Avellino's Restaurant & Catering — Restaurant in Medford

UPDATE Long Post - Providing an update after speaking with the owner, Peter. Shortly after I posted this review, I received a response directly from the owner apologizing for the experience and requesting I give him a call back. Truthfully, I was expecting a mediocre apology and that's about it. To my surprise, immediately after telling Peter who was calling, he sincerely apologized and even sympathized with my situation - something I never thought he would do. He truly understood my stance as the customer/host and agreed this was an uncomfortable situation I was put in, in front of my guests. I could tell in his voice how bad he felt and as a customer that's truly all you could want... Someone to make you feel heard and understood, which is exactly what Peter did. Just his apology alone as the restaurant owner speaks volumes about his customer service. I will admit, I was discouraged the first time I called the restaurant and tried to voice my dissatisfaction, however, after speaking with Peter, I was more than impressed by his customer service as a restaurant owner. Despite the situation, Peter provided me with the best possible outcome. I was shocked at his proposal to make things right and that, combined with the fact he showed genuine sympathy and remorse, demonstrated to me that Peter truly cares for his customer. Most restaurants only care for the money and reviews. Well, not Peter - he is legitmately in the business to make his customers feel satisfied. Because of this, Avellino's gained a customer for LIFE!! They are now my go-to takeout/dine-in restaurant and will 100% be catered for the next event (and many more after that!) I would recommend Avellino's to anyone and everyone! --------------------------------------------------------------- I ordered catering for 70 people last month for a graduation party and spent over $1,300 worth of food. To my surprise, we ran out of food very quickly as there was only one large tray of each selected entree. The embarrassment I felt in front of guests was unexplainable. I ordered steak tips, chicken, chicken piccata, roasted potatoes, lasagna, eggplant rollatini and an appetizer tray of roasted veggies. I was expecting at lease 2-3 trays of each entree to ensure each guest got a little of everything. I only got 2 trays of steak tips and the rest of the entrees were large, single THIN 1 inch trays.. not even the deep trays. But of course, I got 3 trays of salad. How is one 1 inch tray of chicken tips, lasagna, etc supposed to be enough for 70 people?! I called the restaurant to inform them of what happened and to confirm how many trays are supposed to be available to feed this amount of people. They confirmed one of each, which is insane!! I was so upset but didn’t want to get mad over the phone. Had I known this would be the quantity of food, I would not had paid over $1,300!! Also, I would not have chosen the “Buffet King” option (largest most expensive option on their catering menu) where they state “guaranteed food” for everyone. This was not guaranteed and the Avellinos representative (I think his name was Camillo) did not try to make it right in any ways. No partial refund, store credit, anything! You would think this buffet king option would be no different than catering from a function hall, wedding venue, etc. where they re-fill the dish trays as necessary. The rep told me had he given 2-3 trays of each option that would be food for 200 people, NOT TRUE! With the amount of food we received and the reps mentality each person had to choose ONE dish they wanted to try as opposed to the true buffet option (eating as many entrees as they want). I truly feel as though I got taken advantage over and scammed out...

Got a chicken parm sub a rice ball and French fries.. the bread was cold like out of the fridge cold. The sauce that I asked for on the side and to make sure it's very hot, was cold I asked to have them heat it up again and it was still cold. The rice ball was taken out of the fridge and into the fryalator and was still cold in the middle it also didnt taste right the sauce for that was also cold. The fries was the only thing that was decent but over cooked the ketchup was disgusting it tasted like they added water to the end of the ketchup bottle and add some squashed tomatoes. I know that I got there at 930ish and they were starting to break it down cause they close at 10 but that still a 1/2 hr . There was a pretty girl there who ordered some seafood dish after i got my meal. Her food however was steaming hot. The guy who took my order was in a rush. Rushing while I ordered and with the whole reheating/cooking my order. But they didnt rush the pretty girl. Nope she got a basket with bread b4 her meal and during her meal. Any how I'm very disappointed with my food. I love this place usually the food is great the rice balls are amazing. Just a big disappointment with the food Quality and service I got for...

I had a Pastrami sub and had a bite of the homemade meatball sub, as well. Both were fantastic and I have no doubt the other items inside their vast expanse of a menu will be, too, but the three stars however goes to the customer service, or lack thereof. Everybody I talked to there acted as if they were there to do their job. Nothing more, nothing less. No greeting, just a couple of stares from various staff who walked by. That's barely tolerable at a Burger King, but at a place like this, it's just straight up disappointing. Register interaction was straight to the point but pleasant enough. The woman who brought the food out to us was silent. It was as if the owner of this store instructed their staff not to speak to customers unless spoken to. We did get dessert and the guy who helped pick out the cakes was nice, however. Food? Amazing. Prices? A little expensive. Customer service? Hardly. I just want to see ONE person at least pretend to like their job there. I plan to go again, but I pray the people working there would put in a bit more effort to act like less like they're there solely for a...