Waldo's Ristorante — Restaurant in Palm Desert

I intend to revise this review after our next visit, unfortunately the last visit was a service disaster, and it is unfair to make a judgement on that basis. On the positive side, the food was wonderful, flavorful, imaginative, well presented. It was served (when it was served) hot and correctly. The drinks we very good, we usually order an old fashion in a nice restaurant, and these did not disappoint.

I had the Short Ribs Ravioli which was really wonderful, the Shrimp Scampi was a delight, and even the Spaghetti and Meatballs got good marks. For desert we tried the Lava Chocolate Cake, and it was exceptional.

The restaurant itself was lovely, all you expect of a small, well reviewed restaurant in the Palm Desert area. Now the service, ah I am sorry, but it was horrible. from the moment we walked in to the time we left. First when we arrived our reservation on Open Table was not held and we wound up being shown to the patio, directed to a table the was literally banged by the opening door every time someone entered the patio. We were re-seated at my request to two two tops pushed together.

We ordered, and were served beverages. The in 15 minutes or so ONE of our party was served their plate. So we talked for a bit, but no one else was served. No one came out to see how things were. The plate got cold (we are outside on a chilly night). And we talked and finished out drinks. No one came. No other dishes were served. Finally I got up an went inside to ask where our order was. This was a good 30 minutes after the first order. I expressed my concern and the manager did say he would get on it.

A few minutes later our server appeared (for the first time since we had been served the one dish) to demand what the problem was. Turned out the dish was suppose to have been served to the other couple on the patio. Not the point NO ONE FOLLOWED UP ON THE SERVICE, NO ONE CHECKED ON OUR FOUR TOP.

Apologies aside, it was an hour between our ordering and actually getting the food we ordered. This is not my restaurant, but if it were I would have comped the table (yes I do have a restaurant and have been in the business over 30 years), but certainly I would have done something for the table.

So this is a provisional review. I will go back, the food was really good. That will get them a retry. We have a saying "great food wins", and it usually does. Its a tough business, but the food is the center. The center needs a good base, and that is service. With out the base the...

I ate at Waldo's a year ago and enjoyed it. I wzs looking forward to another excellent diiner. When I returned for dinner tonight I had a very different experience, with the same dishes, and not in a good way. It's hot in the desert this time of year; with evening temperatures well over 100, so good AC is important. The restaurant AC struggled and was very warm, even with half of the tables empty. The staff said the units could not keep the restaurant cool. The waitstaff was likely short-staffed and struggled to provide prompt service, overlooking orders. We had to flag a manager to complete our order. The food was disappointing. The beet salad was primarily lettuce with a few beets, and goat cheese. The fried ravioli appetizer was soggy served on a bed of greens. The oso buco was tender but lacked flavor. It was served over plain penne in a barely—flavored broth with a few vegetables. The beef short ribs were a small portion that was tender and sliced, lacked the promised special sauce, with a medley of broccoli, beans, and carrots so hard we needed a steak knife and had to ask for a replacement which came out softer likley after being microwaved. The deserts were the high point, and the half-off summer wine special made the four-person meal average under $100 per person. The crowd included many in shorts and baseball caps. The service, meal, atmosphere, and price are not a bargain at this price. The difference over the past year makes me think there has been a change in management or with the chef. All in all, it was an...

The service and the food is excellent. What we had a problem with is that we sat on the patio to enjoy the fresh air. Management had decided that it is more important to stuff people out there and make more money than it is to have the customers relaxed and happy. We were at the end table. Between us and the door was a table for 4 and a table for 6. Where the one guy was sitting at the table of 6, the back of his chair was about 6 inches from the table of 4. The table of 4, the 2 chairs on our side were about 6 inches from our table. Every time a staff member came to our table, they bumped the guy in the chair and the table of 4. One staff even went around to the outside where we handed him our dirty plates cause it was too much to come through where the tables were. Both my wife and I needed to use the restroom and put it off until we got the bill, so we would not disturb our neighbors. We met our server by the restrooms to pay our bill. So prior to that we sat there uncomfortable. Does that sound like a top rated restaurant? Everything would have been great except for that. And the poor staff having to deal with squeezing through that area. And the one guy and the other table dealing with being bumped. So to make more money, management made it uncomfortable for 12 of us at 3 different tables. Picture is taken from our table, table of 6 on right, table...