Fortuna Italian Steakhouse — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

In college, I did just about every job in a restaurant including dish washing, shucking oysters, day prep, cooking, bus boy, waiter, and bar back. I know how things work in a nice restaurant and why.

I am going to share what is perhaps the worst experience I have had at a restaurant and it was at Fortuna Italian Steakhouse. We were greeted promptly by our server (name withheld) who was very friendly. He took our drink orders. We ordered the artichokes appetizer but were told they were out. We asked for a moment to make another choice. He returned a few minutes later telling us that the bartender was making our drinks. We ordered a shrimp cocktail.

After approximately 20 minutes, the shrimp arrived but no drinks. We were assured repeatedly our drinks were in process. He asked us if we were ready to order our main course, which we were not going to do before our cocktails. We finished the shrimp and still no drinks. After another 10 minutes they finally arrived… 45 minutes total. We could see the bar and it never appeared that the bartender was overwhelmed.

At this point, we were ready to order our main courses and some wine. We both ordered 6 oz filets medium rare and were informed they were out of mushrooms. This is a steakhouse that shares a parking lot with a Publix that carries… mushrooms. Why would they not simply buy some from Publix? The most obvious reason is an assumption that their mushrooms are pre-made.

At least 15 minutes after we placed our dinner order, our server showed up with our bottle of wine and told us they were out of 6 oz filets and we may want to consider 8 oz filets instead as they are only $6 more each. I was furious and just sat there looking at him for about 30 seconds before I finally told him to give us a couple minutes while we talked it over.

Let’s ponder a few things here, shall we? If I’m the server, I am going to the manager and telling him we are going to give these people 8 oz filets at the price of 6 oz filets and not even mentioning it to the customer. In any decent restaurant, a problem like this needs to be transparent to the customer. There are two things a ‘steakhouse’ should NEVER be out of… steaks and mushrooms. Furthermore, this is the weekend before Valentine’s Day! You know you are going to be busier than normal so order accordingly. Your patrons are coming for a special occasion. Do NOT ruin a Valentine’s Day dinner! Thinking about this further, they were out of 6 oz filets, but they were not out of 8 oz filets. How can that be? It can ONLY mean they do not cut their own steaks. They undoubtedly receive their steaks pre-cut and pre-packaged. Any steakhouse worthy of being called a steakhouse cuts their own meat.

Our server returns to find out what we want to do. I said in a calm but unfriendly tone, “Look, (insert server’s name), we have been here for an hour and 15 minutes and learn you are out of 6 oz filets. We would like to receive the 8 oz filets at the 6 oz price.” He said “I’ll make it happen.” About 10 minutes later he returned to confirm they would honor the request. We waited approximately 30 more minutes before the food arrived, including repeated visits from the server telling us he would check on our food.

My filet was a bit overcooked, but I did not have the patience to send it back and wait for another one. My wife’s filet was cooked perfectly. They tasted fine. Our sides of asparagus and polenta (most likely pre-made) were fine.

When the check came, they had removed an additional $25 off the bill beyond the $12 difference on the filets. Our server asked if the manager had been by to visit us. He had not but had obviously told our server he would.

We live in the area. We wanted this to be a great dining experience and would have been more than willing to overlook a minor hiccup or two. But, Fortuna failed in nearly every way that a restaurant can fail. Neither of us can recall a dining experience that even approached such a complete failure. Bar service, server, kitchen,...

My wife and I came to this restaurant a couple of months ago to celebrate her graduation, but should have known it was not a great place when we went during prime dinner time hours on a Saturday night and it was nearly empty. I have hesitated to write this review as I tend to not like to leave negative reviews, but I am suspicious of other reviews on here and wanted to leave a real one from a real customer.

We are easy to please and rarely have a complaint about food at a decent restaurant, but simply put, the food was bad. The food would be more fitting at a fast-food level price point. The drinks were fine.

We started with the raw oysters, something I have ordered and enjoyed at numerous restaurants. I can't recall ever sending food back at a restaurant before in my entire life, but what they were calling oysters looked really strange. We both still tried one and it just didn't taste or feel right and we had to send it back. I think the waitress knew as she set those oysters down on the table that we'd be weary. We got a spinach and artichoke dip instead, again usually a great choice and a safe bet at any restaurant, but theirs was flavorless and just kind of "off".

For the main dish, I ordered a ravioli special and my wife had one of the other pasta dishes. Again, I've never once had bad ravioli. What they served me here was bad. My wife, also not a picky eater at all and able to enjoy all kinds of pasta, could barely pick at what she got. I should have known when our server over-explained the sauce that both of our dishes were served in as though she was trying to "justify" it before we ordered. It was just like a thin brown sludge that was in no way Italian or really anything at all. We suspected something may have been going on in their kitchen where they just made one big batch of this mystery sauce and just used it for literally every dish. It was gross, I've never not finished a ravioli dish.

We initially planned on getting a dessert since this was a celebration after all, but we decided there is no way we're going to order it from this establishment and didn't want to risk whatever horrors were in store for that. We also did not utilize a takeout box for our leftovers, which is also unusual for us because who doesn't love a good restaurant leftover lunch the next day?

Honestly, I felt bad for our server. She was very nice, but I just got the sense the whole time that she knew the food was bad or that there was something off that night. She did keep trying to sell us bottles of wine even though we didn't even order wine, but, we assumed that's what management was pushing and she's just going with it even though it made no sense for us specifically. So, none of our experience was her fault and we still left her a good tip, which is probably needed because of how few customers they seem to have.

The restaurant set up was a bit weird as it's basically just cubicles. Like, does this place operate as an office during the day, and then they turn it around into a "restaurant" in the evening? Because that's the only explanation as to why that place was so empty and strange and why the food was so low quality and inauthentic I can...

After a busy week, shuttling boys back and forth to practices and meets, I wanted to treat my wife to dinner. Usually, for celebrations, we choose Jimmy Kelly’s or Sperrys. I was tempted to go to one do these again, but being two miles away, I’ve been curious about Fortuna since it opened. I called to ensure we wouldn’t need reservations and the hostess was pleasant and inviting. We arrived at about 6:45. We were seated quickly but did have a wait time that exceeded 60 seconds to be greeted by our server and several minutes, exceeding three, to receive our drinks. Waiting for our drinks, there was, apparently, some confusion between servers as to whose table we were. The female server who greeted us after our drink order had been received was at least 15 minutes late to the party. We knew she was irritated, but you're not watching your section tentatively if your unaware you've been sat for more than 2 minutes. On with the food... I had a ribeye, cooked to a perfect med-rare. Every bite was tender and full of flavor and I wasn't dying of thirst for the rest of the night. My wife had the featured scallop dinner and the scallops were fat and sautéed to perfection. Our server, David D., was witty, attentive and gracious. His personality really contributed to a wonderful experience. I had a smoked bourbon cocktail that was a real treat. They have a solid list of bourbon and whiskey and we topped our dinner off with the Panna Cotta for dessert. I hope my wife, a wonderful cook in her own right, never makes this for me, because I'm not certain my willpower could moderate my appetite.

Fortuna is a great spot. It's wonderful having a place with such a great menu and memorable service just a few minutes from home. Any flaws we experienced were minor and did not take from our experience. I mention them only to serve the integrity of reviews and in the hopes of ironing out the imperfections, because if you want people to spend the money, in our current economic climate, without regret, you have to have the basics covered for a $100/person establishment. I sincerely hope Fortuna is here to stay. I want the opportunity to try every last item on their incredible menu. Thank you, David & Corey for a wonderful dinner and memorable experience. We...