Vigilucci's Trattoria — Restaurant in Encinitas

Have been to the two Vigillucci's in Carlsbad many times. Visited this location for the first time on the night AFTER Valentine's Day, so we expected a great dinner with none of the hubbub they likely had the night before.

Food was great (4-5 stars), but the "experience" was ruined by the largely inattentive/nearly neglectful wait staff, making our meal fraught with disturbing/annoying mistakes.

Maybe they were understaffed on this night, but it was one ridiculous thing after another:

1. appetizer arrived prior to receiving drinks (which took way too long)
2. the lasagna was hot, but obviously taken from an oven pan and put into a cold unattractive and inappropriate stainless steel vessel (rather than a nice warm /hot ceramic dish) that chilled the pasta quickly;
3. neither of us were offered grated parmesan on our pasta; had to ask twice to get it;
4. second order of drinks, one she brought was incorrect...another wait, ugh;
5. almost forgot the kids pizza I ordered to go, since it never arrived before we got up to leave, and no one said anything...my impression is it just got left aside until I suddenly remembered it, when we were about to head out the front door.

We found it VERY ODD that there are no white tablecloths; our table actually looked slightly dirty as a result, and utensils were laid out on this urethane surface (yuck!).

The complimentary table bread was totally unremarkable, and once again, we had to ask for more, rather than one of the inept servers noticing we'd blown through the meager slices in the first basket and replacing it.

Our server was very nice, but more than annoying/cloying with excuses, and without any apologies for the obvious lapses. Oh, and no offer of a complimentary dessert after all the papers lapses, which would have been very appropriate.

The singing pianist is a nice touch, and the man who seated us (who might be the manager) seemed proud of their nightly entertainment there.

Bottom line: this is not what we expect from a $200 (tax/tip included) dinner out. Simply NOT the wonderful experience one would expect in a mid/high priced restaurant on a very busy street of competitive eateries. They clearly need to retrain and crack the whip here on food and bar staff. We've gotten better service at Olive Garden, and that's not a distortion.

Therefore, cannot recommend. We'll just stick with the Carlsbad locations going forward...have never had a complaint about anything EVER at those...

Our entrees took 1 hour and 40 minutes to arrive after our appetizers.

Party of 5, dinner at 7 with reservations to celebrate a birthday. We ordered wine and cocktails and 2 appetizers. These arrived within about 30 min of seating. Ok.

Then it took 1 hour and 40 minutes for the entrees. The server did not use the word “sorry” ever. No one from management stopped by to explain or just to check on us. The ice melted in our drinks as they reached room temperature. We heard the kitchen closing down as rush tables were bussed and the kitchen was cleaned. Our server was missing in action.

Because we had nothing to eat I had time to walk the restaurant. By 8:40 ours was the ONLY table in the restaurant without food. Every table sat after us had received their entrees. Tables sat after us were leaving when our food arrived.

Someone brought us burnt bread at about 9pm.

When the food (5 pasta dishes, including 2 kid spaghetti’s) arrived at 9:10pm I asked for a fresh glass of white wine, which should be served cold with dinner. The server took the unfinished glass and brought another and charged us for both. She appeared visibly annoyed.

When I paid and handed the server the bill, I asked what had taken so long. She said something about 2 banquets in back. Then she opened the billfold in front of me to check the tip.

Honestly, this was the worst service I’ve ever had in a fine dining restaurant. Server did not apologize. Really, really surprising at the level of indifference Vigilucci’s showed my family and the disrespect the server displayed.

I would appreciate if someone contacted me. Will actively discourage others from...

Very good food, but lacked wait staff with experience. Arrival should have been our clue, our confirmed online reservation was not visible in system. We showed a picture taken of the reservation and the hostess took care of us stating plenty of open tables existed. Drinks and appetizer ordered we sat back and had to listen to static over the in-house entertainment speakers until the staff was made aware of it. Drinks arrived but no appetizer. Main course was ordered and served within 10 minutes ironically followed by the appetizer, which we refused (another table near us received the same appetizer as we ordered just 2-3 minutes after we refused ours. That table arrived after us leading us to believe the kitchen staff just recycled the appetizer). Wait staff passed our table many times but used glasses and dishes were never removed. Most disgusting was the bus-person who was offering grated parmesan cheese, yet at the same time removing dirty dishes and glasses. No gloves, no hand-washing visible. Spoke to manager who was aware of appetizer issue and mentioned the other issues experienced or seen with the wait staff. For a restaurant group around since the early 1980's the lack of leadership in this particular restaurant was telling. There is no excuse for poor service except that the staff is receiving poor training. Management at this restaurant needs to focus on the basics or it will forever loose patrons like...