Armando's College Park — Restaurant in Orlando

I was excited to try this place. Tried to go to the on in Hannibal square, but no one picked up to make reservations. So i saw they had another location in College Park and Lake mary. We arrived at 8:55 and asked to be seated outside. We were seated at the corner of edgewater Drive as outside seating goes around the corner. I judged it by the Hannibal square location, which was always packed on a Friday, and was surprised by the many open seats inside and out. Well, 15 minutes goes by, and no one comes to our table. However, we are seated next to a lady with a litter white dog, and the server for her a young girl looked at us several times but said nothing. Not one moment, someone will be with you, not have you been helped, not let me get someone for you and not can i get you something to drink while you're waiting. She was serving the two tables to our left, totaling 5 people and a dog. We got nothing. Next to those two tables was a table by the entrance. The server was a guy who was serving 5 people at that table, and two people were on the far left. Finally, after 25 minutes, i went inside and explained we've been seated for 25 min and no one had come to our table. During that time, a family of 5 had walked up and sat by the other table by the front door and was immediately addressed by the guy server, who i later found out was Ricky. The hostess apologized and said someone would be out immediately. Another 10 minutes went by, and another server walked by us to clear the tables around the corner. He was an older gentleman. Not one word. At this point, we were about to leave when finally Ricky passed the two tables in between us and asked if we wanted to order drinks. Customer service goes a long way with me. My wife was already upset at the young girl for not acknowledging us whatsoever. So Ricky said they were busy. I must've been blind because there were two tables pushed together by the entrance that was empty across from that at the curb was a table for 2. Down from that, 3 more tables for two were empty, and across from one of them was us at a table for 4. Compared to the Hannibal square location, I disagree with that assessment. When i looked around the corner, I saw empty tables. I ordered the lasagna, and my wife ordered the chicken on top of spaghetti. No one ever brought bread to the table, so i don't know if that is a thing at this establishment.

We ordered a plate of meat and vegetables. I took one bite and didn't like it. But the little white dog was intrigued by it. Another 25 minutes later i food arrives. The lasagna was just ok. My wife's chicken to her was just ok. I will say this Ricky was a nice guy, but his shirt was filthy. Presentation goes a long way also. I appreciate him stepping up to serve us. He asked if we were taking the meat tray home. We said no, we didn't like it. He brought us the check. i didn’t even look at it but gave him my card so we could leave asap. I was pretty much done and disappointed at my first time experience at Armandos.

I'm curious if the Hannibal square location is like this, but i assume not because they're always packed on Fridays when we ate nearly. I was just disappointed by the lack of service and acknowledgment by the staff at the college park location. I'll definitely not come back here for...

Had friends in town and decided to splurge a little and go here for dinner. We did not have reservations but went at 5:15p on Friday night. Our first encounter was with the hostess while trying to get a table. Not many people were there, but it looked like they had a lot of reservations. She wanted us to sit at the bar. I said we preferred a table. She said she could do that "as long as we could be out by 6:30." We said ok. We were seated and viewing the menu when she came back and said we had to move to the bar. What? She just seated us 5 minutes before. I guess the "manager" had told her to move us as their was a large party coming at 6:30 and our table was part of the set up. I said no, you just seated us and we agreed to leave by 6:30. She went away and came back and said she "over road the managers decision" but moved us to a different table. I could see a server pointing at our table and talking to the hostess. He did not look happy. He came over and my heavens, acted like he wanted us out in 5 minutes. No pleasantries whatsoever. Just "do you want drinks and what's your order." He seemed to be in a huge rush and we seemed to be a bother to him right away. As if we had done something wrong. We ordered and the appetizers came out quickly. One of my guests decided to get some wine with dinner and since our server seemed far to busy for us, we asked a young lady walking buy what were the drink specials. 2 minutes later our server rushed to our table and all he said was "I've already placed your order." In a huffy tone. My guest said, no, the drink specials." Did they have daily food specials because he certainly did not tell us any if they did. I was getting a bit angry as I had brought these guests from out of town here and the service was just awful. We were almost finished with our main dishes when I noticed bread was being brought to tables that had just been seated. I inquired if we indeed could have Bread and it came out after we completed our meal.

As for the food itself, the bread was ordinary, my salad was drenched in too much oil and my mushroom pasta was very average tasting. My guests had chicken marsala and said it was good.

To cap off the evening, the check came and there was a huge mistake. They had only charged us for 1/2 the meal. My guest, being honorable, brought it to the servers attention and he was stumbling all over himself as to how it happened. "Wrong keys put in, keys too close together." Of course he brought back the correct check. WE had to catch the error.

But it's not over yet. I asked for my meal to go and he came by the table with a baby in his arms saying "this is my baby and I'm saying goodbye to him, I'll wrap your dish when I get back." What?

I live in College Park and will never go back. Ordinary food and inferior service. An embarrassment to me for my guests. It's obviously a popular spot as it was very crowded and I'm in the minority here. But this was just a very...

I came here for dinner one night after the fine readers of Orlando Weekly voted this place as one of the best restaurants in College Park. Since I live in Oviedo, I don't get over to College Park as much as I would like to, so they would surely know better than I would. I decided to take their advice and come see what this place was all about.

I made my reservations, found nearby parallel parking, and walked up to this beautiful brick building-esque restaurant that looked like I was walking into an Italian winery of some sort. It's really a stunning visual. Very impressive.

We got seated and starting looking at the intimidating menu. We started off with a couple of apps, including the

Insalata di Cesare (Romaine, Anchovies, Croutons, and Parmesan Cheese Tossed with Ceasar Dressing). A small salad with a fun salt-bomb anchovie on top. Well-dressed, and a good amount of cheese and croutons. No complaints.

Margherita Pizza (Fresh Mozzarella, Plum Tomato Sauce and Basil). The classic pie. The tomato sauce was very fragrant. You can tell it did not come from a can. The mozz was ooey and gooey and gave a good stretch. Could have used more basil, for sure. But the crust was excellent. Held up to the toppings, not too thick, had some bite and some good chew to it. Really good.

Then the mains. I got the

Vitello Saltimbocca (Tender Veal Scallopini, Topped with san Daniele Prosciutto Crudo, and Fresh Sage, Finished in a White Wine Butter Sauce, served with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes). Veal, cooked perfectly, very tender. A nice umani, salty prosciutto on top to add some depth. The mash was a little much, a huge serving. But overall, quite nice, not something you eat every day.

I also got to try the indulgent

Ravioli di Aragosta al Frutti di Mare (Lobster Ravioli with Baby Shrimp, Mussels and Calamari Finished in a White Wine Lemon Butter Sauce). Oooh so good. Seafood everywhere, and plenty of it. The butter sauce was nice, and there were mushrooms all through, which always helps. This was clearly the winning dish of the night.

Overall, I really enjoyed the ambiance, the service, and the food here. I have no real critiques, and I would recommend this place as a nice date night restaurant to anyone...