Sangiovese Ristorante — Restaurant in Indianapolis

I made an on-line reservation for my 31st wedding anniversary on 8/15/2019 . I made the reservation at 12:40 PM early in the day before the business opened. I explained that my wife had food allergies to certain types of fish and to avoid any cross contamination. When I arrived at the restaurant after 7:15 PM my waitress had no information on the food allergy. The waitress had not been informed on my wife food allergies and seemed oblivious to the importance of the wedding anniversary. She asked what occasion bought us to restaurant and I explained, but she very casual about the significance. When visiting restaurants like Rick's, Peterson's, Morton's, Maggianno's and Cheesecake Factory etc., the chef may come out and converse, picture may be taken, card given, and complimentary dessert. Nothing! I looked around and observed happy birthday songs being sung, but nothing for my spouse and me.

The website is misleading which post verbatim:

"Upscale, romantic Italian restaurant featuring a waterfront patio, a fireplace & jazz piano music."

Well unlike other places like Jazz Kitchen which plays live music, the restaurant played the music off radio or some other means. No waterfront patio or fireplace. I was really upset. The dining area is small and it was noisy. I wanted to spend special dinner with my spouse, but this fell short of my desired outcome. When asking my waitress about the inconsistency of the website, she indicated they had not updated the website since moving to a new location. On to the meal.

My waitress brought out my ice tea and never inquired if I wanted sugar or lemon. No bread items. No crackers or bread items for my tomato soup or dinner of veal/steak. I asked for bread items with dinner and the waitress complied and did not think to bring/ask if we needed butter/spread. I had to ask for anything that should have been the norm. Onto the main course.

I can say the meal was the only delight of the evening. Both meals were prepared in a decent time frame and prepared very well. The presentation and taste were very good. I would not suggest this restaurant for a special occasion. If you are just looking for a good meal with average service you wont be disappointed. However, the price for two was above $90. I could have done whole lot better at Rick's Boatyard. My compliments to the chef for his tasty preparation and delightful expertise.

In closing, I will not be returning to this restaurant. My hope is that they upgrade the website to reflect the actual site's amenities, so unknowing patrons like myself can make a well informed decision. I would hope someone would read the reservation closely to notice/advise about food allergies and special accommodations for persons celebrating a special event. Maybe a follow-up phone call prior to visit. I guess I have to wait until next year and go with businesses that have been consistent...

What a complete and utter disappointment last night. I used to regard Sangiovese as one of the best Italian restaurants in indy, but that is most definitely not the case. I had planned a date night with my wife thinking what a better place to kick off such a thing but could not have started off so horrible. From beginning to end this is by far one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had. I can usually forgive slow service at the start but it just got worse as the meal went on. Our server could not be bothered to even bring us refills at all. From the time we got our app (after waiting a decent amount of time for by the way) to about twenty minutes after we got our entrees my wife got a refill. And our server acknowledged a refill was on the way multiple times. I thought that would be redeemed by who appeared to be the manager coming to drop it off. She came and set it down and was ready to walk away with no apology for the wait or an excuse as to why our server as unavailable to do so. We knew there was no point in speaking up about any of this. The manager was going to walk away but neither of us even said anything which made her second guess things and actually interact by taking the empty glass away. Our server being M.I.A. Is not an uncommon thing, but the way he didn’t apologize for any absences or delays made this experience feel intentional. The Torta di Caprino was our app and it was just nothing special. Not bad but just ok. My wife got the lasagna bolognese which was decent. The bolognese sauce itself used to be our absolute favorite to get with fettuccine noodles. The sauce was nowhere near as good as it should’ve been. My fettuccine Alfredo with chicken was just awful. It was so garlic forward and had me wishing I was having Olive Garden Alfredo instead. We thought the couple next to us being upset at the specials they ordered after they both took just two bites was absolutely weird. But looking back at the end of the meal I understood why. We truly used to love Sangiovese. We have recommended Sangiovese to so many friends and family. We feel almost betrayed after last night. The only person that frequently visited our table was the guy refilling water. Kudos to him for actually doing his job and being friendly. Our server was not...

7/7/22 update: Yesterday evening, to celebrate an anniversary, my wife and I dined at Sangiovese for the second time, and we were so glad that we did: We enjoyed this experience very much, just as we had our first. (The pandemic, regrettably, had kept us away for several years.) Our food - Farfale con Funghi for each of us, preceded for me by Insalata Mista - was delicious; my wife's wine (which she selected with the assistance of our wonderful server, Justin, who provided a detailed description of it when she inquired), my local beer, and the crusty bread served with them all were excellent; and we appreciated our ability to converse without raising our voices, which we cannot do in so many other restaurants. We received royal treatment throughout our visit, and we are grateful to all who helped to make our special occasion even more so, including Justin, our server, the kind manager who chatted with us, and the talented chef(s), We look forward to returning!

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My wife's and my first visit to Sangiovese was delightful. Our server, Jess, was excellent: very pleasant, informative, and helpful; attentive, but not intrusive. My wife reported to me that her wine, the house Cabernet, was very good. We shared an Insalata Mista, and enjoyed delicious, warm bread, served with herbed olive oil, while awaiting the arrival of our entrees. We ordered the Linguini Bosco Mare and Farfale Con Funghi, and each was exceptional: delicious - among the best Italian food that we have eaten during our 20 years in Indianapolis - and perfect quantities for us. We mentioned to Jess that we were dining out to celebrate an anniversary, and she surprised us, after clearing our dishes, by presenting to us two forks and a complementary piece of Tiramisu (with a lighted candle atop); it was scrumptious! Every aspect of our experience was splendid; we certainly hope to have...