Ezio's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Salem

Very ashamed to have to be writing this. I came in for dinner about two and a half hours before close one night not long ago. Two other families were there, so I perceived no problem, but immediately my greeter was rude.

The waiter subsequently seemed incredibly annoyed to be dealing with us. After the other two families left, about two hours yet before their posted close, the employees felt the need to sweep only the area near my table, and turn the music off while staring daggers at me from the hosting area.

I've never felt so unwanted at a place I was going to give so much money to. Well, at least the food here is good. I knew that for sure, or so I thought. Well, much to my concern, the eggplant parm I was served seemed to be clearly just some frozen eggplant cutlets. And neatly 20 dollars at that.

Never have I seen an Italian restraunt, that preaches authenticity, use circular cutlets for their eggplants. I may be insane, but that was nearly a dead giveaway my twenty dollar meal was frozen, not made fresh.

And if I was mistaken on that front, I'll apologize and take it back, but the disdain and the sheer rudeness exhibited by the staff made sure I'd never come back here. It's been a few months and I haven't been since, and I don't intend to give them a dime ever again.

After we gave the server money for the check, he came back and just kinda threw it on the table. We left while there still was an hour and a half before close. We had been treated poorly by everyone in the building, even the guy who sweeps the floors.

I have never felt more alienated and disrespected in what's supposed to be a respected establishment. I have never in my life felt rushed out of a place I was willing to give money to, and by servers I was willing to give good tips to.

I understand if we came in a half hour before close. We didn't. These employees acted like it was a complete and total slap in their face that we even showed up. Good thing for all of us that I will never show up in this...

Good food, but absolutely TERRIBLE management and service! Do yourself a favor and just get takeout. As soon as I walked in I could tell something was off about the service. No host, so I waited to be seated because I wanted a booth. Finally just walked to the end of the bar by the kitchen and service station. Sitting by the service station was my biggest mistake. Sat down and waited another 5 mins for the bartender to ask “what do you want to drink?” No pleasantries whatsoever, not even a hello from anyone in the restaurant. While waiting for a food menu two waitresses wouldn’t stop complaining about school, finance, and jobs. Meanwhile I heard the table behind me complain to a server that nobody had helped them in 10 mins since being seated. Finally, after 10 mins, I had to ask the bartender for a food menu. Another 5-10 mins for her to take my order. 20 mins total to order food. Food came out very quickly in only 10 minutes. I got the gnocchi bolognese and a side of Italian green beans. Both pretty good, except for the “garlic” bread that was warmed sliced bread with a drizzle of oil and garlic salt. I asked for fresh parm and the response was “uh this is fresh, we fill it everyday” pointing to the parm shaker… what “Italian” place doesn’t have freshly shredded parm? This attitude from waitstaff and management just got worse and worse… non-stop complaining about tips, wanting to go home, and general drama I didn’t want to hear. It finally dawns on me that the waitstaff is miserable because of a TERRIBLE manager who was combative with an employee about taking a break… RIGHT next to me! I paid my bill and the bartender disappeared because I was last at the bar at 7:30. Walked out of the restaurant without anyone say goodbye or have a good night.

0/5 service...

Group Dinner for 25 folks. Our server did a great job for us. Ezio's is an odd medium sized restaurant featuring Italian cuisine. How is it odd you might ask. How many Italian restaurants have a stuffed bison head over the bar? Simple 2 page menu. Entrees come with a salad. House dressing is a balsamic/Italian mix. I ordered Sausage Diavolo. My companion Chicken Marsala with pasta. The Diavolo was outstanding great taste with a definite kick. Sauce thick enough to hold to the penne pasta. The Marsala was good. But the pasta was served on the side with bolognase sauce. Typically the marsala is served over the pasta so the pasta carries the sauce. No wine list was requested or offered. I really liked Ezio's. The best Italian I have had in a long time. Highly recommend. UPDATE 9/23: Everytime I come back, I am impressed by the food. Absolutely the best sauce I have ever had. Apologies to my Mother In Law but I think she would agree. God rest her soul. It is probably good that I live 45 min away or I would eat there every day. UPDATE 4/16: The food continues to be high quality. Excellant service. But I have taken away a star. Portion size on the Sausage Diavolo and Ravioli were significantly smaller. Five ravioli at the most. They looked lost in the dish. I checked past Diavolo pics and tonight's serving was 20% smaller for same price. How much does it cost to add a handful of penne to keep the serving the same size? This wouldn't be an issue for new customers but is a big middle finger rip-off to loyal customers coming back. Ezio's has a lot going for it but this will be my last visit....