Amelia's Italian Cuisine — Restaurant in Gainesville

Two people, early thursday evening. We made reservations for the earliest table we could get to avoid any rush, 6:45 was what was available. Arrived promptly but still waited around at the front for 10 minutes before anybody acknowledged us or came to seat us. We were told they didn't have enough menus available and were handed two small folded printouts with tiny text.

Our server was friendly but flustered. It would be 15 minutes before we got water, an hour before bread arrived, and when all was said and done the entire affair took over two and a half hours.

Before our entrees arrived our server appeared to give excuses why the food was taking so long, offered to comp us dessert, and then proceeded to disappear for another half hour.

After we finished our food nobody was available to check on us, clear our table, fill water, for over 20 minutes. The wait became so frustrating as to feel like we were being held somewhere we no longer wished to be at and we were paying for the experience. We had to make a sincere effort to get anyone's attention to request our check and simply get the desserrs to go, which was embarrassing and clearly a scene to the other diners.

I heard several servers give several different reasons to the tables around us for why the service was so subpar that evening as one table had just been sat and began to realize the tables around them were frustrated at having been there so long.

Come to find out the reason our server was MIA for most of the meal was they had to pull double duty as a cook in the kitchen, hence all their tables getting to wait extra long on basic service needs like water.

On top of everything else the menu stated my entree was supposed to come with a side penne, which if that was the case they completely forgot to bring!

When the bill arrived I was shocked to see I had been charged for veal when I had ordered chicken. This sent me on a stress spiral as I have ethical qualms with veal, and I was unable to determine if they had served me veal by mistake. My server finally came out and assured me she had cooked my meal personally and it was chicken not veal. I'm not sure if I believe her as it felt like maybe she was pandering to my insecurities, and it seemed odd how thin and weirdly breaded the chicken cutlets and been in retrospect.

I am not exaggerating or being hyperbolic when I say this was truly the worst dining experience I can recall in many years.

We are not well off, this was a special occasion where we decided to splurge and go eat somewhere we could normally not afford as a special treat, and the whole experience was frustrating and disheartening. It didn't feel pampering or special. I feel ripped off as we paid a lot for a fine dining experience and experienced a kitchen...

This evening broke my heart. My wife and I had tried for several weeks to get a reservation here. She loves fettuccine Alfredo. Finally got a reservation for 8 p.m. we showed up 15 min early, as you should, and let them know we were there. The hostess said give me 10 min and I'll get you seated, so we waited in the courtyard. Beautiful brick courtyard with jasmine growing everywhere. Just romantic. We get taken through the restaraunt to a room way in the back. It was romantic and quiet. Our table had just been reset. We were sat and received fresh ice water and hot bread with butter. Unfortunately the bread, butter and drinks were the only thing worth bragging about.

We sat in a room with 3 dirty tables and a long party table full of dishes napkins and drinks from the time we got there, till we left. The poor waitress was so frazzled. I will not name her because she was kind and did her best and was apologetic. She was the only waitress for 7 tables and a huge party. Probably understaffed, like the rest of most business today so we have become accustomed to long waits, that wasnt the problem.

I ordered chicken parmesan with a Ceasars salad $25+ and she ordered fettuccine alfredo $22+. Not bad for fine dining. I'd say we waited 40 min for the food to come out. I got my salad as a precursor and it tasted like lettuce mixed with mayo and parmesan. Not Cesar. The chx parm came out piping hot, but burnt.. super burnt. They took it back, then my pasta came out. So I had pasta and no parm lol. The pasta sauce was so salty, I couldn't even swallow it. So my pasta sat for another 5-7 min before my new chicken parm came out. It wasn't burnt. It was beautiful, piping hot with sauce and gooey mozzarella cheese dripping off of it...except it was the super salty sauce. The waitress automatically took off my meal and offered a free dessert. I didn't come for free food lol. . Came to a fine dining restaraunt to treat my wife to a delicious meal. Her fettuccine waslike marshmallows with pepper over noodles lol. Very bland. We never got our free dessert. We were never served oil for our bread, no little plates for our silverware, and the candle on our table wasnt lit. Sadface. This was our last hope for a decent Italian restaraunt in...

I very rarely take the time to post, but this place deserves it!!

My son, starting UF in 2 days, wanted some Italian food. So....

On Friday, June 31st, my wife was rudly told, at 8.03pm with 2 tables in the restaurant, that they took their last reservation at 8, and being 8.03, they would not sit us 4. They were technically in the right, but the tone and attitude was a disgrace.

Thinking it was just "one rude employee", we made a reservation over the phone soon after for today, July 1st, at 7.15pm.

As we walked in, a sweaty waiter with a pony tail, after looking up our reservation, tried to sit us outside because we had 2 small service dogs. Reminded that it was illegal, he quickly found a table inside.

We ordered a good $160+ of food and drinks and, after 1 minute, one of my guests decided to change his order. To avoid issues to the chef, and since i couldn't locate my waiter, I walked to the saloon doors of the kitchen: i barely cracked open 1 of them and called the attention of the same waiter with the pony tail, and i told him: "Excuse me sir, could you help me locate my waiter before he places our order? We would like to change something". His reply was, with a mocking and disrespectful facial expression: "hey dude, if you didn't notice, this is a kitchen!!".

I haven't been called "dude" in a looong time, and I do know I was in front of kitchen. Didn't need to be reminded from a uneducated and rude waiter of such!

Note that i was in the main restaurant room and i had NOT entered the kitchen!! Only barely opened a door to call their attention to avoid THEM an inconvenience!!!

Truly incredibly poor service and etiquette!!

At that point, we decided to leave and went next door to Boca Fiesta, where we are being treated with respect and where there is a much nicer atmosphere.

That's on top of hair on our table, more water on the floor than in our glasses when filled, and amongst the worst pronunciation of Italian dishes from a waiter that i ever...