Renzo's Trattoria and Pizzeria — Restaurant in San Antonio

I dislike leaving bad reviews and typically don't as long as there's a redeeming quality in which I'm able to say "Well, at least that was good".

Unfortunately, this particular case, the negatives simply outweighed whatever positive experience we had.

Off the bat, the hostess, very sweet, seemed very lost in her seating estimates. Although the quote of time for the wait was reasonable, it seemed weird a restaurant with four empty tables for 30 minutes couldn't sit one or two of the parties ahead. I'm guessing they were cancelled reservations. At some point they said our table was ready, hostess disappeared for bit and we were sat something like 15-20 minutes later (going based on timing I sent a text out) which seemed like a bad start. I'm fine if you say "Wait is gonna be an hour" and then sit us an hour or so later, but to say the table is ready and we're about to be sat only to wait an additional 15-20 minutes was kind of annoying.

We were sat, our server had a good attitude and was friendly, but lost. I'm assuming she's newer to the industry.

A few examples that seemed a bit off. We were not served bread yet everyone around us was. Which is when we noticed that bread was provided. We were not provided wine glasses at the offset yet everyone else was when the tables were set. Bread was forgotten a couple of times when asked. Never provided butter. Minor annoyances, but not individually enough to warrant a review but they all add up.

The table had ordered a pizza as an appetizer yet it was never brought, our server told us it was coming only to come out a few minutes later and ask us what it was we ordered (obviously it had not been put in). Our other appetizer came out which was the fried calamari, shrimp and eggplant or whatever it was. The eggplant and shrimp was fine but the calamari had no flavor and for the amount of food on the plate , they're pretty skimpy on marinara sauce and the plate was just full of oil. Yeah, I know, fried food, but even in my experience working in the industry, we would let the fried items drip a bit so that they're not covered in oil when they're served and on top of oil in plate to avoid the flavor you get when food is swimming in oil... No dice on the appetizer.

They seemed out of a lot of products for some reason, which was strange considering it was midweek and a slow evening.

Food came out. One plate had a glaze on the steak that was absurdly sweet and just not very good. Bolognese was a bit too much on the salty end, and one at our table enjoyed their pasta with chicken. so 1/3. Condiments for the pasta and steaks were brought out about 3/4 of the way through, so we were all pretty much finished. Sadly, we originally went to try the pizza , but never received it... all the food was brought out already and we weren't going to wait for them to prep it and bring it AFTER we'd had eaten the pasta.

Someone at our table asked for a dessert, but they were out of tiramisu even though they advertise it often.

All in all, we had wanted to try this place given how heavily they've been pushing into marketing. It's a tiny location, but it's a nice place. The one drink I had a sip of was good.

I think all in all, it just felt like no one was acknowledging there was a screw up. It would've made a world of difference if someone would just come up to the table and said "Hey we screwed up, we apologize, this is an off day for us etc etc". I thought it was just us, but there was 6 top next to us that also had some issue going on.

I will say that the pizza actually looked good. So if you do decide to try this place out, I hope they've fixed whatever is going on at the front of the house and give you a decent pie, assuming it ever arrives...

Let's talk about the good. The food is delicious and the dining area is modern and chic. Our server Dallas was very pleasant and provided nice service. The location of the restaurant is excellent. However, the front of the house has some challenges to overcome as they try to manage reserved tables. I called for a reservation on a Thursday and the dining room was booked all the way to 8 pm on Saturday. Excellent problem! The reservation clerk offered to reserve us a table outside on the patio. I was concerned it would be cold with the recent cold front blowing in. She stated they have heaters and it should be fine so I accepted 6:30 (I requested 7 but she said they book in 90 minute blocks). We arrived right on time (I'm retired from the military) and it's worth noting that the dining room that she said was booked solid, had 4 empty tables. One of the three hostesses led us to a table in the far corner of the patio. They had live entertainment and unfortunately the singer was so loud it was hard to carry a conversation. It's unfortunate that management allowed the entertainer to be concert loud in a fine dining establishment. The table was not located near a heater so I asked the hostess to seat us at one of the empty tables near one of the heaters (my initial concern on the phone). She said she'd check with management and disappeared while we stood there waiting. She reappeared and offered another corner table but not near the heater. By this time, I was annoyed by the overly loud music and said this wouldn't work. We walked back into the entryway where we were again confronted by those still empty tables. I asked how long we needed to wait until we could sit at one and she hummed and hawed and said 15 to 20 minutes. In my opinion, if someone's that late, they lose the reservation. Anyway, we told her we'd wait and sat in the waiting area. The bar tender came over quickly and offered us drink service and because we were annoyed with the situation, we politely declined. About a minute later, the manager in a blue blazer saw us, scurried about and approached us and said he was seating us right now. Our server quickly approached, offered us drinks, we ordered wine and had an excellent meal. The way the restaurant manages reservations leaves a lot to be desired. We were there for 90 minutes and 3 or 4 tables remained empty the entire time! The food and atmosphere is good enough where I'll go back but I'll not accept a seat on the patio if they have live entertainment scheduled....

We made a reservation for 6:30 on a Saturday and showed up around 6:20. No waiting around—they sat us right away, and the hosts were super friendly and welcoming. A great start.

Our server, Mike, was fantastic. He was friendly, knew the menu well, and was refreshingly honest about the food. His recommendations were on point and didn’t feel pushy at all.

We kicked things off with drinks. My wife ordered the limoncello martini, which was bright, lemony, and not overly sweet. Turns out they make the limoncello in-house, and you can tell—it was really fresh. One was just the right amount. I had the Dolce Vita cocktail, which had a great mix of whiskey, vanilla-infused demerara, and walnut bitters. Smooth and balanced—nothing overpowered the other.

For the antipasti, we split the fritto misto. The shrimp and calamari were perfectly crispy, with more calamari than shrimp, but still a good portion. What stood out was the arugula—it wasn’t just for garnish. It added a peppery, citrusy bite that really elevated the dish.

For our mains, my wife went with the carbonara—a solid portion, not overly creamy, and a perfect ratio of spaghetti to pancetta. The spaghetti was cooked just right. I had the short rib ravioli alla vodka—rich and creamy with just the right kick of spice. The ravioli were big and stuffed, served piping hot and full of flavor.

We weren’t done yet—we ended the meal with another round of drinks. The espresso martini was a showstopper: not too bitter, creamy froth, and beautifully presented. My wife joked she could’ve had 20 more. I ordered the carajillo, which had a great blend of cocoa and cinnamon. The flavors were rich, warm, and smooth—definitely a must for coffee lovers.

Overall, the experience was excellent. The ambiance was lovely, music was at a perfect volume, and service throughout was great. The only small critique is that the seating in the front room felt a little tight—we were close to other tables—but honestly, it didn’t take away from how much we enjoyed ourselves.

We’ll...