Arta's Italian — Restaurant in Genoa Charter Township

On Easter, my husband and I were driving home after spending the day at Comerica Park. we were looking for someplace to eat. As you might know, pretty much everything was closed because of the holiday. We saw cars in Arta's parking lot so we decided we'll give them a try. We've never been to Artas yet, but it was on the list of places we would like to dine in at. We just moved to Michigan less than a year ago, so we weren't familiar with the fact that restaurants would be closed on Easter. Mind you, we were dressed in casual Detroit Tigers fan gear from baseball cap to blue and orange sneakers. Not to mention being wind blown from sitting outside, and I had nacho cheese drippings on the front of my Tigers T-shirt. We entered the doors to Arta's, and I saw what I consider an upscale dining room with white table cloths, table settings with wine glasses, and the servers wearing white dress shirts. My inclination was to run, but my husband was hungry, and he went straight to the hostess. I lagged behind in embarrassment. To my surprise, the hostess was gracious and, with a welcoming smile, invited us in. It was close to closing time, so the dining room was half full. Other patrons were dressed up in their Sunday best. I was expecting the staff and other patrons to snear and look down at us. Not at all! The waitress came to our table right away, and like the hostess, she seemed glad to see us. I give Artas 5 stars and beyond for their service. From walking into the door to our departure, we had friendly and prompt service. There was only one server. I imagine because it was almost time to close the doors. She didn't miss a beat. We never had to ask for anything. Drink glasses were always full, and she checked in on us to make sure we were enjoying our meals. The only reason I gave 4 stars, and I hope this is just a one time experience based on the chef at that time. The food was so salty. I mean so salty that you could feel that salt sting with every bite. It was on the Calamari appetizer to both our main courses. The food presentation was beautiful. We did not tell the server about the saltiness as I personally was grateful for them treating us so kindly even though our appearance was more acceptable for a burger joint. I'd like to try Arta's again in hopes that the salt lick experience was a one-time mishap. Next time, I will make reservations. For a fine dining experience, the prices were reasonable. It would be easy to spend a couple hundred dollars for two people, salt aside it would...

My recent visit to Artas Italian left me with a sense of disappointment, especially considering it was my second time dining at this establishment. The first experience was notably pleasant, but unfortunately, this time around, the overall quality of both the food and service fell short of expectations.

The restaurant was nearly empty during our visit, which made it surprising that the service was lacking. Our waitress seemed distracted and confused throughout the evening. The salads we ordered were a major letdown, drowning in an excessive amount of dressing that overwhelmed the entire dish. It was evident that the kitchen was not up to par with the standard we experienced during our initial visit.

The most frustrating part of the evening occurred when it was time to settle the bill. Our waitress struggled with the credit card machine, attempting to process the payment manually, which led to multiple declined attempts. To our embarrassment, she returned to our table, loudly announcing that the card had been declined. After explaining that the card was fine and suggesting it might be an error on her end, she finally ran the card correctly, and the payment went through.

However, her multiple failed attempts triggered the fraud protection feature on my account, prompting my bank to place a hold on my card. This unexpected inconvenience meant I had to endure five business days without access to my funds while waiting for the bank to issue a new card. This incident was not only embarrassing but also created a significant disruption to my daily life.

In conclusion, while Artas Italian may have the potential to deliver a delightful dining experience, my recent encounter fell short due to subpar service, poorly executed dishes, and an unfortunate payment mishap. It is my hope that the management addresses these issues promptly to ensure a more consistent and enjoyable experience for...

My wife and I went here for the first time on our 18th anniversary. We made a reservation and were the first to arrive that day.

Our server was new, but tried very hard and was very nice.

We ordered the prociuto wrapped scallops as an appetizer. The flavor seemed a bit off, which we realized was due to the burnt butter they were cooked in.

We then waited over 40 minutes for our salad. As our salad arrived, the (host?) took away our silverware and said he would bring us new ones (unnecessary). So we sat there with our salad for 5 minutes waiting for silverware. When he did return, he only brought forks, so I got up and took the knives from another table (NONE of the servers spent any time in the dining room, though there were only 2).

We ordered a pear salad with gorgonzola cheese and candied walnuts. The salad tasted fine, but one would expect a pear salad to come with pears. There were 3, razor thin slices of pears on the side of the salad like a garnish. All 3 slices would even amount to a mouthful. I realize it says sliver in the description, but this amount was pointless.

Finally our entrees arrived. We both ordered the Ravioli All'aragosta

"Zebra-striped lobster stuffed ravioli w/ seafood saffron cream"

The cream sauce was very bland. No flavor at all. The ravioli was typical and the lobster tasted like it was from a can. I've had similar dishes to this before and this did not taste fresh, but more like frozen ravioli. Very disappointed with this.

My wife got a cappuccino (which was very good) and we split a piece of tiramisu which was pretty good.

The cost of this overly drawn out mediocre meal? $120. Was it worth it? Absolutely not. Even at $60, I would have felt this was a bad meal.

I wouldn't recommend this place. They seem very disorganized and the food is not what they claim. Cello and Coratti's have better options for less. We won't be...