Tortora's Wood Fired Grille — Restaurant in Huntsville

My girlfriend and I discovered this place several months ago and had a great experience the first time we went. The food is about 20% more expensive than it should be, but hey - Hampton Cove.... The ambiance and decor of the place is very nice and the fact that it's about 2 blocks from my house is always nice.

Unfortunately, just about every time we've been since that first visit has been a miserable experience. As others have also mentioned, the bartender is extremely nice and polite.

The second time we went to the restaurant a week or two after the first, we were seated immediately and then sat there for about 20 minutes before being approached by the waitress. We placed our drink orders and also went ahead and placed our food orders out of fear of not seeing her for another 15 minutes. Looking around, I could see that other tables were looking around wondering where their food and drinks were, and knew that this was a bad omen... About 15 minutes after we ordered our food, we saw the chefs place it on the counter to be ran to our table. The food ended up sitting on the counter for 20 more minutes, along with several other plates...

The waitress finally reappeared and started to run food and after getting my wood fired burger with shoestring fries, was not surprised to find my fries and burger at room temperature and the bun completely soaked through with grease. I asked the waitress if I could get some fresh fries, as these were not even close to warm and she was able to get them and apparently also mentioned something to the manager (who I assume is the aforementioned bartender).

We finally finished eating, resolved that we were likely not going to return, when the bartender came over and was extremely apologetic. She comped our meal and drinks, and also gave us a gift card and asked for us to give them another chance. We went ahead and left a generous tip because we felt bad that perhaps the waitress was just very overburdened.

The bartender recognized us when we came back the next time a few weeks later, and made sure that everything went smoothly. Unfortunately, every time we've been back since then has been a repeat of the 2nd experience (waitress not approaching table for 15 minutes after being seated, no refills, etc.). We have been back maybe twice over the past 7-8 months since then to give the place another chance in the hopes that the service had improved, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I'm honestly kind of surprised to see all of the glowing reviews about the service. Of the half dozen times we've been there to eat over the past year and a half, we've only had two positive experiences, and each negative experience seemed to be a direct result of the wait staff. The chefs seem to prepare food quickly, the hostess is always quick to seat arrivals, but the wait staff just cannot seem to get it together.

If you're OK with just sitting at the bar, the bartender will likely make sure you're well taken care of. Otherwise, I would recommend avoiding...

This has been by far the best restaurant I’ve ever been to. As soon as I opened the door, my family and I were greeted with a happy and warm hello and seated quickly. Our server(s) were amazing and spot on. The whole staff was amazing to be exact! I ordered water, mozzarella sticks (came with 6 but I ate one before taking the picture) , and the chicken parm. My mom had the lasagna . The food was AMAZING !!! The presentation of the food , portion size , food temp , everything .. Amazing ! The bartender , who I think was the manager , noticed that I was having trouble shaking the grated parmesan out of the shaker and left the bar what seemed to be immediately, to bring me another one! I didn’t think I was being that obvious trying to shake the cheese apart but she brought a full shaker to me right away. Even though the restaurant was small it was nothing short of amazing with the details ! Instead of water pitchers, chilled wine bottles filled with water were brought to the table with nice small what I would call whiskey glasses and the servers still came to the table to pour a full glass for us . Each table had a appetizer stand , a lantern with copper salter & pepper shakers , grated parmesan and crushed red peppers . They were very busy while we were there so it took a while for our entrees to arrive . The manager/bartender noticed and decided to treat us to dessert on the house to make up for the time . I HIGHLY recommend this restaurant and will most definitely be back ! It would be a nice place to have a nice intimate party for a celebration. Very nice and clean...

I’m so offended. I used to live in OXR for over a decade, was visiting the area, and thought I’d have a quick pizza and beer. I walk into the Grille side and wait behind a party of three that gets seated. A man and his daughter come behind me and the hostess doesn’t even acknowledge me and looks to them to seat them next. (The man was so rude to not let her know I was first but okay). Nothing like that had ever happened to me and it was so rude! I then try to ask her what the difference between the main restaurant and the Grille is and she said that one makes burgers and the other doesn’t??? She wasn’t even polite, at all. I’ve worked as a hostess and your job is to welcome people. She welcomed the others but not me. She had a massive attitude. I’m a pretty normal person and am just, at this point, so confused beyond reason as she directs me to the main Tortora’s restaurant. I sit at the bar, one sweet girl brings me a menu, and everyone else is aggressively cleaning like their life depends on it. But no one is making any eye contact with me. I kept having to ask myself if I was invisible. I mean of the two guys behind the bar - one is sweeping a hole into the ground! Mind you it’s 7:30… not even close to closing time. Finally a waitress asks me if I need a drink and I politely make up an excuse to leave. I’ve tried so hard not to cuss typing this but never. again. Tortora’s.....