Sergio’s Missione — Restaurant in Lodi

Came by for an early Friday night dinner at around 5:30 for an early Father's Day celebration after our first choice restaurant was unfortunately closed for an event. This is everything we ordered:

-Calamari, Tuscan style (hot cherry peppers and garlic white wine sauce) - I thought the sauce would be on the side but the flavor was pretty good. I liked the hot cherry peppers but they were really spicy after a couple. Since they are pickled, it does make the sauce a bit tart so if you don't like that, this isn't for you. I still prefer the classic calamari with marinara sauce on the side -Arugula Salad (arugula topped with shaved parmesan cheese and balsamic dressing) - nothing special, but we just needed some greens to balance out all of the carbs we were about to eat -Spaghetti Alla Carbonara (spaghetti served with pancetta and onions in a cream sauce) - pretty good. I appreciate the fact that it doesn't come served with peas -Salmon with gnocchi in a pesto sauce - the fish was dry -Stuffed Grouper (grouper stuff with topped with cherry tomatoes, capers, garlic, white wine lemon sauce over risotto) - the grouper had a frozen fish taste to it and I didn't really taste the crab meat. Maybe they mixed too much breadcrumbs with it. The risotto was actually pretty good -Surf and turf - I believe this was a special. It came with two pieces of skirt steak, two shrimp, and one Italian sausage over mashed potatoes. At $50, this was totally not worth it. Also, I don't know what they marinated the steak with but it smelled sour and not very appetizing -Tiramisu - basic -Coconut tart - not bad since it was not too sweet, but also tasted like it could have came from Costco

Service was good. Our waiter was nice, and attentive - probably because we ordered so much food. But overall, the food was fine and just not worth it for the price. I don't mind paying more for something that's higher quality, but this wasn't it. Sergio's Missione is your typical old school Jersey Italian restaurant with mediocre food and NYC prices - or actually even higher. Don't think I'll be...

UPDATE - 11/23/24 Whether one's craving traditional Italian flavors or a Spanish twist, my partner, our friends, and I decided on this BYOB establishment located at a strip mall on Mercer Street in Lodi. A reservation was easily made on Open Table for 6 persons at 6:30 pm tonight.

Named after the former owner and self-trained chef, Sergio Mejia, the outside of Sergio's Missione looks like a storefront. However, for some of us as first-timers, we would think it's either a church or an antique shop where religious-themed objects and artwork ran throughout, adding a nice touch.

We were greeted by the host and promptly shown to our table. Despite the Italianate menu and decor, many of the specials show French, Spanish, and American influences, which our server, Carlos, recited a list of specials consisting of several appetizers and entrees besides the listed special page with the regular menu being à la carte at a decent price.

For starters, we decided on Calamari Fritti, Half Shell Blue Point Oysters, and Beet Salad. For our main meal, we opted for Vitello Marsala, Chicken Parmigiano, Linguini alla Vongole, Ravioli alla Sergio, Fettuccini Bolognese, and Rigatoni Sicilianao. We even saved room for desserts: Churros, Crème Brûlée with some coconut shavings, and Pistachio Cake

One could see the delight in the faces of the patrons who ordered when their food was set before them. We were delighted as well, the flavors melting perfectly in every sweet, savory, salty bite. The food was amazingly delicious, cooked to perfection with fresh ingredients from appetizers to dessert, beautifully presented, and service never rushed.

The owner, Adriana, managed to visit our table to exchange a few words, and her staff was very attentive.

We enjoyed spending time with our friends, which we can continue to...

I am only giving this place 3 stars because of the good service. As for the food it was a lot to be desired. My husband and my daughter took me there for Mother's Day as a last minute place. The reviews were good so why not. The regular menu was not available so we were only given limited choices. My husband has several allergies so we had to figure what would be good for him to eat. He is not a seafood guy either. I wanted Pasta with Bolognese sauce but I couldn't have that. They weren't serving it. I thought I would try the Pork Chop. It was so big it was undercooked in places and hard to cut in many spots, they didn't even have steak knives. It was like sawing through wood. My daughter had the Octopus appetizer and was disappointed as the texture didn't seem right it was very gamey. As a meal she had Cavatelli Pasta with Skirt steak and Mushrooms and a cream sauce. She barely ate it. She complained that it was bland and not flavorful. My Husband had Cavatelli Pasta with Marinara and Skirt steak because he is allergic to mushrooms. Their idea of marinara was cherry tomatoes cut in half. Like my daughters it was bland. Needless to say it was Mother's Day and the last thing we wanted to do was sit and complain and get stared at because we were complaining. So we chalked it up to a bad food experience. We will not be returning. Our Bill was $166.00 and definitely was overkill for what we had. We dine many places and I even have a my own food page on FB. My husband usually does all the Google reviews. This is the first of many bad reviews that we have had to write. Sorry. We trusted your Good reviews and did not receive anything...