Valentinos Ristorante Italiano — Restaurant in Rowlett

0-Star Review

We had an absolutely horrible experience at Valentino’s in Rowlett. What was supposed to be a celebration for my dad’s birthday turned into a nightmare, all because the management decided to force their tipping policy on us. Our party consisted of 4 adults and 1 child, and they demanded we leave an 18% tip, claiming it was “state law.” This is completely false—there is no law in Texas requiring tipping, let alone mandating an 18% gratuity.

When we politely questioned this, one of the women working there, who seemed to be the owner or manager, became extremely rude and disrespectful. She even told us that if we didn’t want to tip what they demanded, we shouldn’t eat out. This was beyond unprofessional and outright insulting.

We left a $10 tip on a $128 bill because that’s what we felt was appropriate for the service we received. Instead of respecting our decision, the woman berated us in front of everyone in the restaurant. She went on a tirade, calling us bad people and implying that we were cheap for not tipping more. She even said the staff relies on tips because they don’t get paid enough. If that’s the case, why doesn’t she, as the owner, pay her employees fairly instead of trying to guilt-trip customers?

As if her behavior wasn’t bad enough, another employee had the audacity to return the $10 tip we left, essentially telling us that our money wasn’t good enough for their establishment. This was the ultimate insult—it was as if she was saying our hard-earned money wasn’t worth anything.

To make matters worse, this woman began yelling at us in another language, clearly thinking we wouldn’t understand. Her tone was aggressive and disrespectful, creating a scene that was humiliating and completely unnecessary. My 8-year-old child was terrified by the entire situation and couldn’t understand why someone was yelling at her family.

The food and service were good, but the way we were treated overshadowed everything. It’s clear that this establishment cares more about forcing tips out of customers than providing a welcoming and respectful environment. We’ve never experienced a restaurant so unprofessional and aggressive about tips.

Adding insult to injury, the woman told us we were no longer welcome at the restaurant. Honestly, that’s fine—we would never step foot in this place again. Valentino’s doesn’t deserve anyone’s business if this is how they treat their customers.

Avoid this place at all costs. There are plenty of other restaurants in Rowlett where you’ll be treated with respect, and where your patronage is actually...

Our first night here, the restaurant and bathroom was very clean and I liked the decor and atmosphere. It's a cute date night or family dinner outing. The host was super friendly and funny and he accommodated us in where and what table we wanted. Our server Valida was awesome! She was super sweet, friendly, and very informative. She provided us with the special and with our first time being there recommended a couple of her favorite dishes but said that you can't go wrong with any dish.

The garlic knot breads were really good the only thing I wish was that they were just a tad softer. The first batch the top seemed just a little over done but the second batch was better. We chose the Caesar salad and it was a typical Caesar salad, I really enjoyed it because it wasn't heavily dressed with dressing. My husband can care less for salad lol. For the main dishes we ordered the Shrimp Alfredo and The Forget about It. Both dishes were great! The sauce on the Alfredo was a very well consistency, it was not too runny like some other Italian places but not super thick like a most common Italian place. The shrimp was cooked perfect, it was not over done and chewy. The noodles were also done perfectly. The Forget About It dish was delish! The flavor of the Alfredo lobster sauce was awesome, it was not too overpowering with lobster flavor, just a good hint so that it didn't over flavor the other elements. All the proteins, Shrimp, chicken, and sausage were cooked great and had a very nice flavor. The red pepper was not lost in the bunch, it was not overcooked either. The only thing I would have liked was either just a tad less sauce OR a little more bowtie pastas in the Forget About It dish to mix with the sauce ;-). I think the price was reasonable as well, the two entrees and two sodas were $46 before tip.

We definitely enjoyed this restaurant and will...

Y'all I messed up. Before I go into things I want to make one thing clear: the staff were incredibly nice and attentive. Our server was on top of everything and it was a good person to person experience. The food, however, lord mercy. The bread, swear on a cross, is Texas toast bread. We wont talk about the salad, cause it was barely a salad. I don't think I've ever ordered a drink and not finished it. It's alcohol, who wouldn't drink it all? But it was a sugary mess. I go out of my way for sweet drink and even I couldn't down it. My sister ordered the chicken parm. Breaded chicken, cream, parm and pasta, doesn't seem hard to mess up, right? But everything was bland. I understand it's a shopping center restaurant next to a gas station.... Maybe I had my hopes set too high. My tortellini aurora was tasteless and the sauce was watery. Not enough cheese or butter for the sauce. Overcooked pasta.

There seemed to be a common theme aside from garish decor, under seasoned food. Chicken bullion isn't expensive y'all, honestly.

I think I could have forgiven everything if it hadn't all been so overpriced.

Never have I seen such a disconnect between passion and professionalism from staff and such a failure in execution on food.I walked away hungry but was reminded of something very important. No amount of passion and dedication is substitute for skill...