Zio Toto — Restaurant in New York

VERY DISAPPOINTED. Four adults plus one 9-month old baby out to celebrate Mother’s Day, with a 4:30 pm reservation made a week in advance to accommodate the baby’s schedule. We arrived on time. No staff greeted us, nor were any tables (except a few out in the very bright sun) available. About 10 minutes into a standing sidewalk wait, my daughter went inside to inquire about our reservation. To make that part of the story short, we were finally seated right before 5:00. The baby (who is already eating many solid foods) was hungry. (Note: there are NO children’s options or portion sizes on the menu.) My son-in-law ran across the street to buy yogurt for the baby while we waited for service. No water, no bread, no menus, no anything…

We had to get the manager’s attention to finally get some service. Our single bottle of water for the table was never refreshed, the bread basket was extremely skimpy and never refreshed, and we were given exactly 6 olives with the bread-dipping oil. The food was ho-hum. Nothing to go back for, for sure. The mushroom risotto looked monotone and boring, the rigatoni looked generic, and my son-in-law had something flat, brown and breaded, I don’t know what it was, but it didn’t look great. My meal - the fettuccini with mussels- was really a rip-off. The menu description clearly says “jumbo lump crab meat”. There wasn’t a speck of crabmeat in the entire dish. Many of the mussel shells were empty, and the mussels present were so over-cooked and tiny it was ridiculous. Empty shells and plain noodles with some cherry tomatoes and big chunks of garlic. The portion size was small. The absent crabmeat was brought to the waiter’s attention, and he condescendingly said it was ‘mixed in’. I repeated that the #2 listed ingredient was MISSING. (Lump crabmeat featured in any dish would normally be showcased right on the top where it’s visible - not playing hide and seek in a bowl of pasta!) We were all finishing up by the time he came back and asked me if I wanted a replacement. I declined.

Once it was obvious we had finished our food, it seemed we were being rushed to clear the table. We were never asked about dessert. We won’t be back, and regret how many OTHER very nice restaurants we passed to get there…

Be careful too, the prices apparently can be different in the restaurant than they are on the website - higher, of course. My $17 entree (website for the Bay Ridge location) was charged at $21 (receipt). We didn’t realize this until we were...

Today I ended in this restaurant for lunch.Food was decent but desert was excellent .Service was A+. Forgot to get the guy's name but he was tall & bold,a sweetheart. I got some frozen Rose to try for free been that I told him was my first time. My lunch consisted of warn basket of bread with olives on olive oil and some other things in the dipping. Small mix green and lettuce salad,fried veal with fresh mozarella and tomatoes (3small pcs), Saute carrots and about 3tbsp of mash potatoes .Desert recommended by him was custard pudding with strawberries on top with a small expreso cup w/cream. All this plus a pitcher of cold water as a lunch special for ONLY $19.99. Super!!! Nice ,relax in the outside. Definitively a nice place to stop. Right across is Sofia and another rest. but this look like it was the spot for lunch. All the others were empty. Give it a try. UPDATE 6/25. Visit again today with my grandson and was total disappointment. I was given regular menu and told IF I wanted lunch special I need to ask for it' not true- then I had to ask for the bread with dipping because it wasn't given to me. Portions were smaller than usual and when I ask for the dessert I was told only tiramisu was included ,again not true . I've been there 3 times and always other items were included. I asked for expresso and was given americano that can obviously see was sitting in the pot for a while. My dessert didn't include the strawberries like before and I was charge an additional 10.00 for it First time the guy was soo nice, helpful and professional but wasn't there today.. I guess the guy by the name Salvatore who was there with the other very young male was trying to make higher tips. I observed 2 very old ladies came for lunch and he did the same thing. Poor ladies didn't know and on my way out I told them about the 20.00 special. They were upset. No one else was there today, I wonder why. I posted my...

Yesterday was our first visit to this restaurant. We brought our out of town relatives who had eaten here before and had given the place a high recommendation. The place lived up and more than surpassed our expectations. There's a nice ambiance, great service and the quality of the food is excellent. We came in on a cold and rainy afternoon to be warmed by the brick oven inside the place. From the flat bread they welcomed us with to the great desserts we enjoyed, we all had great meals. I had a delicious calamari over an arugula salad that I can't wait to try again. My wife ordered a delicious lasagna. This restaurant will definitely see us back...