Toscana Restaurant & Lounge — Restaurant in Elk Grove Township

This is disheartening to write because I feel strongly on supporting local, small businesses. However, I can’t look the other way when instances of discrimination and heartlessness go unreported.

My 80 year old mother and her friend went to dinner at Toscana. Mom, who is widowed and has limited mobility due to two recent knee surgeries which did not result in positive results, was interested in grabbing dinner out on a quiet night. They went to Toscana and enjoyed their meal, had a pleasant experience with the waitress and tipped above the suggested amount to reflect their satisfaction. This, however, is where the experience sours.

Because of mom’s handicap, it is difficult for her to stand from a seated position without some assistance. Of course her friend is there to assist, but in most cases, she often uses the dining table to leverage her weight and utilizes it to help her stand. Unfortunately, when attempting to stand, the table moved and her shoes also began to slide- a dangerous situation for any elderly person with limited ability. So, she sat back down and tried to flag someone from the restaurant to assist by simply holding the table while she stood.

They found a different waitress (their original waitress was not available) and asked if she could help by just holding the table still so that it would not slide. The waitress heard her and said she would return. About 10 min later, she returned and said to my mother “There’s nobody here who can help you.”

Now, to be crystal clear, there were only about 4 remaining tables left of diners- it was towards the end of the evening so it was not very busy. But the damage had been done where the waitress’ complete lack of empathy caused my mother to cry and worry about how she would get up to go home. She strongly considered calling 911 to help her get up so that she could leave. Finally, her friend was able to assist and slowly and carefully mom was able to stand and leave the restaurant.

She continued to cry on her way home- depressed that as a widow with a handicap, this would be how every situation would be for the rest of her life.

When I called the restaurant and spoke with the manager, I was calm, clear and not aggressive. It was simply to inform him of what happened the night before and to let him know that it’s important to not just take care of customers but also elderly customers who might need a little more help. Instead, he proceeded to say “I find this very hard to believe- we have lots of people in the restaurant who help. I will check the security camera to see if you’re telling the truth.”

I’m sure he rewound the tapes and find the old woman trying to stand with no one, absolutely NO ONE helping her out except the friend who went with her. So you see, how could I, in good conscience, write a good review for a place who so clearly doesn’t care about their customers.

This is not an issue of whether we will return or not. We won’t. As long time residents of AH (almost 50 years) we’ve never experienced this lack of empathy from any business in town. I have yet to review whether this restaurant is within Illinois ADA compliance. With the floor being as slick as it was, I’m wondering if this has been an issue with other handicap guests. However, I will leave it to the ADA officials to decide if there was any formal violation here.

Short story- be kind, be helpful, be empathic towards others. If we’re supposed to support local businesses who need our business to be successful, we should expect them to have basic human kindness in return. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for- especially when there are hundreds of other restaurants who...

We went there last night to celebrate my 70th birthday and my husbands birthday as well, with a total of 16 people. I chose Toscana because they have that larger space in the back and assumed we get a nice spacious table. We have eaten there in the past and always walked away happy. Well, last night was a nightmare. They crammed us into a small alcove with a L-shaped configuration table. Its really challenging to sit at a table if you’re on the inside of the L. Then a large group of adolescent girls gets the table next to us with a nice straight table and plenty of elbow room. Our server had to wait on that whole space that we were seated in alone which had about 50+ people. Some of us had to wait on drink orders a long time. When soup and salads came out she forgot mine and my daughters salads. She took the adolescent girls table main course orders before ours and we had to wait a good 40 minutes after appetizers for her to come around and get ours. When the main course came, she forgot my son in laws order as well as my sisters. Refills on drinks were almost impossible to get. And the frosting on the whole experience was no complimentary desert with a birthday candle. When my daughter made the reservation over a month ago she did mention that there was going to be two birthdays in the group. Oh wait, it gets better. Our server combined our bill with another table. I will give her a little credit that she tried her best to accommodate the room, but thats way too many people for one person. Not even a bus boy working with her. There were two old guys from the establishment who walked in the room, looked around and walked out several times. They never came to our table to ask how everybody was doing, if we needed anything…NOTHING. At least pick up a dirty dish and help out! It’ll be awhile before I can bring myself to go back to...

We went to Toscana for a private event for a weekend lunch. Our party filled the restaurant and it was closed to the public as a result.

There was an open bar with a limited menu. I don't like to drink during the day so stuck with Coke as my beverage. I heard from others that the bartenders did a nice job with the drinks they created.

As for the food, there was warm Italian bread with a variety of appetizers - fried squid and bruschetta are what I recall. The bruschetta was outstanding. I'm personally not a huge fan of fried foods but thought the squid was good. Others told me it was very good. Salad was also served - it was very fresh and the dressing was simple but delicious.

There were about seven or eight options for the main course. I chose the Veal Piccata. I have to say I've had better veal before. This was a little tough and the sauce as too salty. Overall, though, I admit I did enjoy it as I don't get veal very often.

They also served dessert - gelato which was just too much after everything else. Those who did get it seemed to really like it. There were multiple flavors and colors in the small bowls. I admit it looked pretty good. I did have an espresso which came piping hot.

Overall, it was a great experience. Kudos to the servers who were able to keep up with such a large crowd.

Toscana is not too far from my home. I'm looking forward to going with a smaller group to get the...