Ciao Ristorante — Restaurant in Louisville

I'm a long-time regular Ciao Ristorante customer. Like many others, I was surprised to see the many changes that occurred with new ownership and have heard rumblings from other customers.

I stopped in to get a calzone and was told it had been removed from the menu, no longer an option. I’ve heard many customers complaining about the discontinuation of the famous monkey bread, no longer available. Neither are breadsticks and cheese sticks. The free bread that comes with the meals has changed. It’s fine, but nothing special. I don’t look forward to it the way I did the previous bread.

I like trying beers on tap with the Ciao burger, one of the best burgers I've had in the city. The truffle fries were great. These options are no longer available. Brussels sprouts are no longer available. The fried ravioli used to be half cheese ravioli and half spinach. Now it's just spinach, the cheese ravioli are no longer available.

The pizza was also among the best in the city. It has been changed to “Roman-style” square pizza. The new owner had another restaurant that featured this style of pizza. I had it there and was unimpressed with it for the amount of money charged. It wasn’t terrible, but I never went back to that place, and I’m certain I won’t buy that pizza again at Ciao.

Other entree items were removed from the menu, but some remained and are still fine, and they still provide generous portions. There's just less options.

I liked that Ciao was a place I could visit without knowing what I wanted. There were always daily specials, soup specials, and monkey bread options, none of which are available now. 
One thing I found upsetting personally was the change to the specials, I always enjoyed hearing what they would be. Now there are daily specials with a different special designated for each day. They look ok, but if I like the Tuesday special and it’s Thursday, then that’s not technically special, it's frustrating. Also, knowing that they're the same each week is not really that special.

Ciao was where I could go with a group, before a concert or show, and there were a variety of options available to everyone. Someone may not want Italian but they might enjoy the burger or pizza or monkey bread. Now, if I want pizza I'll go elsewhere. If I want a good burger I'll go elsewhere. If I’m in a drink and appetizer mood, I'll go elsewhere. If I’m with picky eaters, I’ll likely end up at Olive Garden.

The food's still good, and I hope the quality staff remains in place, they all do a great job. Chef Paolo never disappoints. And I believe that Ashley and Sierra, the Ciao bartenders, are the best in the city, they’ve created some of the most delicious cocktails I’ve ever experienced, they’re the secret weapon behind the place, and they are amazing! For these reasons I'll try to continue visiting, but fear it will be less frequent depending on the changes and/or my food mood.

I understand with new ownership changes may follow, an owner has that privilege. These changes felt swift and unnecessary, for the sake of change itself. Maybe the owner felt it was for the better, but I fear it has had a reverse affect. I worry that Ciao will become just another restaurant on the “I go there specifically when I want that” list, rather than being the “I don’t know what I want so I’ll head there” reliable anchor.

Ciao Ristorante was always so much more than just another Italian restaurant… now it feels like it’s on its way to becoming just another...

So sad.

My family and I have been coming to Ciao for years. It’s one of our favorite spots (was my personal favorite of all time) to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, etc. My husband and went to Ciao last week to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Once we were seated, we were handed a one page menu… this was the start of the heart break.

Monkey bread is no more. There’s no longer an option to order cheese sticks or breadsticks either. Additionally, the bread that is served as a complimentary appetizer has also changed (and not for the better). I was relieved to see that my favorite dish/the one thing that all by itself makes Ciao my favorite restaurant, the Smoked Jalapeño Pizza, was still on the menu.. so that’s what we ordered obviously. But guess what?!!? Not only is the pizza in the shape of a square now but they changed the entire pizza crust recipe!!!!

It seems that Ciao is under new ownership, which I could have come to accept if the new owners hadn’t made the awful decisions to nix and/or change everything that keeps loyal Ciao customers coming back.. the parts we all love about our (no longer) favorite restaurant. I can’t believe it. It is so sad. I am certain that service will slow once returning customers realize all the menu changes and eliminations. I hope the new owners decide to fix what they’ve done. If you want to use your own pizza crust recipe… offer it as an option… don’t just automatically make your recipe the only one. It changes the texture and taste of the pizza. Plus some of us only like hand tossed pizza crust!

Additionally, all of the dishes Ciao previously offered are THE DISHES that keep customers coming back. If you want to ADD some of your own dishes onto the menu, I think that would be great. But getting rid of dishes was a terrible idea. What seems like a minor change to you might be one of the customers most loved things about ciao… like looking forward to the monkey bread of the day.. wonder what it will be this time… it’s always good and we always order it. But nope. Another one of my family’s favorite things about Ciao, gone.

And last but not least, the menu was not updated on their website. I always creep on a menu a few days before I go anywhere just to kind of hype myself up like a weirdo… so it was a smack in the face when we sat down and were handed a menu that was 1 page front and back when it’s normally 3-4 pages front and back.

Bring back the Ciao we all know and love. PLEASE I BEG OF...

How do I even start to describe Ciao Risorante? Words that come to mind include sickening, nauseating, and repulsive. That’s putting it nicely. This is the worst Italian restaurant I have ever had the displeasure of dinning at. Right off the bat, service was faulty. Upon entering the establishment, we waited at the door. Another couple entered right behind. The host came and we’re preparing to take us to our table. We were literally walking with the host, and suddenly a waitress appears and claims the couple who entered behind us MUST be sat first, which I thought was very rude and odd. We soon discovered that this couple was said waitresses parents. We had gotten to the restaurant first and had been waiting at least fifteen minutes for a table. This is unacceptable. Nevertheless, the waitress ensured her parents were seated first at the table we were about to sit down at.

What a way to start off what should have been a very pleasant dinner. Unfortunately, it only gets worse from here. This said waitress ended up being our server for the evening. Upon walking to our table, she refused to make eye contact with me at all. She would only make eye contact with my partner. Every time she came to the table, she would position herself to not look in my direction. When she finally (ten minutes after being seated) brought our drinks they were in dirty glasses. Black crud was all around the rims of the glasses. There is no possible way she couldn’t see the glasses were dirty.

Forty five minutes later our food is brought out. As you can see from the picture below my partner ordered the chicken parmesan. The picture shows the back side of the chicken. Obviously, this chicken was brought out knowingly burnt to a crisp. The waitress was disgruntled from the beginning to have to serve my partner and I. She obviously wanted to focus all her time on waiting on her parents. Completely understandable if she wasn’t at work with other customers to attend to. She then refused to acknowledge that the chicken was in fact burnt. This was a very costly meal and the fact that the waitress was so rude is unacceptable. I HIGHLY recommend NEVER eating at Ciao unless of course you enjoy food poisoning. Then, by all means, eat there to your heart’s content. If I could give a zero star rating, I...