Casadoro Ristorante & Bar — Restaurant in Newington

My recent experience at Casadoro was a perfect example of how great food can be completely overshadowed by poor service. My colleagues and I came in as a party of eight. While the food and drinks were delicious, the service we received was shockingly disappointing and ultimately ruined the experience.

We were handed lunch menus when we arrived, and all placed our orders from them. When we asked our server at the beginning for separate checks, she said it was “not a problem.” Unfortunately, this attitude did not last. The waitress was noticeably unfriendly and short with us throughout the meal...something multiple people in our group commented on independently. When the checks came, items were charged at dinner prices. When we asked why, the waitress defensively claimed that the lunch menu ends at 3:00 p.m. and that “the computer automatically switches to dinner pricing.” However, nowhere on the menu does it state that lunch pricing ends at 3:00, and we were never informed of this at any point, despite being handed lunch menus.

We asked to speak with the manager, Anthony, who was extremely unprofessional. Instead of listening and helping, he repeated the same excuse in a condescending tone and rudely dismissed our concerns. When we asked why we were not told about the time restriction on the menu we were given, he walked away from the table mid-conversation—leaving the issue unresolved. His attitude and behavior escalated the situation instead of solving it, which was both baffling and incredibly frustrating. To make matters worse, the waitress told us that for parties of eight or more, gratuity is typically included, which is clearly stated on the menu...but then said she didn’t add it to our checks. Finally when the manager agreed to adjust the bills to reflect the lunch pricing (which should’ve been the case from the beginning), he stated, "sure I will change it but its going to take me 20 miniutes". As a former waitress, I am well aware that it does not take 20 minutes to void and correctly charge 8 debit/credit cards. When he came back, he stated that gratuity HAD been added, which completely contradicted what the waitress told us. The inconsistency and dishonesty were appalling, and ultimately ended up reflecting the tip that the waitress received from our party.

The final straw came when the waitress accused one of the members of our party of STEALING HER TIP....an outrageous and false accusation that left us shocked and offended.

As someone who worked in the restaurant industry for 15 years, I was stunned by the level of unprofessionalism on display. The lack of accountability, poor communication, and blatant disrespect were unacceptable. This was not an isolated misunderstanding, but, instead, was a mix of poor service, and unprofessional conduct.

Despite how good the food and drinks were, none of the eight people in our party will return to Casadoro. We will also be warning friends, family, and colleagues to take their business elsewhere. Judging by other reviews, this isn’t the first time customers have dealt with issues under Anthony’s so-called “management.” It's clear he is not equipped to handle customer concerns or lead a...

Without a doubt, the most uncomfortable and negative dining experience we have had to date. Our waitress was visibly overwhelmed throughout the entire dining experience. She was rushed, had very little to say and spent no longer with our table than that which was absolutely necessary.

To start, it took an excessively long time for us to get our drinks, and also to get our waitress’s attention. After a few small complaints, our server told us that we were her only table on the side of the restaurant we were located, divulging that rest of her tables were on the other side of the building. This consequently made us feel guilty, although it did explain why the service had been so poor.

We ordered the artichokes, pepperoni, cups, and meatballs for appetizers. The artichoke was absolutely tasteless, and the pepperoni cups looked like pieces of pepperoni that were simply baked in an oven. Halfway through the dinner, my son ordered a Coca-Cola, and it took him at least 15 minutes to receive his beverage. When it came time for dinner, everyone got their meals, except for my son, who had ordered the lasagna. When we brought this to the attention of our waitress, she acted as if she had no idea that he had not gotten his dinner yet, even though she told us upon bringing out the other meals that our son’s meal would be out shortly. When we asked to speak with the manager, the manager came out, which was good, but it was clear from the start of our conversation that her intention was to defend the waitress. The manager made it a point to say that the waitress told her immediately when issues with our meal arose, pointing out in an obvious fashion that the waitress never makes mistakes. She then made an excuse as to why my son‘s meal was 15 minutes behind everyone else’s meals. There was no apology or compensatory offers. We truly felt like the bad guys. To top it off, we could see through a glass window in the restaurant the manager staring at us, and we caught glances from other staff members doing the same as well. Despite the service and food being poor, if the customer service we had received had been better, the entire experience could have been explained away. We felt incredibly uncomfortable throughout the entire dinner, knowing that not only was the waitress rushed, but the manager was staring us down as we ate from afar. We will not be returning to Casadora. The only thing that was actually somewhat good was the beverage I ordered, which was some semblance of a spicy margarita. There were little to none vegetarian options, and the food that we received definitely did not match the description of the meals on the menu. The reason we came to this restaurant because my husband had a lovely lunch one day, so it is entirely possible that the service and quality of food is inconsistent. I am not saying that you can’t get a good meal here; just be ware of the poor customer service you may receive and apparent camaraderie of the wait staff at the expense of their customers’...

This new Italian restaurant is massive and they did an astounding job on the look and quality of the building. I found the open kitchen here to be welcoming and really add to the vibe from nearly all of the seating and the entry. Some people do big things and this place is a great example.

We did the meatballs and the burrata to start and the highlights were in the mustard sauce, the bread in the Burrata appetizer (almost a muffin) and the burrata cheese quality itself. Both were delicious apps and exceptionally low priced see receipt in picture.

I had the Ribeye and my girl friend had the Salmon. Both I found to be really well executed. My wild spinach side was my perfectly seasoned and honestly one of the best pairings to a spinach side I have ever had. Steak was nailed MR. Salmon falling apart on plate.

For dessert we had the lemon cheesecake and the Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta. First to my delight there is actually real vanilla bean sprinkled on the top of the Panna Cotta. People try to fake this all the time and I can’t stand that. You can taste real vanilla bean from a mile away. The look of this Lemon Cheese cake is tuff to poke holes in as it is perfectly done. It was delicious. If I have to say a few things here to make this more real how impressed I am I thought the consistency of the cheese cake needed to be denser more on the side of cheese cake and less on the side of whipped cream. The flavors however all there.

They offered us a full stuffed lobster as a special for Valentine’s Day. Also they had black truffles from Italy you could add to shave on anything. What nice touches.

You want a couple more honest pokes for a nearly flawless experience. Other reviewers talked about it being cramped I think is hard to understand as the whole layout is well placed. The heater in the extended room was a little too high for me in the ceiling. I was able to move slightly to fix for myself. Beautiful extended space from the inside and out.

The last little gem is the espresso. So many restaurants (more than I can list) do not get after dinner cappuccino or coffee right. You must have this cappuccino. Immediately taste it is different from Doro Baking (Both are great) Our server was clearly on the newer side and nailed making them. They were perfect and that espresso is nothing short of exceptional.

Anyone being hard on it simply does not understand how well done this open is for its size and quality of offerings and that is expected. Big things take big vision. Exceptional experience. Get in your car and go...