Tramonti — Restaurant in Delray Beach

I have been dining at Tramonti for nearly 20 years. Sadly, this restaurant has lost its edge and based on our recent experience, it's doubtful that we will return.

Our party of six dined here 2 nights ago. It was Saturday night and we had a reservation. We were excited to celebrate with our friends and enjoy some good Italian food.

After timely checking in, we were directed to the bar as our table was not ready. The bar was packed and there was little real estate available for our party of 6 to stand, let alone to order a drink. Instead, we hovered over nearby diners and managed to get in the path of servers. At a half-hour past our reservation time, we asked the Maitre de for a status on our table. "Not ready! I'm working!" he barked. Another 30 minutes passed, and despite the evil eye we were getting from the Maitre de, we drew short straws and had that person ask for another update. He was curtly dismissed by the table gate keeper. Finally, one hour and 15 minutes after our reservation time, we were seated near a Christmas Tree (it's June), but I digress.

We mentioned to our server, and to the bulldog Maitre de before him, that perhaps they could sweeten our lackluster experience thus far with a complimentary appetizer or glass of wine. The Maitre de, remaining in full bulldog character, was quick to reply, "No! I can't do that!"

None of us could hear the daily specials mentioned, so we just ordered off the menu. One diner asked to substitute the side of green beans with basically any other vegetable, but heard the common battle cry of the night, "No! I can't do that!" I had the seafood fra diavolo dish, topped with a few clams that never opened (when you get a dish with only 4 clams and 3 remain shut, one needs to question the quality control). Our water glasses were aggressively filled between ounces, and our appetizer plates were removed within seconds, so at least that part was quick.

The bill arrived and a "Supplemental Fee" of about $19 was noted at the bottom. Our server informed us that this fee represents the merchant fees charged by using a credit card. The total bill was over $500, and it came off as a little petty to charge a "Supplemental Fee". Moreover, the suggested tip calculations at the bottom of the bill included the Supplemental Fee as part of the total billed amount upon which a tip should be based.

This Delray restaurant was founded by a family patriarch, Gino Silvestri. He has since passed away, and my understanding is that one of his sons bought the restaurant from the other son. Since then, the dining experience has steadily deteriorated. While the food is good, it's not the best Italian food in the area (it should be of better quality for the price), the space is loud, the decor is dusty and dated (it's not Christmastime), and it's past its prime. There's only so much longer that it can ride on...

Review – Disappointing Experience with Poor Management

I do not recommend this restaurant based on my experience. I arrived with a group of four people and a dog, without a reservation, just like a friendly family we met while waiting in line. As with most restaurants, we expected to be seated outside with our dog.

When the restaurant opened at 5 PM, I was the fourth person in line, but people started cutting ahead and rushing inside with no control from the staff. When I reached the hostess, he asked how many people were in my party and if I had a reservation. I said no and mentioned we had a dog.

His response was dismissive: “You can wait outside, I’ll seat everyone with a reservation first, and then you can come back.” I asked if he needed my phone number, and he sarcastically replied, “Why? Are you leaving?” Meanwhile, the family we met in line, who had no reservation either, was seated immediately, along with other people who were behind me in line.

After waiting for 15 minutes, the hostess finally came back and asked, “Is your dog a service dog? If not, we can’t seat you outside.” I told him that was fine, but pointed out that he could have asked this question earlier instead of making us wait unnecessarily.

Frustrated, we left and stood on the sidewalk discussing our next steps. Then, a waiter approached us and again asked if the dog was a service dog. At this point, we were baffled—were we not even allowed to stand on the sidewalk with our dog?

The entire atmosphere of the restaurant did not feel upscale but more like a place where Delray’s “sub-celebrities” fight for a table, while the hostess acts like a king granting them status.

It is completely understandable if a restaurant does not allow dogs—even on the sidewalk, where dogs walk by all the time. However, if they were only seating people with reservations, it made no sense that the hostess seated the family in front of us and others behind us, all without reservations. And if dogs were not allowed, he could have politely informed us the moment I mentioned we had a dog instead of making us wait for nothing.

A disappointing and unwelcoming experience....

Terrible customer service. We went to this place for a family member’s birthday. This was my first time here and certainly my last. First of all the place is tight quarters between tables (definitely does not follow American Disability Act guidelines) we had to fold up my grandma’s wheelchair and help carry her to her seat because there was no space. We had a party of 9 and a baby, they squeezed us all into a round half booth and 5 chairs on the other side of the table. If a fire were to break out, there’s no way that any of us would get out safely, that’s how tight it was. Secondly, when I got my food, the noodles were hard and not enjoyable. When I told the waiter about this, he stuttered to me that Angel Hair pasta is supposed to be hard. Two other plates at our tables had Angel hair pasta, their pasta was cooked to perfection. I told this to the e waiter and he offered something else, but I was turned off by his attempt to cover up the fact that the noodles were in fact not cooked properly. So now not only am I squeezed up, I’m still hungry. After our meal, we asked if they would be able to cut the cake that brought for the birthday dinner. The waiter said that there was a cake cutting fee. I asked if there was anything that they could do since they messed up my noodles, he responded that he already took the noodles off the bill. Well I would hope that I wouldn’t have to pay for a heap of crispy noodles that I didn’t touch. He did end up asking his GM and the GM said there was nothing they could do. Lastly, my final attempt was to speak to the GM myself. He was just as dismissive and showed no empathy for the situation. The apology I received from him was only because he had to apologize for the meal, but not for how the situation was handled. I will never return to this place and I would discourage anyone who is looking for bare minimum customer service from coming to this restaurant. Not sure if anyone higher up will read this, but you could use some new staff and...