Alma Nove — Restaurant in Hingham

This was my first dining experience at Alma Nove, and my wife and I were very excited to try Chef Paul's new restaurant. After we arrived, we were greeted by a friendly hostess (wearing a mask, as were all the staff) who showed us the QR code we could scan to pull up their menu (no paper menus due to COVID, so this was a smart move on their part).

We were then brought to our table that ran alongside a stone wall and had plexiglass running along the top shelf to serve as a barrier between our table and the other table that was DIRECTLY on the opposite side of us. It was almost like we were sharing a table with the couple next to us, and they even asked us of we thought it was safe (as did the couple that came in after them so clearly not a great set up). Note to management on this, you may want to consider staggering the tables. I'm pretty sure the people who were sitting next to us didn't enjoy us blocking their view of the water, or the fact that we were within arms reach of one another.

I must say the view was quite nice, and our waitress was very polite and welcoming. We ordered our drinks, which were fine. For our meals, we started with the Seasonal Caprese ($14), which had a nice presentation and flavor, but was lacking in portion size. I had the Orecchiette ($26), and my wife ordered the Moroccan Spiced Lamb ($30), and just to try it, we also got the Truffle Mac and Cheese ($9).

The food came out in a timely manner, and we were given some bread with oil to hold us over while we waited (which was nice). Starting with the Orecchiette, I was stunned at what was put in front of me. I was expecting whole pieces of Italian sausage, but mine looked like it swallowed a hand grenade and exploded in the plate. The pasta was cooked nicely, but the grease from the sausage made the dish a little too slippery for my taste. The lamb was a far cry from any lamb shank dish I'd ever seen, and came out looking like sliced roast beef. My wife took one bite and immediately felt sickened by the taste. The lamb had strong order (which it shouldn't), and the taste was non-existent even after salting. Thankfully we had the mac and cheese as a backup which turned out to be ok, but again the presentation and ingredients were lacking.

At this point, we decided to get our deserts to go, as it had started raining and we had a long drive ahead. We went with the Creme brulee ($10) and Chocolate layer mousse cake ($10). The Creme brulee was the worst I'd ever tasted, and the cake tasted like raw batter. Overall, the food was very, very disappointing. For the money, and for how nice looking this restaurant is, I expected way more from Chef Paul and company.

I am giving one star for the fantastic view, and another for our waitress who was wonderful. But when I think Italian and Mediterranean dining, I imagine large portion sizes, served with the freshest ingredients and wonderful flavors...sadly this place missed the...

This would have been a 5 Star review, if it wasn’t for our extremely rude Karen of a hostess on a power trip! Food, atmosphere, manager and server were all wonderful. I don’t say this lightly, the hostess that seated us should be fired! We had early dinner reservations for patio seating (4:15, to be exact). We arrived about ten minutes early and it was before things got busy. In fact, the restaurant was just turning over from its lunch menu to its dinner menu. We had been to the beach for the day, but freshened up. I was wearing a long sun dress, my daughter in a sun dress and husband in nice shorts and a button down shirt, so we were presentable for the establishment. However, due to being in the sun all day, I politely requested if we could have a table in the shade, rather than the blazing sun, which the hostess was seating us in. Mind you, there are about 12 to 15 tables and a lounge area outside. Only three tables being occupied and we had a reservation for the patio, so it wasn’t like it was an outrageous request from some random walk- in at the height of dinner. Instead of the hostess saying no problem and asking what table we would prefer, she responded by rolling her eyes and told us she needed to go check and took off in a huff with us just standing in the middle of the patio for about 5 minutes. Needless the say, my daughter was tired and took a seat at a table in the shade and we decided to sit as well, since we didn’t know when the hostess was coming back and felt awkward just standing in the middle of the patio. When she did come back outside, she gave me a nasty glaring look like how dare we sit down without her permission and handed our menus to us. Before she left, she told us we had to leave promptly at 5, because that table was reserved. It was 4:05, leaving us less than an hour to enjoy our meal. It was completely uncalled for and totally unprofessional. It was completely obvious that this table was not reserved, because there was a table for 6 that was set with menus, next to us, so we could see how they reserved tables at the restaurant for In coming parties and there were plenty of tables open for others to be seated at, sun or shade. When we left, I stopped to thank her for her service and she rudely replied without eye contact. I at this point was not going to take that behavior and let her know how nice it was for her to seat us and then tell us to basically get lost at 5. Instead of taking any accountability or acknowledging, she denied even doing that. It’s rare that we are in Hingham, since we live North of Boston and traffic is a nightmare. I had always wanted to go here, but alas, will...

This is the most disappointing time coming here ever! We were treated differently based on the color of our skin. I don't know what you call it, but I call that Racism.

We came in about 5 mins before our reservations to check in. The restaurant looked only about 1/3 full. The 3 hostesses were checking in a woman with her elderly mother who were the only people in front of us. Her mother needed a walker so we moved a side to let them get to their table. As we moved a side the people who had just come in after us cut us and walked up to the hostess stand. We look at all 3 of them to rectify the situation but they don't. So we stand back in line behind the ladies that just cut us and wait again to check in. At this point more parties have now joined us and we are now lined up with about 3 other parties. We finally check in and are asked to wait for our table as it's not ready. The hostess looks like she's checking on a table in the booth area. As we wait in the corner where the waiting area is, we notice the party behind us get seated, so did the next, and the next. We were the only party (of 2) that got asked to wait for their table. We are also coincidentally, the only people who are not Caucasian in the entire restaurant.

We wait about 10 mins (20 mins total) while everyone else who walked in behind us (all Caucasians) was seated. We were then finally told we could be seated and they seat us at a table that was free the whole entire time.

The table they sat us at was right under a vent so I asked them to move us to a booth. If I am going to wait 20 mins for a table, I'm going to get the table that was originally intended for me. They then tell us that the people who reserved the booth had just came in (how convenient) but will see what they can do. We finally talk to a manger who only addressed the vent factor and never mentions the booth. We tell him of our experience and he does nothing. We leave at this point cause if this is just walking through the door, how else am I going to get treated?

Why did I get treated differently than everyone else? Why were we put in the corner to wait like servants? This treatment is not worth your overpriced food....