Semolina Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Medford

Food: really good Atmosphere: really problematic Service: really poor

It is rare when I write a two-star review and rarer still when we leave a tip as small as the one we left last night.

One of us ordered shrimp pappardelle from the menu. The pasta, at most ¼-inch wide, though good tasting and properly cooked, was decidedly NOT pappardelle, which is ¾-1-inch wide or even wider. What they served would be properly called tagliatelle or possibly even fettuccine. Not a tragedy but what we wanted and expected was pappardelle and we probably would have ordered something else if it had been correctly listed on the menu.

We asked the server ("Julia L") if there was a mistake. She replied curtly that 1) it was indeed pappardelle (pronouncing it incorrectly), 2) that's what pappardelle looks like and 3) all their pasta is hand-made so some variation is expected and normal. Now, part of the reason we came to this restaurant is that the pasta comes from Dave's Fresh Pasta in Somerville where they roll and cut the pasta with a machine, of course, in plain view of anyone who buys pasta from them. I suppose it's possible that my argument is with Dave, assuming he has a hand in the menu. I will bring to his attention two books being sold at Semolina Kitchen, which both describe pappardelle consistent with our understanding and much wider than what we were served.

There are a number of different ways the server could have handled this. Most of them begin with the words "I'm sorry the dish is not as you hoped it would be." Another reasonable comment might have been "I'll go ask chef if there is another pasta shape that might be closer to your expectation." The correct response to a dissatisfied diner NEVER involves the server arguing with the diner and "correcting" their understanding of a common culinary term.

The putanesca dish, for which the menu didn't mention the pasta shape, came with the exact same pasta as the "pappardelle". The sauce was very good and the pasta was what I expect from Dave's, namely excellent so the main course was not uniformly disappointing.

For dessert, my companion ordered a cannoli and a glass of vin santo. The desserts were delivered by a different server but no vin santo came. After an annoying delay (during which we could see our server chatting with the hostess all the while, her back to the dining room) my companion herself retrieved the vin santo from the bar, where the bar tab under it indicated that it had been sitting for five minutes. When we offered the server the bar tab she said that she had been on the 'phone when she should have been delivering the drink (no apology). Julia L needs to find a job and a career that doesn't have a customer-facing component to it.

The whole time we were there the background music was too loud. This caused everyone in the dining room to raise their voices in order to be heard, by each other and by the waitstaff. Coupled with the acoustics of this space - high ceilings with hard-surface industrial finishes - there was a unpleasant din the whole time we were there and that was with the room only half full. (Actual interaction: "I'll have a cannoli and a glass of vin santo." "Pino grigio?" "NO, VIN SANTO." "VIN SANTO?" "Yes.") The noise was an uncomfortable auditory annoyance but there was also a TV over the bar which was visible to all the tables, providing a visual assault too.

This restaurant, due to its connection to Dave's Fresh Pasta, should be a good place for dinner. It's convenient for us and they have plenty of free parking. We are really sad that it's going to be difficult to insert it into our restaurant rotation. Even after Julia L is long gone, and that will be soon I'm sure, it will probably take longer for them to correct the ambiance because that is probably baked into the...

Terrible experience with staff. We walked in with a small stroller because our 2 year old fell asleep on the way to the restaurant. When we walked in the host immediately rolled her eyes at us and then began explaining they had a no stroller policy. We asked if they could make an exception given our child was asleep and our other child was hungry and we didn’t want to wait. The host made some extreme facial expressions of frustration and then said she’d ask the manager. They agreed and then brought us to the rear dining room and that’s when the fun began. Ok the way there my eldest daughter saw some smile face stickers and asked the manager for one and she replied they couldn’t do it. They sat us in a corner with nobody next to us on either side. The manager then came over and asked us to flip the stroller the opposite direction because it was in a fire lane. No it wasn’t. We were sitting in a corner with walls behind us on either side. We obliged to the weird request. More eyerolls and more facial expressions from staff. When it came to order I asked if they could do a chicken parm. My reasoning for asking was they had fried chicken sandwiches and they had eggplant parm sandwiches so would they swap the eggplant because I am allergic to eggplant. The server seemed to think it was a ridiculous request and made more faces and uncomfortably explained how they didn’t have a “chicken parm thing” on the menu and couldn’t accommodate. No problem, I ordered something else. When my wife ordered she asked for a chicken kabob but asked if we could order a side of pita. The server immediately said they couldn’t do it and wouldn’t sell us pita bread separately no matter the charge as I asked to clarify. At this point I noticed the other staff kinda looking on from the background and felt very unwelcome. It felt like we weren’t welcome and it was probably because of the stroller. Everything we asked for was met with a rude smirk and a denial. I chose to pay and leave. On our way out the staff started discussing and smirking amongst themselves and the manager very happily grinned at us on our way out without saying or asking a thing. I think we made the right decision to leave. I post this because I’m not sure the behavior of the staff was something ownership would stand behind but clearly the hospitality isn’t always the top priority. My family and I drove 40 min to try this place and we were really excited. It could’ve taken 1 min for anyone on the staff to make us feel comfortable but it was the opposite, they were happy we left. I hope this helps them...

This place is usually booked and you will get a table only 2 weeks later. It's a really cute little restaurant around tufts medical college and other residential places. They call themselves a mediterranean place, but they do serve pasts and pizzas as well.

We ordered the following: Appetizers: Cheesy garlic toast - really very tasty Roasted curry carrots - very refreshing, different, and nice House made grilled foccacia - lots of other reviewers recommended this, so we ordered it, but liked the cheesy garlic toast more than this.

Main course : Cacio E pepe - it's just pasta in white sauce and some seasoning. They don't add any veggies to this one. We asked them if they could, but the server was not sure, so we just ordered as is. Pasta was tasty but wished they added so veggies to it.

Dessert: Brioche bread pudding - this was really tasty at the start, but after a few bites, I felt it was toooooo sweet. Trust me, I am a dessert person , I love trying desserts wherever I go, I have never had such soft bread earlier, but it was soooo sweet, and we couldn't finish it later.

It's a really nice place in the area, their service is good, the ambiance is great; but I feel it's just a little more expensive. I mean, I would not like to pay 26$ for a pasta with just sauce and no veggies. Plus, they add additional kitchen appreciation fees. I know every person working at the restaurant should be compensated, but then, if they are charging so much for 1 dish, then I feel it should cover everything! Why are you adding extra charges? On top of this, you pay tips! It is like you are forcing customers to pay, I would think twice before revisiting this place since I would not want to overpay unless I know that dish is really worth it! This place is good trying once if you don't want to pay these...