Ferraro's Italian Grille — Restaurant in Florida

I want to rate this 5 stars for food; but unfortunately leaving a restaurant angry after what should have been a relaxing family meal - forces me to rate 2 stars.

There were 6 of us dining in. My wife and 4 children. We asked our waitress if we could have a basket of bread for the table while we perused the menu. She said "no, bread comes with the meal" and started to walk away. I stopped her and mentioned that we had received bread for the table the first time we visited. She replied very curtly, "no, we've never done that". This set the tone for the evening. While taking our order, my wife asked if she could substitute a vegetable for the pasta that comes with the chicken parm. The waitress responded "of course; broccoli ok"? My wife responded "perfect". My youngest daughters each ordered a kids meal. With our appetizers, the waitress brought a basket of 4 pieces of bread. We enjoyed the appetizers and when the waitress returned, we asked for more bread since there were 6 of us. She replied, "well I only brought 4 because only four of you ordered adult meals, if you want more bread you'll have to pay for it". We replied, ok then we are happy to pay for it.

We enjoyed our entrees very much. Great portions, fresh hot food at good prices. Looking over the check at the end of the meal, we noticed we were charged for the two kids drinks that are often included in the price of a kids meal, we were up charged for the broccoli my wife substituted for pasta, and two items on the receipt were priced differently than on the menu. When the waitress came to ask for the check, I asked her if kids drinks come with the kids meal. She replied, in a similarly condescending manner "the drinks are only free with a kids meal if the kids are 10 or under". She never asked my daughter's ages. She took it upon herself to ascertain their ages. I asked her about the broccoli charge, and true to form she replied "it's an upcharge, which you should have known since you said you've been here before". I said it's always nice to be told there is an upcharge; maybe my wife would have rather had the pasta in a doggie bag and paid for a side of broccoli instead. Finally, I pointed out the discrepancy in the menu price vs. the receipt price. She grabbed a menu to confirm, then responded with "well that's not my fault, I have no control of how the items ring up, if you want you can talk to a manager". I said, yes please.

The manager was one of the family members who owns the place. I told him the food was excellent, but the experience was soured by the server. I ran through the list of issues I had with the waitress. He apologized, said he appreciated our business, and hoped we would not be deterred from coming again. I had an inkling that he wasn't being sincere but don't know the man so I give him the benefit of the doubt. The waitress eventually came for our credit card, we paid the original $130 bill (as no one offered to fix it) and I tipped a very small amount - but was tempted to leave $0 as the service was worth less than that. In my entire life, this rated as one of the all-time low service experiences, the kind you...

Repeat customers. Very good Italian food. One of the best in miles. We drove 30 miles each way just to eat here on Father's Day. BUT, the reason I can't give 5 stars is that the wait staff ALL fail to anticipate their guest's needs with basic things like silverware, appetizer plates, and even regular plates. Tonight our appetizer was nearly gone by the time our server returned with small plates -- which she noted verbally & laughed about, rather than apologizing. Guests shouldn't have to eat at a table full of crumbs because they didn't get plates. The server for the folks next to us also failed to bring dinner plates & silverware before delivering their pizza. Other guests also had to ask for plates & silverware. This is Food Service 101 folks! These young ladies & gentleman need some training. Pre-busing tables should also be done. Not only would it help you clean up faster afterward, you could seat guests more quickly, rather than leaving them to wait outside, as there are only 3-4 chairs available for guests who have to wait for a table. In addition, 3-4 guests can clutter a table quickly when having an appetizer, so removing used items would make guests more comfortable. Our server came to take our order 3 times, barely 2 minutes apart. Had she used that time in between to properly provide plates & silverware for our appetizer, we likely would have been ready to order by then. I understand that many of the dishes at Ferraro's are served on their own plate or tray, but the moment the order is taken, the wait staff should know who will need plates and who won't. All I'm saying is use some foresight. Put yourself in your guest's place. All of these things would allow you to serve more guests, thereby increasing your revenue (and tips), as well as guest...

Do NOT come here, if you're not from around here. The dead low class area were in, reflects what you should expect. From the moment we walked in it was awful. They told us where to sit, we go sit there, then someone else tells us we have to move literally 1 table over as if it mattered 3ft over... then they start cleaning the door, and sprayed one of us with windex and some probably got in his wine/water glasses.... now we can get to the food. No wonder the prices were so low. It was all awful. The best thing was the side cesar, bc I'm sure they don't make the dressing. Veal tasted like tough Salisbury steak. The burger was the most pathetic thing I have ever seen. Was basically a skinny small fast food frozen patty on a massive bun... you couldn't even see the meat with the bun over it... they brought the bread out finally a few mins after our food had been served... we also ordered a pizza... they made a pizza from scratch faster than heating up some pre made bread and garlic sauce... the Veal marsala tasted like burnt fuel...

The level of intelligence was abysmal. Can't even just blame mangament. Moron employees spraying cleaning chemicals directly next to people eating... wonderful smell and taste in the air.

All the staff were clearly just trying to finish their shifts and side work, and leave. We came in at 8:40 on a saturday night they close at 9:30. There was only about 3 tables sat, place was dead. Should have been a sign to leave. Our bad. It's a shame, place was visually nice. Super high ceiling...