Va Bene Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar — Restaurant in Phoenix

Where do I begin?

My dinner date and I had a reservation for two the day before a holiday expecting there to be a pre-holiday rush.

Upon arrival there was no one to greet us at the host’s podium and there was loud shouting borderline yelling coming from the next room, I believe it was the bar area. Having never been here before I dared not venture too far as I didn’t want to walk into anything (referring to the yelling).

My date and I stood waiting at the front for approximately 10 minutes before a host (maybe the bartender) showed up and told us we could seat ourselves and we could pick anywhere we wanted. Little did we know that we were literally the only guests in the entire restaurant. It would remain this way (at least in the dining room) for the entire duration of our visit. This surprised both of us considering that it was the day before a holiday and peak dinner hours.

After we were seated we were introduced to our server, sort of. It seemed that our host and the server couldn’t decide who was doing what. After a moment of confusion and slight bickering between the host and server we were asked for our beverage order.

The server from that point forward was very quick to snap at us, cut us off, and assume that we had our meal decisions made the second we sat down. We attempted to ask a few questions about the menu, however. We were on several occasions either cut off like we knew nothing about food, or he walked away as we were still talking to him leaving us astounded and confused.

The restaurant itself is beautiful however it doesn’t make up for the poor service and lack luster food that was served to us. As we were sitting at our table admiring the decor listening to the endless loop of Sinatra music (because apparently you’re not Italian if you don’t listen to Sinatra 24/7). Our server had returned with our wine order a few minutes after he had made our selection for us... As he entered the dining room on the opposite side of the room from us he let out a no-shame bar belch. I’m not one to bash someone, but the guy made absolutely no attempt to muffle or otherwise cover up his burp. This also was right before walking up to us and dropping of the wine without saying a word.

After we received our wine we also received our bread, which was cold and seemed like it had been sitting out. There was no attempt to warm it at all.

When it came time to order our food I had ordered one of their specials and a main dish. I had the Tomato Basil Soup and Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and my date had the Red Snapper special.

If I wasn’t on a date I definitely would have taken pictures and regret that I hadn’t. When my soup arrived, without tasting it I instantly knew that it was Campbell’s Tomato Basil soup from a can. The reason I know this is because anyone that has ever stayed home sick and has had the famous Campbell’s soup knows the taste, smell, and look. I had also been home sick the week before eating none other than that very same soup. It was garnished with what looked like small bits of shredded lettuce. I’m not entirely sure what it was. Not that Campbell’s isn’t good, I don’t expect to pay $7.50 for something I literally could have stayed home and ate for $0.99.

As for our main course, it didn’t make matters any better. The special red snapper dish that my date received was tasteless, improperly cooked, fell apart (practically disintegrated) into a mush you really couldn’t recognize as fish. Her mashed potatoes looked and tasted like unseasoned instant potatoes. My fettuccini Alfredo tasted like something I made at home out of a jar and the grilled chicken... well it’s not worth talking about.

To sum up the evening, we were given our check and we passed on desert. In the time that a proper server would have asked us if we needed anything else, this guy was already out on the front patio smoking as we were leaving.

Poor service. Seriously disappointing food....

My family came here to VaBene to have a nice family meal. The atmosphere feels like they are striving for a higher class environment and even though some things are a little worn the place is clean and has a romantic ambiance. When entering you can feel the vibe they are going for and it’s a calm welcoming one. The hostesses were nice and instructed us to seat ourselves where ever we’d like. Our waitress came and asked us if we wanted a drink, which we definitely did but had to ask to have a menu to see choices, she instead brought a food menu, which ok I’m not worried yet cause that could have been a misunderstanding. She then went and had convo with another worker for about 10 min. When she finally returned we knew what food we wanted while we sipped out ice waters brought by another gentleman along with bread and some kind of spread. It was good just not sure what it was.

I asked for a drink menu again and got only alcoholic drinks which was ok I wanted a martini but my son and husband wanted non alcoholic drinks. After asking about that she told us they chose. We told her our food order, which also included appetizers which I also told her cause she never asked. I was looking at the soups but she had her had out like gimme towards the menu, I said I’m thinking about a soup too, when she wiggled her fingers for the menu and I just gave it to her. Guess she likes low tickets, that same nice gentleman asked if we needed refills mean time as I saw her chatting it up again with another coworker. Another man brought our food out, and we needed thing brought like salt and pepper, and what not, she was no place to be found. When she finally came back we asked her for another drink which she asked if we wanted to go and this time she brought it with no garnishes. I should have said yes and left but we all wanted sweets, we all three ordered different kinds. Once again I guess she likes low tickets or was ready for us to leave. The food wasn’t bad but the service sure stunk. We would have done salads and soup and appetizers and who knows, but she acted like she didn’t really wana take our orders. Over all there’s other Italian restaurants in the area and their service HAS to be...

I have been to VaBene many times over the years. I was witness last week on a Tuesday night to an out of control customer, and when I saw the most recent review, I was compelled to leave one of my own. First of all, I've never had anything but delicious food at this restaurant. They are a scratch kitchen and you can absolutely taste the difference here. By far the best Italian food in the East Valley, if not all of Arizona. The service I received last Tuesday was excellent. I was very impressed by how both the server and the manager handled the unruly customer who somehow felt it was ok to allow her child to shriek at the top of his lungs while she berated the manager in the lobby. Even more disappointing to read that this person was someone who "owns her own business with a very loyal and growing customer base." Asking friends to leave negative reviews is completely unprofessional and even more disappointing to hear it was a small business owner trying to deliberately cause harm to another small business.

The service I received Tuesday was impeccable. The server (Danny I think was his name) did an absolutely amazing job of handling the unruly table in the dining room while doing his best to take care of his other customers. In addition, our food was delicious. I will continue to return to VaBene and will make a point to request Danny as our server on our next visit.

As a mother of 7 children (one with special needs), I recommend to anyone that may be facing challenges while eating out with kids to be honest with the hostess when asking to be seated. It's been my experience that most restaurants will go out of their way to accommodate families with children or any other needs. I've eaten at VaBene with my children (ages 9 to 25) and my 2 year old grandson several times in the past and have always received exemplary service and excellent tasting food. Proud to be supporting this small business that's been thriving in Ahwatukee for...