The Hill Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Springfield

I am giving The Hill 2 stars, but I think they could easily fix several of the things I didn't like about this place. First, the service was really poor...someone had to tell a server to go to my table after I had been there a while, and I also noticed other tables in her section attempting to get her attention to get refills, the check, etc. with that said, I know that bad servers sometimes work at great restaurants, so that didn't really affect my rating much since I go to restaurants for good food. The second thing I was surprised to discover, is that while they had a salad bar, they only had one type of salad dressing available, with few toppings. They DID have premixed Caesar salad, but I was looking for something a little lighter. The house dressing that they had available was not similar to any Italian dressing I have had in the past. In fact, it tasted A LOT like Asian sesame dressing, made out of sesame oil, soy sauce, etc. I didn't finish my salad, because I honestly didn't think it was very good, even for an Asian sesame dressing. As for the other food available, there were TONS of options...definitely something for everyone....BUT, all but one of the dishes I tried were only slightly warm, and were DEFINITELY not hot, or anywhere near a temperature at which food should be served. This temperature issue really confuses me, because all of the food is constantly being replaced by cooks from the kitchen, and it is all under heat lamps and in proper heating containers on the buffet...but the tortellini was literally cool when I bit into it...without a doubt cooler than 98.6 degrees. The cold food definitely made it hard to like anything I tried...but I am confident there were multiple dishes I would have liked if they wouldn't have been cold...I just felt like I was eating leftovers that I couldn't heat up instead of fresh food. The chicken Parmesan was crispy and had great flavor, the spicy house pasta was good, and the fried ravioli was tasty...I just wish they wouldn't have been cold. Overall, I feel like The Hill COULD be a good place to eat, if they fixed some of the issues that made the whole experience a little disappointing. I didn't try any of the desserts, but they looked pretty great, if you like sweets. I doubt I will give this place another shot, but I'm glad I tried it...

I will preface this review by saying that I normally dislike buffet restaurants. While this one was above average I would still say it was only "Okay". The decor was very nice and the place was very clean. Similarly the seating areas were comfortable and the staff was very courteous and helpful. Once I got in line for food (I hate the line ride!) I noticed that many of the dishes were with a similar sauce, a thin garlic cream sauce. I'm normally a fan of a creamy pasta but there was much lacking from these options. There didn't seem to be as much garlic as I would have liked and possibly a little Parmesan cheese or something for a nutty flavor to brighten it up. Other options were available like Chicken Marsala and Chicken Parmesan and both were delicious. The toasted ravioli were not consistently done, either a little chewy or crispy. The marinara sauce was bright, tangy and quite tasty. So in general stick to the red sauce items. They also had some mac and cheese and some pizzas which I did not try but looked pretty good. The desert options were great and that is what saved the day. Tiramisu, creme brulee, and fresh crepes were all delicious. Ice cream and cannolis were also available but I had run out of room. Lastly, the price for a good buffet always gets me. I would rather order one item and pay just for that. The Saturday lunch price was $14.95 not including a beverage which is reasonable by buffet standards but far more than I would have spent if I ordered a single dish elsewhere. Instead I always feel I must eat more to justify the spend. This results in me leaving with a full belly and eventually regret in over-eating and spending more than I wanted. While I was not surprised by some bland and under/over cooked food as everything was prepared in bulk and left to sit under warming lamps. Some of the items were quite tasty and the variety was good not to mention that the dessert was excellent. Overall I would give it 3/5 stars. If you enjoy a buffet for variety then this may be for you. Otherwise I think there are better options to dine at in...

I think if there ever was a definition of mediocrity. This would have been it.

The food wasn't... Bad... It certainly wasn't good either. It was food. It was edible. But everything, was bland. And uninteresting.

I came in with low expectations. It's a buffet, I'm not expecting world class, world famous dining experiences. But everything. And I do mean everything was the very definition of EHH.

The restaurant itself was nice enough. Until you saw the tables were largely scratched, and wobbly. The plates had many that were chipped and mismatched. The silverware was clean (thank goodness) but again. Felt cheap while trying to look expensive.

The food was again, rather blah. It had so little seasoning I'm not sure it had any at all. One dish in particular, the Garlic meatballs. I was so excited for. I love garlic. And the pairing of Italian seasoning with a decent meatball in a garlic sauce had my mouth watering. Until I got a few of them, and they were mushy, tasteless, vaguely round probably meat offerings. It was a huge let down. And the classic meatballs weren't soggy... (They were still rather bland but the were at least firm and still meat flavored)

The spaghetti was over cooked. The ravioli was okay at best, the Mac and cheese was again, so bland I'm not sure it had any flavor. The spicy chicken was spicy... Sort of. The pizza.. was actually surprisingly well done.

The most enjoyable part of the meal was the dessert. Which while I'm not certain (as I didn't check their stock or ask) I'm pretty sure was store bought. As it was still on the little cardboard plate it comes on when you buy it at the store. It was however delicious and we had multiple pieces of the creme brulee cake. And the ice cream.

Over all it was as middle of the road as things could possibly be. It wasn't bad. It certainly wasn't good, in every respect a restaurant could possibly...