Tavern of Little Italy — Restaurant in Cleveland

I’m in disbelief at what a horrible experience we had here. First, I’ll start by saying that it was a busy Friday night and we didn’t have super high expectations for service. We got to the restaurant around 6:30 and were seated very quickly. Our appetizer order and drinks also came out fairly quickly considering how busy the place was. The main course is where the wheels seemed to fall off for TOLI. We waited for what felt like an eternity for the main course to come out. During this time we watched several tables in the same situation leave the restaurant angrily. In hindsight, we should have done the same and cut our losses much earlier. After an hour of waiting our server had only come to our table one time to ask “how is everything?” 20 minutes after we had finished our appetizers. After an hour of waiting for the main course we called the server over and asked how much longer it would be for the food “it will be out any minute now.” We waited another 30 minutes and asked the server to check on the food as we had been waiting about an hour and a half after placing the order at this point. He returns to the table, head hung low, telling us that there’s only one cook in the kitchen and the cook said he already made our order a while ago. This also means he never actually checked on the food the first time we asked. At this point we didn’t have the patience to give them a second chance on the food so we left.

Unfortunately, I think the main problem here was with our specific waiter. How do you let your table wait an hour and a half for food without checking in with the kitchen? He did seem to have a lot of time to chat with the waitresses so I don’t think it was a communication issue.

The other problem here is that supposedly there was only one cook. Simultaneously, TOLI had 5-7 servers and the hostess kept seating people. It’s clear that the kitchen could not keep up with the orders, why keep seating new customers? About 4 parties including ours left TOLI without being served and that’s only counting ones seated in the back area.

I’ve been here before and the food was OK. Don’t think I’ll ever come back after...

I recently had the misfortune of dining at The Tavern of Little Italy, and let me tell you—it was a train wreck from start to finish. Let’s kick things off with the bartenders, who clearly think they’re too cool to actually do their jobs. When I asked for a drink recommendation, one of them smirked and said, “I don’t know, something strong?” Really? That’s the level of expertise and customer service we’re working with here? It’s like they were annoyed I dared to interrupt their very important task of standing around doing nothing. Then came the food—if you can even call it that. I ordered the pan-seared salmon, which looked like it had lost a fight with a frying pan and tasted even worse. Greasy, overcooked, and somehow still cold in the middle—it was a masterpiece of failure. The prime rib wasn’t any better. Chewy, dry, and seasoned with what I can only assume was a sprinkle of apathy. With these prices they can atleast buy seasoning.It was a complete waste of calories and cash. And don’t even get me started on the bathroom. It was like a horror movie set. Sticky floors, no soap, and smells like it hasn't been washed since it opened. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if a family of raccoons had taken up residence in there. If this is how they treat the bathrooms, I shudder to think about the state of the kitchen. Between the rude staff, disgusting food, and bathrooms that are one health inspector away from being condemned, The Tavern of Little Italy is a total disaster. Save your money, your dignity, and possibly your health, and avoid this place...

Food was fantastic. Atmosphere definitely more of a bar vibe. Which is definitely fine, very, very loud tvs from where I was sitting, but there was other dining rooms so couldn't tell from there. Not the vibe i was expecting from what I was told but that's ok. Service was definitely lacking. I'm a very easy person, especially when I am traveling because I am just a single person at that point. Apparently, because I was a single person dining that meant I didn't need any service. I waited about fifteen to twenty minutes for someone to come over and take my order which ensed up being the server that sat me - ok cool- I got my food really fast from same server - which was good..... But then I never saw my server again. Even when I asked for her to pay my bill. The server from the table next to mine ended up grabbing my empty plate, and I was like woo! Teamwork! Cept then I waited about another fifteen twenty minutes only to have the server from the other table walk by to his table. I hated to do it but I called him over and asked if he could grab my server for me.. he asked if it was for my bill and i said yes, and he said he would get my bill. Lo and behold the bartender ended up giving me my bill. At that point I didnt know who was my server was and felt like I was just a nuisance because I was a single person. And bevause I didn't know who the heck qould end up getting my tip, I left it blank which I fricken hated to do. If I could just have the option to give the tip to the person who cooked my food that would have...