Farina Neighborhood Italian — Restaurant in Raleigh

I have never written a review before but I am so disappointed that I feel the need to. If you plan to book the private room in this restaurant, DO NOT DO IT. It is insanely expensive and not worth a single penny. If you want to go to a fancy Italian restaurant I recommend Colleta at Fenton. They have a much nicer private dining area and the service is amazing. I hosted my sweet 16 at Farina last night. Firstly, we brought in a beautiful heart shaped pink cake that I was so excited to take pictures of. Even though we brought our own “16” candles, they decided to put in their own candles that completely melted and burnt the cake. I felt like crying the whole time. The pictures did not turn out great and not once did they ask if we had any candles we’d like to add to the cake. When we were packing all our to-go boxes, my mom asked the waitress to also put the cake in a box as well. However, she didn’t. When we got home and realized the cake was missing we went back only to realize that they threw the cake away. The cake was handmade and very expensive. If that wasn’t enough, they didn’t even clean the table before serving the cake. It was very messy. I asked the waitress if she could close the door in the private room where the party was hosted but she didn’t close it completely and we could hear and see everyone else and they could hear and see us. A friend told me that when i left to use the bathroom, a lady literally came in the room. My mom asked if she needed anything and she said “No, I’m just checking the room out.” When we told them about this, all they really said was “Oh, my apologies.” Keep in mind a sweet 16 is a ONE time experience and a milestone age and I feel that the restaurant experience completely ruined it. Words cannot express how angry and frustrated I feel. Weeks have passed as I edit this review I still have not gotten over how heartbroken I am over this. I will definitely not be visiting this restaurant again.

Edit: (In response to owner’s review) Yes, I am 16. I logged into my account in my mom’s phone a while ago and she had mistakenly put that review under my account instead of hers. However, this is the first review I have written. In response to the candle scenario, the root of the problem lies in the fact that I did not even want the candles that you guys added in the first place. The waitress had already lit the candles and placed them in the cake, and when she put the cake in front of me the candles had already started to melt. We wanted to add our OWN candles. We expected the cake to come by itself and we would add the candles ourself and have the lighter. She had never asked for permission before adding those in. You pointed out how we left the candles in the cake for a significant amount of time but I looked between the time stamps of the photos of the cake and it was literally only five minutes… If that’s your definition of a “significant amount of time” then so be it. The candles we added didn’t react the same way yours did. Also, technically it wasn’t really a “discount”. We had a small party and didn’t get a lot of food as a larger party would so we just got the money that we didn’t spend on food back. Thanks for taking accountability for the cake however it was incredibly disappointing to see such an expensive cake...

Awful place. Took us at least 7 minutes to be greeted but did not make a big deal. Right away I ordered the calamari which was undercooked. I ordered an alcoholic beverage and that was horrible. I was inclined to send it back but I didn’t want to cause trouble for the server as I could see that she was busy. I ordered the scampi and my partner ordered the chicken Parmesan. His food was great. I noticed that the scampi had too much garlic and told the waitress to replace it with the Parmesan. Her manager came back and stated that they will still be charging me for my food because she came over and asked at least three or four times if we were OK and I told her yes. In reality, she had only came twice and at that point I had only taken one bite so everything was OK. It wasn’t until maybe the second or third bite I realized the garlic was a bit overwhelming. But SO WHAT? This isn’t America? I can’t change my mind about whether I like something or not? The manager also stated because my boyfriend finished his meal by the time I said something I waited too long to speak up and he couldn’t do anything. I explained to him that my boyfriend is a big guy 250 pounds who hadn’t eaten all day, he finishes food in 10 minutes when he isn’t hungry!! I would have sent it back a lot sooner but again I noticed she was busy with a party and other tables and did not want to overwhelm her. As a server in college, I understand how it is. I waited to tell her about my food until I saw that she was less busy. When the waitress came over she laughed in my face and blatantly lied about how many times she came over. The manager told me that he would still charge me for the food even though I barely took three bites. Very unprofessional and horrible customer service. On top of me not liking the calamari or the drink, which I could have sent back and didn’t, I didn’t like the food either. The bill came up to $90 and $50 of that was of items that I did not even like or eat. They just seem greedy and money hungry. The money honestly wasn’t the issue. I’m an attorney. I already planned on leaving a great tip even though the food was not that great. That was the first time since high school that I did not...

I'm not usually one to leave a review unless the service or experience was top tier, which in this instance it truly was! I just got home from Farina after a lovely solo dinner. It was my first time dining there and I'm so happy I chose to do so. The ambiance was spacious, yet cozy. I sat at the bar style seating near the brick oven. I had a front row seat to watching the pizzas get made, as well as my own personal space heater. It was wonderful! I ordered the Balsamic Roasted Mushroom Pasta and it was delicious! So creamy, flavorful, and fresh! All the flavors were robust and blended together nicely. However, despite the atmosphere and food being delicious, that is not what compelled me to leave this review.

The reason I was dining tonight was to honor and celebrate my Dad's birthday. My father died suddenly last month and today he would've been 70. To remember him, his life, and his good ole Italian roots, I found this restaurant and decided to dine for him. After my dinner, I asked my waiter Steve for a favor. I told him about my dad and today being his birthday. I asked if it would be possible to get a birthday cannoli to celebrate him. The level of empathy and compassion Steve showed toward my situation was beyond heartwarming. He said absolutely and proceeded to come back with a birthday cannoli garnished with a candle. He asked what my father's name was and told him happy birthday. I balled like a baby! It was the most perfect birthday remembrance I could've asked for for my dad. The cannoli was also top tier! On top of that, the cook who was making the pizzas, though he didn't know much English, he checked on me after I finished crying and made kind, comforting gestures like holding his heart and giving me thumbs up. Talk about an awesome team of people!!

All in all, I will definitely be back and telling friends about this place. I want to say a huge thank you to Steve for making tonight so special for me and my dad. It meant the absolute world to me! May God bless you and your family! Thank you Farina Neighborhood...