Restaurant 89 — Restaurant in Milford

Tried again 3/30/20, service was still terrible.

I would like to update my review to what I sent to the owner in an email 9/9/18:

To whom it may concern, I am responding to the response I received regarding my review of Trattoria89 on 9/8/18.

My review (9/8/18) said the following: I have been here 2 times; the hostess and waitress were so bad I can't go again. The foods pretty good, if it wasn't for the service I would do 5 stars.

Response from the owner 9/8/18: Sorry that you were not happy with your experience. Please email us with more details so that we can address your concerns.

A bit of background about me: I am a new college graduate who recently moved to Milford, MA from Ann Arbor, MI for a job in computer architecture with AMD in Boxborough MA. I have been looking for local places to dine when family and friends come to visit; this is how I stumbled upon Trattoria89.

Elaboration of my 2 issues, the waitress and hostess:

1. Waitress: When I dined here a few weeks back, a women waited on me and two other guests. The women was flustered, rude, and generally unpleasant throughout the evening. Nearly 20 minutes into the meal, when I realized others who were sat after us were eating bread, I was able to flag down the waitress and asked the her if she could bring bread to the table.Then, after waiting another 10 minutes with no bread, watching the waitress bounce from table to table, I ended up grabbing the hostess who promptly got us our bread. The wait staff should never be this absent; this was embarrassing to me in front of my guests. I never saw the manager, who could have addressed this problem, come around to greet the guests and generally check up on the floor; as I feel a good manager should. Not sure if there is a hiring problem here, or just poor management?

2. Hostess: Though I have only dined here once, I have tried 3 other times (once it was just closed, definitely my fault). Twice, the hostess was so rude it actually put me in a bad mood the rest of the night (which is why I will not go back, I don't feel like having another unpleasant evening). The hostess was rude and impatient both times, with a very similar interaction each time: I asked if I could get a table. She asked if I had a reservation (in a snoody and impatient attitude) I respond I did not (expecting her to reply with a wait time) She asked me if I could sit at the bar since they are full service. (She pointed to the crowded bar and began moving onto the next customer behind me before I responded) I caught her and respond that I wanted a table and specifically asked for a wait time. She reluctantly replied with a wait time of 45 minutes (she seemed to pull out thin air just to get me to leave) 45 minutes was fine with my guest(s) and I, but I grew so frustrated with the hole encounter I just left. My guest(s) and I agreed it was an oddly rude interaction both times.

In addition, I can vaguely recall an interaction when made a reservation over the phone. I made it with a man, who I realized when I ate there was the man who brought and filled our water, was also extremely rude over the phone. I cannot remember the details of the conversation, but I do remember afterwards questioning if dinning there was a good idea.

In summary, I have either tried, or successfully eaten here on 4 separate occasions. Each time I experienced nothing but unpleasant service from what seemed to be an unprofessional, hormonal, teenage staff.

However, I have to mention when I finally did eat, the food and atmosphere was pleasantly surprising for a small town outside of Boston.

I hope you will make steps to ensure the service changes dramatically so that I can once again dine...

• UPDATE * I am changing this review from a 1 star to a 2 star thanks to a) how good the food itself was and b) the prompt reply from the owner re: the very poor service. While the service was insulting, the food was delicious.

I’ll start with the pros since they are unfortunately far fewer: I ordered an eggplant parmesan and my husband ordered the chicken parmesan, both on cavatelli pasta. Our entrees were quite good, along with the salad and bread.

The unfortunate part of the evening was the service – which ruined the entire experience. We sat at the bar on a quiet Tuesday night and a middle-aged man was our bartender. From the moment we sat down we felt we were being treated as less than those around us. Our dirty dishes stacked up in front of us and additional drinks were never offered. My husband had to ask for a second drink after his empty glass was ignored. I let my empty glass sit, and it sat right until we paid the bill. He never made eye contact, never checked with us to see how our meal was, never asked if he could get us anything. Meanwhile he was very conversational with all other patrons around us. When we were done with our meals, he immediately began to print our bill. I commented to my husband that I couldn’t believe he was printing our bill without asking if we wanted another drink or dessert. Upon hearing me he turned around and half-heartedly asked if we’d like to split a dessert.

I have never felt more judged and/or discriminated against. I left feeling personally and deeply insulted – like either our slightly younger age (late 30s) or because we weren’t regulars, we weren’t worth his time. I felt as though he looked at us as “low value” customers and judged us for his perception of who we were, despite my high-level position in the corporate technology sector.

We went to this restaurant with a gift certificate given to us after the passing of my mom – and went out as a belated anniversary dinner. I am SO glad this meal was neither a pick-me-up meal after my mom’s passing, nor was it our actual anniversary day. We spent 2/3 of the gift card and left it – we were so disgusted we just wanted to be done with the evening. I can confidently say Restaurant 89 will never get our...

I usually don't post online, but I couldn't resist sharing my thoughts on Restaurant 89 in Milford. This place stands out as the ultimate dining destination, excelling in every aspect, from its impeccable service and delightful drinks to the exquisite food.

Restaurant 89 is dedicated to delivering an exceptional customer experience alongside a remarkable culinary journey. Their commitment to excellence shines through every facet of the dining encounter.

When it comes to the food, Restaurant 89 surpasses even the finest establishments in the North End and Boston. The flavors, presentation, and quality are unparalleled.

If you haven't had the pleasure of dining here yet, I strongly urge you to give it a try. And if you've already experienced it, you undoubtedly understand why it's a standout choice. To those who don't appreciate this gem, well, I can only conclude that they're missing out on something...