Agostino's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Natick

I am a long time resident of Natick, but only recently had an opportunity to try Agostino's. Unfortunately, it was horrendous, and I would encourage everyone to stay away. We read the reviews regarding bad customer service and the way they treat their employees and child customers so decided to order takeout. My son has significant allergies so I ordered a plain burger with nothing on it-Mgehan took my order. When we picked up the food and got it home, the burger was slathered with melted cheese and grilled onions/peppers. I immediately called the restaurant and spoke with Ella and request requested either credit or a replacement dish. She spoke with the manager/owner, Zee who said that they could make another burger and we could come and pick it up in 20 minutes, but we would be charged the full amount even though it was their fault. I said that's not acceptable and I would be happy to return the food and they could credit me or replace it, but she said no. I told her that I would dispute the charge with AMEX and she said go right ahead. AMEX will handle this now. This is not the customer service you expect when you're paying with your heart earned cash. Wonder what they would have done if we were actually eating there and they brought the wrong food to our table? Stay away from this restaurant if you value your money and respect your dignity. Obviously, we will not be returning and will warn our friends.

Update: Just wanted to give a quick update regarding my post. Zee, the owner/manager of the restaurant, called me today as he read my post online. He apologized profusely for the miscommunication and confusion regarding our order and wanted to make it right. He offered me a full credit for the meal. I swung by the restaurant today to meet with him personally and he was again apologetic. He issued me a gift card above and beyond the value of our entire meal. I encouraged him to read the reviews posted and address them for the benefit of his restaurant, customers, and staff. Wanted to let you all know that we can make a difference and appreciate all the...

This rating is for the service we received from Melissa, the bartender. We have been here before, we don't expect gourmet food. We came to have a drink and dinner and watch the Celtics.

Sunday, 5pm, we came in and sat at the bar where there was one other couple at the bar and another at a high top in the bar area, not busy. We were ignored for several minutes and then she looked over at us and I asked a question about one of the beers on tap, she said "Well, it's an IPA" ok, yes, I know, but? She poured a taste for us, mostly foam. I ordered a different beer and my husband ordered a drink. She asked if we wanted menus and we said yes please. Another high top sat down and she brought them menus and a basket of bread. We noticed that the other parties all had bread. After we ordered our meals She took the menus and walked away. We waited a few minutes and then I asked if we could please have some bread. She didn't answer, but went and got some. Our meals came quickly, but we had not received the side salads that come with them. We mentioned it to the server (not the bartender) and he said "Are you sure you didn't get them?" WHAT? So Melissa came over and when he asked her about it and she said "You didn't say you wanted salad" and I said "The meal comes with a salad, do we need to request it?" The young man brought us our salads. Clearly Melissa didn't like us upon first sight. I don't know why, we were friendly and polite from the moment we sat down. I can venture a guess, but not going to go there.

I had made a vow to not do any negative reviews during these difficult times for restaurants, but this was really uncomfortable and unpleasant. I actually made a "jokey" comment "Well, I guess she doesn't like us" and she just ignored us thoroughly.

We finished and she gave us our check. We paid and left her a 20% tip because it's the right thing to do. I'm sure she thought we'd stiff her.

It's one thing to have a bad day, but she was friendly and polite to all the other customers and everyone else got bread and salads.

We definitely...

Location & Atmosphere: My experience at Agostino's was lackluster. Arriving there the restaurant barely has parking so be prepared for that battle. Entering the restaurant it was clean, with inspiring family values as decor, a clean restroom and a chatty atmosphere. The primary customers there at the time were all older, seemed well known by staff and were enjoying their evening.

Service: The particular server who waited on us was very polite and welcoming the host who was paying more attention to their phone rather than the guest who were waking in seemed to care less about my party.

The Food: I particularly decided on the steak which was bland and not to the temperature I requested. More so the steak smelled like meat. The same smells you would perceive when buying the cut at a grocery store. It lacked even the most simplest of seasonings. Due to the price I took the cut home where I seasoned it and recooked it; given it would have been a waste for such a delicious looking cut. The mash potatoes were not very good either. I could find better quality in dehydrated powdered mashed potatoes. Given the price I perceived the meal would have been delicious but it was not.

The ravioli which I tried on my second visit, I found empty and more pasta than filling, once more just truly disappointing given that I was recommended the dish by a regular who frequents the restaurant.

Overall thank you to the server for the positive experience. To management I hope my experience is a rare occurrence and that it was just an off night where many things took a turn...