Barosa — Restaurant in New York

Where do I even begin? I don’t even leave reviews on food places but I had to for this one. Me and my family have been ordering from here for years and the quality and service has gone down big time. I would order the same items every time and they would give me a different price every time. A couple of times I asked why the total price was so high since it was lower last time, and I was told they made a mistake while charging me but this happened numerous times so I refuse to believe that’s on accident every time. Most of the times we ordered for delivery, somehow the delivery guy doesn’t have change and it’s not like we’re paying with a hundred bill. This was a recurring problem. We ordered a plain pie once and it arrived black like charcoal. My mother called to tell them this and requested they come pick it up and give us a new one as the one they sent was inedible. They gave her a hard time about sending a new one and instead offered to give us a “free” pie next time we ordered (it’s not free, we paid for it). On numerous occasions the food took close to an hour and a half to be delivered and arrived cold (we live 5 min away). One time I had called to inquire why the food was taking so long (1hr and a half) and the lady said the food had been sitting in the restaurant and they had forgotten to deliver it…it arrived cold a few min later. And most recently my mother ordered for delivery and the delivery person told her he had no change to give her back. She said she would wait for him to bring back change seeing as she wasn’t just about to give him $10 extra and he’s supposed to bring change to begin with. He said ok. Almost an hour later he hadn’t come back so my mother calls and inquires. She’s told the delivery person should be there soon. He never showed and it was already about closing time. My mom had to go herself to the restaurant to pick up the money he was supposed to give her back. Upon arriving and explaining the situation (naturally she’s not happy and who would be) she was told it wasn’t a big deal and something along the lines of “well it’s the holidays” implying she should’ve let the delivery person keep the rest of her money because it’s almost Christmas or something. And just yesterday I called to try and place an order for delivery (I didn’t really want to seeing as we had so many bad experiences already but it was getting late and we were hungry) and I was told that they are not delivering to my address anymore. I’m assuming someone didn’t like that my mother told them off last time. But the audacity of them to say they’re not delivering to us after ALL the times they screwed up our food and gave us horrendous service. All in all the food is mediocre at best and the service is awful so don’t waste your money. They’re are plenty of other nice Italian restaurants to order...

This will be the last time I go to Barosa's as this experience really cements my previous view that something is quite wrong at Barosa's.

They used to be very good, and now something is different.

First for the prices you'd expect a slightly higher level of service than what you get.

I didn't feel like I was getting the overall food and experience on par with the price paid.

I felt like I was in the neighborhood corner pizza shop, dressed up with fancy decor, nice menus and a bar. Still something is missing between the production of the kitchen and the level of service that you get.

Service

I can see that the wait staff and bus staff really are hauling, non stop I see the plates moving in and out it must be take a great deal of coordination to get all to work, still I would say that there is a margin for improvement in the human aspect of the service they perform, so I don't know if it's because everyone is used to it or that the regular patrons don't know any better, but there is a too mechanical side to the service - it's supposed to be the delight to serve not just take your order, bring your food, clear the table, bring your bill, process your payment.

So if service is just the physical part of conveyance of objects then they are spot on however Barosa purports itself to be an upscale classic Italian experience and it is far from hitting the mark.

Food

$18 Pasta carbonara is not supposed to look like a soupy goo,the flavor was OK but texture and visual appearance are off. Please for this price use pancetta it'll be so much nicer.

$15 calamari appetizer, taste and texture was very good not chewey, not tough just right.

I really think the food is underwhelming and I could probably find the same quality or better at the corner pizzeria, since the service is at the starting point of the minimum, then it seems what you pay is to sit in a very crowded "upscale" dining room with so many servers having to move around in the tight corners.

So that could be a short term improvement to Barosa before it nosedives itself - remove a few tables, focus on the food quality and service excellence to be at the level that you pretend to be.

Also regular and future patrons have to keep Barosa's honest, don't confuse a good meal served by excellent staff who strive to be at the top of the game with having had a great time because of the friends / family and the alcohol effect.

I really count on all of you to keep them honest because I'd like to come back to the upscale experience that I thought I would have without feeling disappointed and fleeced at the end...

This place was terrible! I went here with my daughter and her mother for Valentine’s Day and we were looked at with ‘prejudice!’ The upstairs is nice, with a warm atmosphere! Or at least, it seemed! We asked for a nice table in that area because there were available tables there! We were escorted downstairs to what appeared a ‘cold’ and dismal ‘basement’ type of atmosphere! Also, I looked around and the other people sitting around us looked ‘similar!’ It was as if we were all being ‘sorted!’ Absolutely ‘despicable!’ People who came in after us, were seated upstairs but I noticed that Barosa were seating people based upon ‘looks’ and not upon what was available! This turned me off and I let them know it! The only reason I went here was that members of my family had gone here for years and I went with them a couple of times! My family has Italian members and they know the owners. On the other hand, I do not and my daughter and mother are of Latin and Ukrainian descent. The way the three of us were treated said it all! Then, the food was cold and we asked why people who arrived after us were treated with ‘favor’ versus us! We, like them, also had reservations! Anyway, the food was ‘edible’ we were hungry but the overall experience left a ‘bad’ taste in our mouths! On the way out, I asked for the manager and I expressed my frustrations, explaining that this was a ‘joyous’ occasion that I wanted to share with my family and Barosa ‘ruined’ it! It was also ‘quite’ expensive! Their manager wasn’t available and I called back during the week only to ‘indifferent’ responses from the staff but the manager would not come to the phone! My grandmother is Sicilian and made ‘awesome’ Italian cuisine and I also have eaten in a few ‘comparable’ Italian themed restaurants in New York! This is not one of them and if it was the ‘last’ place to eat Italian cuisine in NY, I would get a jar of sauce from my local grocery store, boil some pasta and make a fresh salad at home! That’s how bad it was! If I could give ZERO stars I would and I want Barosa to know that as a long time residen of the area which they serve, they’re a ‘BLEMISH’...