Rule Italian Prime and Pasta — Restaurant in Hickory

Previously a bar to measure restaurant experiences & food by, now similar to inexpensive chain steakhouses with problems that are unforgivable at this price point.

Summary: Go for steak and the cocktails at the bar if your budget is at least $100 per person. Consider skipping other items based on recent experiences showing pattern of far-excessive salt in a variety of dishes.

Beginning with the Hostess we asked for a booth, we were told booths were "reserved" despite most empty at entry and two hours later on departure & our having a reservation. A request to consider letting us sit in one refused. Seated along area where food and drink was bussed from kitchen to customers, while quiet booths stand empty.

Table service; polite, prompt and accurate.

Food;

(1) new dish ordered that was oversalted to an extreme level one could feel in their ears as they turned red

(2) soup that was flavored well but extremely thin with a water like consistency

(3) excellent cut of perfectly cooked steak

(4) excellent cocktails perfectly flavored and mixed with the right amount of liquor

(5) mushrooms and other small requests for dish additions unavailable, despite large amounts of these items showing up in one dish brought to the table.

(6) Billing; upscale $100-150 per person restaurants do not add "surcharges" for paying with a credit card, this one does now.

(7) Cleanliness; never a problem in years past, now, dirty restrooms that look similar to what you'd find in a corner bar.

I wonder what happened in 2023 and 2024 to bring this former gem down, I hope this changes down the road. Cleanliness, good seating when it's clearly available, surcharges and preparation & creativity problems with high priced dishes are all hard to forgive even once in a restaurant of...

Super disappointed. The fried calamari was absolutely delicious. Seasoned perfectly. This is what we started with. Tasting this dish lead us to think the rest of it was going to be good. We ordered a thing of yeast rolls. The oil and balsamic wasn't for us. The beans I thought was random and odd but my wife said it at least best the oil and balsamic. I got some butter to go with the rolls but they were just so dense and heavy that I didn't really want to keep eating it. We both got the ribeye. It was cooked how we wanted but the meat self lacked flavor. We could taste the fire or smoke and that was about it. Didn't seem to have any salt or flavor and the sauces we got to go with them were okay if dipped but if you poured the sauce on the steam the flavor seemed to disappear as if wasn't concentrated enough anymore. The steak itself seemed like I could have gotten a better cut at the store. It was very chewy and had a lot more hard fat that made t difficult to cut. The garlic potatoes were subpar for a $9 side. The side we both wanted which was the potatoes au gratin they no longer serve but haven't removed it from the menu. my wife got the broccolini and she said it was great but once it got cold it wasn't very tasty. I added a crab cake and it was good. Nothing special though. For both of us, with only water to drink and the tip and taxes we spent $200. Extremely disappointed with the majority of our meal and we both felt we should have picked another restaurant. The bill did not equal the experience sadly. We have heard great things from before the menu was changed, and not sure if it was better before or about the same but we left feeling like our taste buds were let down and still wanted...

We have eaten here several times over the years and have always enjoyed our meals and the ambiance. We have brought friends and family for special events, however after a recent visit in November 2024 we probably will not be back.

We made an early reservation because we had a show to catch later, and it is a good thing because even though there were only 4 other tables in the dining room the service was extremely slow. Our server only came a few times over the 2 hours we were there and food took an abnormally long time to arrive. We had water to drink, no alcohol. We had some shareable appetizers, 2 mains, and a shared side. Nothing crazy. They had a recent menu change according to the server and we are NOT a fan.

They changed the bread app and it is not very good. The old bread app was chefs kiss, new one, 2 thumbs down. We had the meatball app, flavor and good, but they were literally cold inside. We would have sent them back, but they took so long to arrive that we didn’t want to run out of time. My wife had the scallops, they were literally cold, had grit on them and there were 5 small scallops. I had a steak, it was cooked perfectly and was fork tender. However it lacked flavor and if i hadn’t added the sauce it wouldn’t have had any taste. The shared potatoes were just ok.

Our food was cold, service was slow, portions were lacking, and our bill was over $180 with tip. We routinely go have a nice meal like this once a week and happily spend more than that on a killer meal, but this was lack luster compared to past visits.

I can’t say we will be back this time. Hope I hear they improve. To those about to dine, you have...