Locale Italian Kitchen & Handcrafted Cocktails — Restaurant in Nevada

So the eatery has been open for a little bit now. I was in over a year ago, and the food and service was terrible. But we are not going to discuss that visit here, as every place can have a bad day. So I have to say my expectations are a bit high being from the east coast and growing up around Itilian food my whole life, bot homemade and eateries. The host staff was quick and responsive to our arrival on 9/2/2022 visit. The place is nice inside, a bit dark at 730 pm for reading a menu though. So our server, well 13 minutes later showed up to greet us. She was too busy doing side work to be attentive to a new table. It took the host staff to remind her. Let me add the 3 other servers saw us and did not even attempt to jump in and help. When she finally came over I addressed the fact that my experience last time was "terrible". Let me say that was the last time it was brought up. She came back once to check on us, once to drop the check off and to return the credit card receipt. Some small talk in the beginning, but not once did she bring up, was it better than last time, hope it was better. Did not even think of letting a manager know that I had a bad experience last time, and in hopes that maybe fixing whatever was the problem to keep my business. Okay, off the soap box of the service and onto the food. I ordered the chicken parm. I asked if the sauce and pasta was made fresh onside. The server said the sauce and the bread crumbs were. Okay, so I was already waiting for this "great" sauce and breadcrumbs. I asked for extra sauce, well the extra sauce was still, the amount was what you would give a small child so they do not get it all over themselves. The chicken itself was okay, the breadcrumbs were a bit over cooked or to heavily layered (not typical for an Italian dish) The pasta tasted like it came off a Sysco truck. As for the sauce, as there was not a whole lot, I won't comment on it. What I will say, is when the food runner came out, he said Chicken Parm, extra sauce, so I know the server wrote it down. We were not tabled touch from leadership, nor was it asked how the experience was this time. The price is average for an eatery in Mountain Edge, but for the quality of the food, it is not worth it.

Update 9/5/2022 Yesterday, after my review above, I received a response from the owner, Thanking me for the picture and letting me know where the pasta came from. They did not even attempt to address the issue of lack of service, food quality.  With the background of Hooper Hospitality, I would of expected more than that type...

Just returned from having dinner with a girl friend here. The food was delicious, and, for the most part, we both enjoyed our experience. Typically if I have an unpleasant experience, I send an email directly to the restaurant and avoid leaving a review as I only like to leave positive reviews; however their website doesn't have a contact option beyond submitting a resume... So here's my email... The bartender this evening treated us a bit unfairly. We sat at the bar where she presented us with the Happy Hour Menu--which is why we chose to sit at the bar instead of a table in the dining room. She asked us for our order, and we asked for a food item off the happy hour menu and two glasses of sparkling/prosecco. The bartender didn't feel the need to distinguish that the sparkling on their happy hour menu was not a prosecco (which it typically is, especially at an Italian restaurant), and instead served us prosecco that wasn't on the HH menu. We ordered a few glasses as well as some food items off the regular menu. We attempted to order a final drink--she never mentioned that the bar was closed nor informed us of last call; rather she stated that they closed at 9--there were still others at the bar and in the restaurant; so this wasn't clear based on the activity in the restaurant. And, finally, when we inquired about the bill, she then decided to let us know about the distinction between the HH sparkling and the non-HH sparkling we received. Ultimately, my friend and I both left feeling off about our experience. My friend had been to Locale at least 5 times previously and had an exceptional experience with other servers and bartenders. This bartender seemed very fond of her regulars that popped up at her bar during the stay; so maybe she just wasn't in the mood for making new friends... idk. We obviously paid our bill and still tipped well; and, ultimately, it was only a $20 difference; but we kind of felt like we had one pulled over on us. So, should you decide to eat here and dine off the HH menu, be sure to ask if the item you are ordering is actually on the list; otherwise you may very well be served...

I started eating at Locale right before the pandemic started. As a disclaimer, I’ve never eaten inside the restaurant, I’ve only gotten to go, but I’ve ordered from Locale easily over 50 times the last 18 months.

Although the quality of the food has always been very good, the portions are definitely not on par for both the price they charge and what similarly high end Italian restaurants charge. Also, I’ve literally tried every item on the menu (my take out orders are usually for my entire family, so I’ve sampled every item).

On Wednesday evening (9-1-2021) I ordered the linguini and clams as well as the Fritto Misto. The Fritto Misto was not edible. It was so tough and chewy. This really surprised me because it’s my go to appetizer and I’ve had it literally 50+ times and it never was of this poor quality.

But what really tipped the scale was my $20 linguini and clams, upon opening at home, filled maybe 35% of the to go box. It was an absolute embarrassing amount of food for the price I paid! I took a picture because I was so stunned but I’m not sure how to post pictures here on Google. I will post this review with my sad linguini photos on Yelp this weekend.

I told myself the last few months that I had to stop going to Locale until their portions correlated with the price they charge but I kept going back because the quality is generally really good, I wanted to do my part and support a local non corporate business, especially during the pandemic and the staff has always been very polite and courteous to me.

Locale ownership- if you’re reading this- I am really not a nit picker. I eat out 5-6 times a week and for me to write this review should tell you something. If I feel this way, surely others do. I am not sure if for some reason the portions are smaller for to go orders verse dining in, but sadly you have lost a long time regular loyal customer who now feels like his loyalty to your establishment has all been for naught.

Edit: I was able to add a photo of my entree. Really sad. I really gave this restaurant so...