Valentino's — Restaurant in Lincoln

Brought just my daughter, who is under the 10. There is no pricing available to view anywhere about the price of buffets, and nothing saying the child's price is dependant on an adult eating there,. Nothing mentioned until my daughter was halfway through her plate of pizza. They said the price for kids was only with paid adult, however the only policy I was aware of is that they must be under 10.

If that information was available, I would have chosen not to go or planned to eat there, but my family member and I did not want pizza, I overall just don't like pizza much, and wanted to go get chinese. My daughter hates Chinese and thought the convenience of Valentino's would be great for her.

After talking to the dining room manager, Donna, the male GM came out and said he would honor the child's price, but his entire demeanor was aggressive and argumentative. l felt that he was not willing to listen and was quite rude from the beginning.

I told him they needed to have signage of all the prices and the child price policy needed to be included if they are going to say it exist. He said having prices for the buffets would be "tacky" and he would not do it. He also complained that updating signage if they increased their prices would be an added cost to the business.

As a general manager, I believe that over communication is better than undercommunicating, and that updating signage and buying new posters and such is a regular business expence that must be budgeted for and managed.

As a consumer, I want to know the prices of what I'm buying ahead of time, I expect it at the grocery or clothing stores. I can see Valentino's prices for food to order online, and they have the price of the game night special on their front windows, but will not give regular buffet prices to allow patrons to have an informed decision.

I've never heard someone complain about having to see the price of what they are expected to pay to eat, but 100% been frustrated that places do not provide that information, to the point of choosing not to go there

When he left my table, I was even more angry and ready to leave a 1 star review and never come back. Donna came back to our table, was very kind and listened to what I had to say, and provided exceptional customer service. She is the only reason this is a 3 star review and I may return...

The food here is great. Way better than amazing pizza machine and pizza ranch.

But the selection leaves me wishing for more. The pizza is basic. Cheese, pepperoni, hamburger, and manager special. That's it. No Hawaiian. No buffalo chicken. No sausage, Mac and cheese, taco, or any other options you find at other places. I really wish they had more options here. Especially since I have to drive 45 mins from Omaha to get here.

They do have a pasta bar, which is nice. Again, limited selection.

They have a salad bar with basic toppings and pasta salad. Again, limited selection. Though they do have more salad dressing options than other places.

They have a dessert section. Again, very limited. Brownies, cookies?, and apple dessert pizza. That's it. Wish they had a variety of dessert pizzas. Apple is good but what if ya hate apples?

They have an ice cream machine with vanilla, chocolate, or twist. Less variety than other places but better tasting.

Over all the food tastes much better than other places. Like, much better. But there's not enough variety.

The service is something that needs improved. If you walk in and see the sign that says to wait to be seated but don't see any waiters around, just wait. It could take awhile before you see anyone. There's no rush or process setup to get customers seated. It's like they could care less if they get you seated at all. Even when a waitress comes out they'll ignore you and wait on the tables while you stand there wondering if you should leave. I don't know who the manager is but they have some work to do. I watched a confused couple walk in, wait for 10 mins, then walk out because no one helped them. That should not happen.

Taking all the above into account, the place is ok. Not the best, but when they're the only buffet around with good tasting...

Ordered their "Insalata" side salad. It was plentiful, cold, and with extra salad-type toppings. Had a small (10") regular crust pizza with pepperoni and banana peppers. It came out hot, and had enough cheese and sauce, but the banana peppers were not as typically found on a pizza. They seemed pickled. Had leftover pizza today, and the taste was worse. The service was okay, but it should be as the dining room was not busy (6:30 p.m., Monday evening). My parents had lasagna. The quantity was more than sufficient, but it looked like a lot of mozzarella cheese and sauce, but not much in terms of meat and ricotta cheese. My table mates shared a jumbo thin & crispy pepperoni, and they seemed to really enjoy it. They asked if it was available for takeout from that location (35th & Holdrege)... waitstaff was unsure, but thought so. They asked if it was available at the other Lincoln locations. The wait staff again answered as unsure. Never thought to go ask their manager (?!). Last table mate had the salad bar. The guest had to ask the wait staff where her plate was, when everyone else had their dinner. The wait staff said at the bar. Lastly, the wait staff was slow to ask about refills or seconds for Diet Pepsi and beer. Will go back, because it's an institution, but not in a hurry. I do like the new dining room, though, over the chaotic one at...