Forte's on the Square — Restaurant in Crossville

This was the most disappointing evening as we got out to celebrate a family retirement. We were all there and table empty and they wouldn’t seat us until it was 5:30, it was 5:22 when we arrived. We had called to reserve the large table in the back for 8 and then they tried to sit us in a small table in the front . We start to order and remember it’s 5:30pm on a Friday night , one person in our group orders prime rib and then I order it and the waitress says he got the last one we are out !!! She stated they had a real busy Thursday night and were out. This is the next day, how about planning and cook more for your next business opening. So we got all our orders placed . Shortly afterwards the waitress came back out and told one of the others they didn’t have the pasta that went with their meal . Sadly the appetizers were the only good thing about this visit!! When we ask about the drinks they had available the waitress acted a bit put out trying to name some of them and said what are you looking for and I’ll see if we have it . I then ask for a drink menu, should you really have to ask for this when your party is asking what you have?? The drinks and salads came out correctly . Then food time …. The 4 steaks ordered at our table were very cool and definitely didn’t just get cooked . They got the potatoes and steaks mixed up resulting in me not eating mine due to not being cooked enough and the other person ate some before we realized they were wrong. The baked potatoes were good except the cheese was hard like it had been sitting under the warmer too long . The confused shrimp is served on a bed of lettuce which had sat too long because lettuce was soggy. The lobster that was with one of the steaks was tough and chewy. We did have 2 entrees that were enjoyed which was chicken alfredo and spaghetti. The rolls were also good. After serving us the waitress never once ask us if everything was good , I’m wondering if she already knew it what the answer would be. I did complain to one of our waitresses but she said she was training , I told her then she needed to pass it along . Being raised in a business the minute that gets back to anyone in management they should have been right over to try to explain , I’m guessing it was never expressed to anyone. We brought our own cake and they were very kind to provide extra plates for that. We also shared our cake with the 3 that had helped us through the night. The bill came … let me tell you , if you don’t look at your bill you will be over paying !! They have an alcohol tax which is fine except it’s 15% and food tax is 4% + local tax but they tried to charge the 15% on the whole bill. I have a feeling this is a regular practice hoping many don’t catch it . We then ask to speak with a manager or someone and the waitress said the manager and the owner were here, we just request to speak one of them. The owner comes right over and a member of our party began explaining all that had been wrong during our visit and hold on for this one , not a sorry, not a let me get to the bottom of this … nothing close…. He seriously states it’s cause the planets have aligned !!!!! In complete shock !! You have 8 grown adults at this table and this is what you want us to walk away with ??? This has always been a celebration place for us and had always been great food . I’m guessing that all went with the past owners that took pride in their food and service. I will never again recommend this place to anyone. I would give the staff 1 star but everything else would...

It did not live up to our expectations based on everything we had heard. The building is beautiful with the bare brick and panel ceiling. And our server was very attentive. However, the place was so extremely noisy that we couldn't hear our server talking to us much less have a conversation with each other. Apparently they had two large parties, with unattended children, that were taking up the majority of the restaurant. (We had checked ahead and planned our visit for after they should have left, but they were still there). The food was also rather disappointing. First, their "full bar" could not make a mojito because they don't have mint leaves. I had the house White Zin and he had a Draft, both were satisfactory. We both ordered the 12 oz NY strip with Jack Daniel's glaze. Our food came out quickly which was great, but it was room temp, not even warm, the broccoli was the warmest, but still not hot. My steak was OK, however my husband's was so full of gristle that he could not eat half his steak. He also commented that mine had a better flavor than his. I felt that they were both more rare than medium rare. Upon leaving we agreed we didn't feel "full" after our meal. Which considering it consisted of salad, bread, potato, broccoli and steak, you'd think we would be. Based on the disappointing main course we decided to not try the dessert. We both have a rule that unless a place is just "that" bad we always try them twice before making a final decision. I hope our next visit is much better and up to...

This was such a disappointing experience. Forte's had been one of Crossville's top restaurant - NOT any more. We arrived at 5pm to a dead restaurant - the first sign something has changed. The second thing we noticed was how stale the bread was. Then we had soup, also a significant difference from times prior, lacking in flavor. We had two glasses of red wine - but one of the glasses came in a glass that was half the size. I politely asked if it was a mistake since it was glaringly different pour compared to the other glass and I was told that it was 'a three finger pour' and they wouldn't fix it or take it back. Then our meals came out, before our appetizer, and they were TERRIBLE. Chicken fettuccini alfredo was a watered down soup without enough pasta, the chicken and shrimp tasted like rubber and the sauce was like something out of a jar, and the mussels were so bad (probably old since no one wants to eat there anymore) we didn't eat them. The manager stopped by to ask how our meal was and we shared the same feedback - while we were talking our waitress came by and heard our feedback. The manager walked away and the waitress said "Well some people just like to complain about everything." Although you think it couldn't get worse, we get our bill and the prices are higher than they were on the menu. Do not waste your time here. The food, service and management...