Core de Roma — Restaurant in Lower Merion Township

TLDR; Atmosphere: dated Food: food was decent Service: we were kinda ignored and the owners wife didn't seem to like us being there Outcome: not likely we'll return

My veteran buddy loves Italian food and wanted to go to a new spot. Upon arrival we sat there for a few minutes waiting to be acknowledged--not like we were hiding or anything--we were in plain view of the owner! I thought it was customary to wait to be seated right?

The owner finally tells us from behind the bar, we can sit anywhere. Seemed like a decent place, although, I get a little nervous when there are no other customers. Tonight, there were 2 other tables being waited on.

Fast-forward, we order and food arrives. My friend ordered lasagna, I think a bottom corner of it was burnt so he was having trouble cutting into it. The one waitress noticed and asked if he needed a sharpener knife, when she brings it over, the owners wife is visibly upset stating he doesn't need a sharper knife. I personally don't appreciate when people belittle their employees.

One of the dishes sounded great on paper, turned out to be incredibly heavy. I think maybe the recipe should be tweaked. My bechamel at home isn't that heavy either.

The owner seemed to be hanging out with one table in particular, I was nervous I wouldn't know what to talk about when he came to hang with us... This didn't happen but it was very noticeable that their friends were in town.

Dessert was pretty good. And the bill was somewhat reasonable.

But based on the service, food quality to price ratio, I think if you want to try it, it might not hurt, but we won't...

I visited Core de Roma with my sister yesterday for a nice italian dinner. It wasn't our first choice but was close and had reservations available.

The restaurant is at the top of a hill and there is a parking lot but you will have to walk up the hill, which is fine it can be steep though.

Immediately upon entering there was a couple ahead of us which was greeted by the hostess, an older blonde woman. As we waited for her to finish speaking with them another group of people came in behind us - about 7 people or so. The problem lies in the fact that the hostess finished speaking with the couple ahead of us (naturally) but then completely ignored us and started speaking to the party of 7, as if we were not standing right there. We were the only 2 black patrons in the building, which again is fine, but the fact that she ignored us and spoke to them first rubbed us both the wrong way.

We decided to not make a big deal of it and just have our dinner. Bruschetta was good, but the bread they serve it on is they same bread they give you for free. My entree, chicken marsala was okay. I got it with the "vegetable and potatoes" which was just string beans, cut in half and potatoes cut in half.

They also charge a fee if you use your credit/debit card. Which is weird. I know there are places that provide a "cash discount" however charging me to use my debit card seems frivolous. I...

The fettuccine was fresh and delicious. We also loved the artichokes. Some of the pastas aren’t home made and those are not nearly as good as the home made stuff. So, make sure you read the menu carefully if you do want fresh pasta.

The service, unfortunately, left a bad taste in our mouths. Our table wasn’t fully set and we couldn’t get anyone’s attention to help us. So, we ended up having to take what we needed from an empty table. The entire service was slow and unfriendly. About 10 minutes after they cleared our dinner plates I walked over to the back of the restaurant near the kitchen and register to ask about dessert since nobody was coming to take our order. I made eye contact with one worker who turned around and ignored me. After a few minutes, I went back to my table and waited for someone to come over. I continued to be ignored even when the rest of my party had left the table. When I finally got someone to come, I asked them to just bring the check. The woman who brought the check asked how everything was and when I started telling her that I was frustrated with the service, she argued with me instead of...