Pendolino — Restaurant in Sandy Springs

Just not what we expected. As someone who lives in the neighborhood, I had tried to pop in here a few times, they were always full (and there always seemed to be a lot of children, especially running loose on the patio). So, made an 830 dinner reservation expecting that to be too late for families. We sat inside, thankfully, as the patio was full of children running, screaming and literally doing cartwheels between the tables. I love that kids are being included and they’re having a good time, but again, judging by the ambience presented online, this is not the type of restaurant we thought we were visiting. Inside, it was so incredibly loud we had trouble talking to each other, even with the restaurant half empty.

We ordered a bottle of bubbles and had cocktails for dessert. A few appetizers, a pizza, and a few entrees. We loved the pizza and may be back for that. Everything else was just, meh. Pasta dishes were very overcooked, mushy messes. Fish dishes were cooked well, but so incredibly salty and slathered in puréed parsley. Everything seemed to come so close to hitting the mark, but then completely missed it. There isn’t anything on the menu we’d order again except the pizza.

The service was fabulous and I know this is a brand new place. I may visit in a few more months and see if things have improved. If you want to grab a loud, energy filled bite with the family or a friend, I’d say go! If you’re looking for an upscale experience, if you want to celebrate something special, or if you’d like to have a ambience filled evening with your partner, this is...

I visited Pendolino for the first time on February 22nd as a group of girls wanted to celebrate a late Galantines day. The food served was a family style which we did on purpose since there were about 15 of us. The food was okay, in my opinion it was way overpriced but it might have been that we picked from a general menu item (I’m not sure). The group had a good time BUT it took a huge turn at the end of the meal as the manager came to the table to “HURRY us along” because he need to close the registers and send his employees home. There’s an explanation why we took “long” to pay. When we first asked about a big group eating there, we asked if there were any issues with every person paying their own transaction. They said no, then the day of, they said they didn’t want to or could separate the bill for each person to pay their own meal since not everyone had an alcoholic drink and it wasn’t fair that everyone paid the same amount when that’s not what they ordered. While the group was trying to figure out how to pay everyone’s meal, the manager made his way to the table to say his VERY RUDE comment to the group like we didn’t just spend $1,400 on the restaurant. Let me note that there were other people in the restaurant and we were not the last ones out. To me, this is a one and done. There are PLENTY of restaurants that would appreciate our business and this place was...

Disappointing Birthday Dinner at Pendolino

I went to here for my birthday dinner, expecting a nice evening, but left extremely disappointed. We started with the calamari appetizer, which was undercooked and extremely gooey from the first dew bites. I had to send it back and wait for a second order. For the main course, I ordered the lamb chops at the server’s suggestion, paying over $50 for what was mostly fat and bone. The server described the dish as two large lamb chops with a pomegranate pesto, but what I got was mostly bone with barely three bites of meat, on top of a paste with pomegranate seeds sprinkled around. It was nothing like what I expected.

To make matters worse, even though we told them it was my birthday, no one made any effort to make the occasion special. No dessert, no acknowledgment other than a postcard on the table that said "Birthday." It felt like a complete afterthought. The only redeeming part of the meal was the salad my wife ordered, which was the only thing that was actually enjoyable.

Service: Poor. The server had no idea what was going on in the kitchen and clearly didn’t know how the dishes were prepared.

Food: Fatty, undercooked, and disappointing.

Extras: If you’re celebrating a special occasion, don’t expect anything special here.

Overall, I won’t be returning and wouldn’t recommend it for a special...