La Cena Ristorante — Restaurant in Jacksonville

Great chicken dish turned sour thanks to overly proud chef-owner and bland bolognese. The experience is unbelievable and not in a good way.

A friend and I dined at La Cena Ristorante last night and ordered a few dishes. All of which were phenomenal except for the cappelletti bolognese which was an appetizer size. The bolognese lacked any flavor at all and it was apparent the pasta water and the sauce wasn’t seasoned.

Upon tasting the dish it was an immediate turn off. I attempted to salt it, but it still wasn’t desirable. As the menu suggested, I wasn’t satisfied, so I shared with the server in hopes it would be made right. The server brought over a salt shaker and walked away.

My friend and I discussed what we should do as the dish wasn’t corrected and was not desirable. As a result, I asked that the dish be sent back and removed from our bill.

Shortly after, the server was circling our table awkwardly with to-go containers, one contained some food we ordered to-go, leftovers, and to our surprise, the dish we sent back. When I inquired, he informed me that they would not be removing it from the bill and I would have to pay for it as it was prepared to the chef’s specifications. I disputed this and he suggested I speak with the chef.

By this point, the chef, Gerald (Jerry) Moran was already in the dining room speaking with another table complaining about how we didn’t like a dish and using vulgar language to describe us… so loud that we could hear him across the dining room.

Once the chef arrived, he was very arrogant and proud of his food. I shared that the majority of our food we loved and everything was well flavored and delicious, the sole exception was the cappelletti bolognese. I attempted to be reserved with my description, but after several minutes I just settled with “it just wasn’t good”. It’s important to note that there were not more than 4 or 5 pieces of pasta that were eaten, so it’s not like we enjoyed the dish and then was sending pack a partial plate.

My friend, who has been in the culinary industry for 17 years tried to settle with the chef and explain where we were coming from, but the chef just insulted his knowledge and experience while boasting of his 40 years experience. After several minutes, it was apparent that this gentleman would never acknowledge that this one dish had any opportunity for improvement and that we weren’t satisfied. As a result, we decided to just pay the bill and go about our business. My friend made the comment about disputing the charge after we had paid and this sent the chef-owner over the edge. He immediately stated, “in that case I will not accept your credit card - cash only”. By this point he was causing a scene that was embarrassing for us and should have been for him as well.

We shared that we didn’t have cash, so he locked the doors and said he was going to have to call to police since we weren’t willing to pay. I shared that it was my card and didn’t have a desire to dispute the charge as it wasn’t worth the paperwork and reemphasized that we were willing to pay, but didn’t have cash. The table next to us proceeded to pay with separate credit cards.

While waiting for the police, the male server was constantly antagonizing the situation. Arguing with my friend, telling us that pasta isn’t supposed to be seasoned, and we’re wasting their time by not paying cash. Insulting my friends experience with other staff saying he’s probably a line cook at MetroDiner or Golden Corral (inaccurate).

After about 45 mins or so, the police finally arrived. After sharing with the police the two sides (which were both the same story) I realized the owner booted my car and was refusing to remove it until I paid him cash. Long story short, after the police tried to reason with him, they gave him the ultimatum of accepting our payment or not, to which he obliged with frustration, but demanded copies of our ID’s, took photos of us without consent, etc.

This ordeal (2+ hours) all because the chef-owner was unreasonable, arrogant, and wanted things his way....

UPDATED (after owner’s response)

The evening began like any other - we were hungry. So we ordered some appetizers and our entrées a few moments later. After 20 minutes, we got our two apps and ate them pretty quickly. Then came the HOUR AND A HALF wait for our actual dinners. Servers avoided our glances and we were told twice that our food was "on the way". The food showed up another half hour after they'd told us it was almost done. Not a single apology was issued. We ate these dishes quickly, but we weren't as hungry anymore. What started as an alright evening degenerated into one of irritation with the entire establishment. We had a more formal apology from a random waiter than any other employee. Our check finally arrived, only to see we were charged extra for ordering three entrées for the four of us. The appetizers we'd ordered had an up charge because we didn't "order accordingly". We expressed our discontent because we had waited an HOUR AND A HALF for our food. Parties that were seated after us received their entrées sooner than us. By now, we were seething. We received a breathless "sorry" as another waitress dropped the adjusted check on our table. What?? We got our dishes boxed and were walking out when we met the owner. Oh boy. This was definitely worse than waiting for our food. The owner DID NOT APOLOGIZE. Here's what he did do, though:

1. Told us that the restaurant was incredibly busy (There were many empty tables)
2. Told us to show up at 7:30 PM. We did. We showed up on time.
3. Told us that we should've shown up earlier than 7 or later than 8 to escape the dinner rush.
4. Said they "weren't busy yesterday"
5. Lectured us on how "emotional" food is and how it takes a lot of time to make good dishes. Let's see if his measly joint in Jax would survive in any bigger city with the amount of "emotion" he puts into his dishes
6. Compared and justified the app up charge by giving us some BS comparison to getting a VCR device (I don't even know either) What he didn't do: Apologize for his horrendous service. The owner was had a smug smile on his face the entire time. No embarrassment.

