Al dente Trattoria — Restaurant in Palm Springs

I have been coming here for years! And I'm so disappointed in the new staff they've hired. We went in earlier than our reservation time and so did the couple in front of us the were told they would need to wait a bit in such a nice manner. When I had advised I was 30 min earlier I was told in a rude way I would have to wait. I was honestly ready to eat somewhere else but it was my son's birthday and this is his favorite restaurant in Palm Springs so we went walked around and came back about still 10 minutes earlier. A couple was there and said we don't have a reservation the hostess said no problem we will get you seated right away. This honestly hurt my feelings since I was told earlier I had to wait when there was alot of tables empty. We sat down and was asked what I was waiting for I said my reservation they finally sat us down. Then after that we had to ask for the drink menu & bread because it wasn't given to us. They took 15 minutes to take our drink order. On top of everything the waitress dropped some of my drink on me and my daughter I understand things happen but she didn't even apologize! On top of all that we were definitely not being treated the same as the rest of the guest. If you are Hispanic please save yourself the uncomfortableness we felt and go somewhere else. I'm honestly so sad I have even met locals that say they know the owner at this restaurant we would come here everytime we'd come to palm springs and its often. Please get a new staff because if they have a problem serving Hispanic/Latino people they shouldn't be working at...

My date and I enjoyed a lovely dining experience this evening. We were promptly seated and met with smiling faces upon entry.

For starters we shared a refreshing caprese salad with warm bread and a cool bruschetta spread with oil and balsamic vinegar.

For my entree, I had the lobster ravioli with added shrimp (5) for $7 more. The red sauce was creamy and flavorful alongside the perfectly cooked shrimp. I throughly enjoyed soaking up the sauce with the complimentary breads. The fresh table side addition of parmesan cheese was a nice finishing touch to the dish.

For dessert, we tried the cheesecake, tiramisu and cannoli. To me, the cannoli was the stand out dessert. The filling was spot on and the presentation was beautiful. While the cannoli was my favorite, all of the desserts were delicious and looked stunning.

The service here is what really merits the five star review. Our drinks were refilled quickly and our meals were boxed with care.

More importantly, I wore a white dress to dinner and inevitably managed to get bits of red sauce on it regardless of my extreme caution. My server noticed my mishap and without a word brought me soda water and an extra napkin to dab the spot out. I am grateful for his quick thinking and action.

Thank you, for saving my night and dress.

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We thought we’d try Al Dente for dinner as we were staying not far away and felt like an Italian dinner. After reading the mixed reviews online, we went anyway. We should have listened to the negative reviews! Firstly, we ordered a ‘grey goose pear martini’ according to the menu. It arrived as a watery drink, not grey goose. They replaced it with a grey goose martini which was very nice, but not hard to get right. We ordered the ‘beef carpaccio with white truffle oil and arugula’. What arrived was pale, unpalatable looking beef with a smell to it, fresh arugula and no truffle oil. We asked for a side of truffle oil and was presented with an oil/lemon juice mix. On further questioning, we were told there was no truffle oil. We ordered the lobster ravioli, asked if it was house made, and Sebastian, our attentive waiter, said he would check. The ravioli is not made on site. By this point we lost all faith we would enjoy anything they prepared for us, asked for the check and left. We walked across the road to Lola Rose at the Thompson Hotel, where everything is fresh and...