Maida Trattoria — Restaurant in Fort Collins

Updated review - went on Sunday at 4pm. Got sat just after (maybe 4:05?). There were A LOT of people working and standing around. I saw the person I expected to be our server walk past our table 5 times - we were never acknowledged, nobody brought us waters, nobody said “we will be right with you”. Nothing. I have worked in many restaurants - if the server is busy, then bussers/hosts/expos/managers - anyone who can help should be helping. Not standing around - the hosts were chatting at the host stand, bussers or expos were wandering around and at this point 20 minutes had passed. At least 3 other tables around us looked confused and weren’t being helped. We gave it one more chance and yet again, the server walked by (this would have been the 5th and final time) without saying anything to us. I worked at many restaurants where the rules were that you always had a tray and that tray was always full - drinks from the bar, waters, food etc. I did not witness that here. Our would be server had 5 opportunities to at least bring water. We got up and left at 25 minutes of not being acknowledged. I mentioned it to the hosts on the way out and while they were sympathetic, it doesn’t change the fact that everyone working seemed oblivious to the fact that there were guests in the restaurant.

Went for our first time tonight - I wasn’t the most impressed but I am looking forward to trying again. We had two different servers (as a former restaurant manager, it looks bad for servers to pass off tables, but things happen). We placed our drink and app order with our first server. The drinks came out promptly. My salad took 35 minutes (I started keeping track once ten minutes had passed) and the appetizer 40. So obviously not great there. However, the casa salad and whipped goat cheese tasted great. The whipped goat cheese was a substantial portion but then only had about 3/4 pieces of bread. A dish like this would be great served with some raw veggies or additional bread. The entrees came out quicker but my pesto pasta was undercooked. I don’t mind Al dente but this was very very chewy. Probably only needed 1 or 2 more minutes to cook and it would have been a perfect al dente. The pasta sauce was delicious. Also ordered a pizza. I would say the pizza was fine - I’m not sure if the crust is homemade. As for service, as mentioned having a server pass off a table looks bad. The other server was clearly busy and working in a different section so our service was incredibly slow. That being said, she was very kind and it clearly wasn’t her fault things took forever. Lastly, the menu prices are great and I’m happy to finally have a spot in town where you can get a meal under $20. Looking forward to updating...

I’m giving it 5 stars because I know it has the potential to get there once they work through all the challenges of being a brand new (very popular) restaurant. But there are some things they could improve on…. I did find a hair in my ravioli when I was almost done with the dish. I never want anyone to feel bad and chickened out telling our server, and admittedly still finished every bite - it’s that good. We were disappointed to see that a pair on the patio finished every bite of their food and left a $0 tip because of slow service. Not cool…. They clearly enjoyed the food but were impatient. We felt very bad for their server. Have some grace - it’s a brand new restaurant! We’ll start with what we loved! -Hostess was incredibly kind and moved us to a better table than what our reservation showed because they had the availability (we had a 4 pm reservation on a Monday) -Our server (didn’t catch his name) was super attentive once he came to us, it did take him a while but we figured maybe they are still figuring out sections -Love the 1/2 plate options, we ordered 3 dishes to try -Vodka ravioli was INCREDIBLE (despite the hair) -Funghi pasta was very unique and very garlicky which is a plus if you like that -The Empress cocktail with house made lavender lemonade was absolutely delicious - we could’ve drank it all day and will certainly be back just to sit at the bar and enjoy! -The atmosphere of the restaurant is amazing. Very modern and upscale with unique details. -Prices were fair for what we had: 4 cocktails total, appetizer, 3 half servings of pasta, for $86 pre-tip is a great deal in my opinion given the quality of the food and the upscale feel of the restaurant Areas of growth: -Cheesy focaccia was fine, but didn’t really match the “vibe” of the dining experience. The bread wasn’t great and it was overly cheesy and served on a red and white checkered piece of paper which honestly gave off Pizza Hut vibes. We ate it, but it made us worried about how the pasta would be! -Alfredo was on the bland side, we added a bit of salt which helped, but it was not a stand out dish -Limoncello spritzers tasted a little watered down (maybe too much club soda?) -All of the servers who weren’t busy gathered at the host stand to hang out. It was a bit off-putting and distracting. At one point there were 7 people standing around chatting while the one hostess was working incredibly hard! I know they weren’t busy at the time, but maybe they can find a better place to chill.

All this being said, we really enjoyed our time there and were sad when we were finished. We cannot wait to come back when they’ve figured everything out and know it will quickly become a Fort...

Update 7/2/25

We tried a 2nd time with 8 other people and unfortunately mediocre food execution won the day.. again. The Italian sandwich in the baguette was ok but the bread was so hard and burnt it was impossible to eat. Clearly if it was made fresh it was stale... Our friend ordered the sausage and it was literally like eating sawdust. They so overcooked the item that all the fat was gone which helps not only to give it flavor but texture as well. We all tried it and had to spit it out. The ravioli was good but 50% of what everyone ordered feel under the mediocre to unedible category. Look, we want people to succeed and lord knows in that building its been hard but if you are a hardcore foodie you will not be back unless this place really takes a look at its flavor profiles and its execution. The people we went with have collectively over 100 years of restaurant and food industry experience and they were underwhelmed... they all said the same thing.. as of right now they can not reccomend this place to their customers because its just average to below average. I would tend to agree. Happy eating people.

Our female bartender at the bar was awful. She lasted two weeks we believe at Salt, sugar, sand and they hired her here.. wow... no energy, acts like she does not want to be there... Is not attentive to people at the bar... bad vibes... Can't believe she is in the service industry. The other bartender who greeted us was all about energy and engaging with us.

As for the food.. The fettucinni Alfredo was mush and not anything special and the chicken was dry, dry and dry. Look I understand par baking stuff in prep but it would be better if you did not. They are sacrificing quality for turns at their tables... that's a no no.

The other entree we tried was the pesto. It was ok... it was al dente but they skimped on the sundried tomatoes.

We have been reviewing restaurants honestly in the Foco food seen for 20 + years... we were hopeful this was going to be something special. We were wrong. Just another mediocre execution of menu items in Fort Collins.. nothing special. Hope they improve and we will check back in a few months and as always we will report back.. but for now this is not a place we would frequent for all the reasons mentioned above. Happy...