Applausi Osteria Toscana — Restaurant in Greenwich

It completely PAINS me, being in the restaurant business years ago, when a restaurant with beautiful décor and FANTASTIC food, diminish the business they could be having by playing awful music and closing down in front of guests... We will give it one more try at some point, but if it’s the same, we won’t go back. It was 9:15 on a Friday night, we weren’t even finished our main dish...there are 10 people inside the restaurant, with people still coming in...and the servers are getting ready to go home? Clanging silverware/plates/glasses as they quickly clear unused table place settings, moving tables and chairs to the wall, blowing out candles...they may as well have been vacuuming next to our table...it was loud, uncomfortable, and disturbing...like we should hurry up and get out.

3 suggestions (in order of importance) that are completely fixable to make this place a win: Music is a big deal – Rhianna, Top 40, Maroon5 do not belong at an ITALIAN restaurant...play some jazz, some cultural music, something with a relaxing or sexy vibe. Don’t rush guests out (by taking the ambiance away) because you want to get home...9:15pm??? Never let a guest have an empty glass of wine – it’s a money maker.

La Fat Poodle down the street, and in plain view, was PACKED and had people waiting outside at 9:15....Applausi was empty...clearly something is amiss here because the food at Applausi was delicious and there was nothing wrong with the...

I never leave reviews but the waiters were so inhospitable that I feel compelled. We asked where our food was after more than an hour of waiting and the waiter got standoffish with us, telling us that “it’s your fault because you didn’t order appetizers.” I don’t know how this place is so well rated, the waiter didn’t check on us once during the meal. When we asked a busboy for help, he said “I don’t know, I’m not in charge of this.” Incomprehensibly, this is the worst service I’ve ever had. I’m still at the table waiting for the food. They could serve me literal ambrosia and I would still never come back. Wish I could give 0 stars.

Update: Food arrived, I wish it hadn’t. Jesus Christ I could cook a better spaghetti if an Italian chef slapped me in the face with a pizza dough. My mom literally got spaghetti with tomato sauce and said it’s better when she cooks it at home, it’s the worst she’s ever had in restaurant. They got salad orders wrong, all the pasta (except my sisters) was mediocre or worse. My veal was surprisingly good but not nearly worth the whole ordeal it took to get it. Stand by my previous point, this place is...

The maître d was professional and engaging but not overpowering as I’ve experienced lately in some of our local restaurants. The staff was attentive and well informed about the menu and wine list, which offers a wide range of selections. I don’t drink wine but our party enjoyed a wonderful selection with port and coffee after dinner. I ordered a lychee martini at the start, and while they didn’t have the ingredients, the waiter immediately offered a number of other possibilities. A friend had recommended a dish which I didn’t see it on the menu. When I mentioned it, he wasted no time in saying that they could make it. Our guests had fish, chicken and beef dishes, which were all deliciously prepared and beautifully presented. We dine out frequently and rarely do we have this...