Vito Marcello's Italian Bistro — Restaurant in Conway

Walked in and we're asked to wait as the hostess was on a call and that's no big deal... But there were other staff members there that probably could have taken us to our seats. We hiked 9 miles that day. My sister had a coffee cup she brought in from our hotel that had a sip left of Gatorade in it bc she was dehydrated from our strenuous hike to middle carter. No one said anything to us walking in, and it didn't seem like a big deal since we were seated by the hostess who said nothing about it and saw she holding it.

Then our waitress came over and had a big issue with my sister having a cup.. Our waitress acted like my sister was a criminal and made it CLEAR we weren't allowed to bring in any outside drinks and that they could lose their liquor license etc etc for the outside coffee cup. We had no problem with that and it's absolutely something we understand, AND understood... We quickly made it clear we were sorry, and would toss it right away. She offered to throw it out so my handed right over. But it was her attitude towards us... It's was shocking how she treated us! Disrespectful undeserving and unnecessary!! We are educated, respected, successful woman dining at your restaurant! And it's not often we get to take the time to get away for ourselves... Our initial response was to walk out, but decided maybe she was just cranky at us for her own reasons. Not the case... She continued to act rude. She rushed us to order, and throughout the hr we spent there, didn't act nice once at all. The cake topper was when we had finished dinner and were still sitting and enjoying some wine (we both had 1/2 glass left), and even though we hadn't said one word to her regarding our last inch of wine left in our bottle she made a point to 'clear it up to us' in her own conviction saying "If you aren't going to finish the bottle of wine,you cannot just take it, I'll need to pack it up and give you a receipt for it". Thank you, we know!!!! We live in Boston and are adults with no interest in taking a sip of wine home... We were exhausted, and just in disbelief by her!!!! Also, she had a trainee with her. Quickly we concluded, her condescending attitude wasnt just toward us. That was another issue we had with this experience. No patron should have to hear a waitress at all when dining unless they are at your table waiting on them. She was LOUDLY explaining rules, her waiting ways, and how to order so the cooks listen. It was unacceptable behavior and so unprofessional, especially when there are customers in the room and your table(us) is in a booth 3 ft away and only separated by a half frosted glass wall. These things should be done behind closed doors, trainees should not have to learn by someone with such an attitude and certainly should NOT be something a customer has to be distracted by when trying to relax. We were very disgusted and shocked. I actually am very angry I gave her a 20% tip. But I figure she can use it for lessons on manners. Too bad for us. Won't...

Our dining experience started out great..we got seated at bar seating..perfect..bartender was great..very attentive..very pleasant..took our order for drinks and food..the night was going well.. we finished our meal..we ordered desert and one more cocktail (which was our 2nd drink)..again great desert and cocktail..we just finished our desert and still had about half a drink each left..and the hostess comes over and says " we have people waiting with resrvations".. that hit us so put of the blue like what? Obviously they were getting backed up with overbooked reservations... Not our problem..but they were making it our problem by rudley signaling they needed the seats..her tone was rude, there was no grace whatsoever..whT should have happened was her aproaching us more like.. "hi ladies..im so sorry..i see yiu are finishing ...we apologize we have run over our time slots on reservations and would appreciate if you are near ready to go soon?".. but no her tone was we need the seats.. and she walked away so rude..and for the money you pay to dine there..that is awful and very poor taste on their part.sad thing too we have been coming here every year for 20 years and have never felt so mistreated a customer.. regardless of many times we have come...the point is we were there as an already seated paying customer and we had a half of an expensive drink left when she came by...and again our point is she could have used a much nicer tone and better chosen words..after all wherr is it our fault they over resereve seating? Well we decided no matter the food is good..we will not return ever again and we have many ladies groups we know that go there that we will be sharing the poor taste treatment we received from thier hostess....there is more competition in N Conway mow especially after covid..no restaurant should feel that its ok to treat customers in a rude manner..i hope the owners see this post because it should be brought to their attention.. if i was an owner i would want to know if any of my employees spoke rudly to my customers.. that kind of bad experience can hit spcial media and tarnish a businesses reputation. We spent over $200 before tip. And we tipped very well as the seever deserved it for his great service..i think all restaurant emplpyees should be a lot more respectful to a higher scale resturaunt clientele that are paying a lot of money to...

A Disappointing Experience at Vito Marcellos

I don’t usually write reviews, but I feel compelled to share my experience at Vito Marcellos, especially since my wife and I had been looking forward to dining there to celebrate her birthday.

I called to make a reservation instead of booking online, even though I saw available tables at 7 PM online. To my surprise, I was informed that the earliest available slot was 8:15 PM. This discrepancy was confusing, and I later understood why the staff inquired about the ages of our children when I mentioned our party of four, which included a 3 year old and a 7-month-old.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, I was carrying a clip on highchair for my baby, but the host informed me that outside highchairs were not permitted due to past incidents. I understood the policy but requested a highchair from the restaurant, only to be told that they did not have any available. This left me holding my baby throughout the meal, which was far from ideal.

When we were finally seated, we found ourselves in what felt like a hallway, isolated from the other guests, with a spotlight directly on us. It was uncomfortable, and we felt somewhat segregated due to the presence of our young children. We were clearly put at this particular table in an effort to not disturb other guests with our children. To make matters worse, our table was located near the restroom, resulting in a constant flow of patrons passing by, further detracting from our dining experience.

Once seated, we faced a lengthy wait for service—around 20 minutes before our table was even acknowledged. Given that we had two young children with us, this seemed unacceptable. A little common sense from the staff could have expedited our experience, as anyone with kids knows they can be a bit unpredictable.

On a positive note, the Bruschetta appetizer we ordered was phenomenal—definitely a highlight of the evening. However, our main courses were lackluster and did not justify their price point.

Overall, I left Vito Marcellos feeling disappointed by the ambiance, service, and lack of accommodations for families with young children. I cannot recommend this restaurant for families, especially those with babies...