I left feeling more "emotions" than his pasta.

UPDATED: The owner of the restaurant has responded. He spent time looking through his video feed & email alerts to prove my family and I wrong. Firstly, my dad did not “rant” at the owner. We had a civil conversation and neither party raised their voices. The owner, however, was smiling as we voiced our complaints (holding back laughter). So we smiled back. My dad “hovered” over the owner because he is 6’2” (AKA a “tall Asian man”). Our experience was poor and I was noticeably angry, based off my review. Instead of responding to criticism, the owner managed to make this personal. So I did a little digging myself. Jerry Moran, the owner, has managed to make some startling comments regarding the JAX area (where his restaurant is). But I won’t mention them because I don’t want to stoop as low as you. Thanks for making fun of my one (1) Yelp friend, also. Maybe if I put as much effort into it like you have with monitoring the time stamps of our evening a few days ago, I’d have more “friends”. And lastly, do not say you’re a “victim of cultural bigotry”. We had an issue with the service that evening. Reading the racial jabs you provided in your response only makes you look irritatingly tasteless. It’s disgusting behavior coming from an owner of a “fine-dining” restaurant. I’ve had better Italian food in South Korea, where my family is from (we don’t eat “dim sum” there). If we came to your place, then we wanted Italian. I’ve traveled the world and the country and have had countless Italian meals better than what you provided. No need to worry about us returning. Many people also know about your behavior and comments. I bet you have more to lose, considering that fact that you are a business owner. Hats off to you for stalking a teenage girl and “wanting to be friends”. Pretty funny, considering your small mindedness - you would have been a very...

Wow, a great upscale Continental Northern Italian restaurant in of all districts, Murray Hill!

My first time in, I was awestruck as the hostess guided me through the greeting area into the main dining rooms. They were beautiful with luxuriously set tables, original artwork on the walls and an atmosphere which just exuded serious class. La Cena's chef (who is also the restaurant's owner) learned his artistry working in the great kitchens and dining rooms of New York. It really shows in the wonderful food he prepares and in this new restaurant he built. You'll think you're in one of Manhattan's high octane Italian eateries once you're here. I'd give the place 10 stars if allowed!

Every single one of the many dishes I've so far sampled here have been expertly executed with much care applied. The appetizers like the bresaola and the polenta with either tomato & Gorgonzola or the Cognac/wild mushroom/cream reduction are wonderful. The creamy, decadent escargot app is also one not to be missed! A fresh salad and their amazing house baked bread come gratis with every entrée (if you'd like olive oil for your bread rather than the butter provided, just ask a server - they'll gladly bring you a dishful).

They make their own fresh pastas daily, including tagliatelle, trenette, fettuccine and mortadella & Parmigiano stuffed cappelletti, all served perfectly al dente with a choice of sauces suitable to each shape: creamy, tomato based, meaty, with seafood and many other variations I've never seen in any other restaurant. I've seriously had some fantastic tasting unusual pasta dishes here I'd never heard nor dreamed of before. Besides the fresh pastas they make in house, imported Italian pastas are also offered in an array of delicious preparations. All pastas are available in appetizer, "primo" and entree sized portions.

The meats are all cooked properly and in a myriad of styles which the kitchen will prepare for you with expert aplomb. You can choose between two types of veal chops (rack or loin), veal scaloppini from the top loin, chicken fillets, beef fillets or the fillet of pesce di giorno. You decide what style from the menu in which you'd like your choice prepared. All the food here is meticulously fresh and cooked to order, not to mention mouth-wateringly scrumptious and very generously portioned.

The wine list is amazing, offering a very comprehensive selection. It is all strictly Italian, with the chef/owner making sure that nothing but the very best makes it into his climate controlled wine cellar on a weekly basis. The prices are also very fair either by the bottle or by the glass served as "quartinos" (1/4 of 1 liter [one third of a bottle]). A nitrogen infusing system within the visible, glassed-in wine cellar for the bottles insures that every wine by the glass will be fresh and delightful.

The dining rooms are quiet and intimate with tables spaced a good distance between each other in order to give diners a generous modicum of privacy. Light Classical music at a very unobtrusive level is the soundtrack they choose to play for their guests' relaxation. One can actually carry on a normal, civilized conversation while here.

You should DEFINITELY call and make a reservation here because La Cena is a smaller, romantic, intimate spot, not a loud, humongous feeding trough like a lot of Italian places in Jacksonville tend to be. I almost feel like a traitor for letting you in on what has been a long time, best kept Jacksonville secret. They don't even have a sign! It's all...