2 servers was very pleasant and helpful, but the other server just wasn't as cheerful and inviting. (As to why there were 2 servers I am unsure, maybe one of them was being trained?). And again, I'm hoping that maybe it was just a bad day, and that on a different day this place would be...

The food is awesome and is probably the reason this place is still going strong. There was definite service issues that could be addressed. The first issue would be uniforms, at least matching t-shirts would be a wonderful start to a better dining experience. Workers look like civilians, so its difficult to know who to ask for anything. The food timing was bad, food took much much longer than expected. The service timing was equally as bad. The server was not good. She seemed happy but looked lost and confused during the entire ordeal. No introduction, no sense of service, no refills, no help, dropped off bill but never picked it up, food missing, she tried to drop off different food items we didn't order. I could list more things that were lacking but I won't, since I want to save time. If this place could get a few real experienced and dedicated service staff it would probably take off after a couple years. The atmosphere was good, tall ceilings give the feeling of open air, big inside-out doors give plenty of light to the inside. Its a nice little location right near the Cuyahoga River.

Came back to watch a little band play, they were decent. The service has improved since last visit. The food is sneaky-good! It really is fresh and delicious once again. Glad we made the trip back to check it out. It was a good...