Spiaggetta Restaurant — Restaurant in Stone Harbor

When we initially entered the restuarant, we were not greeted and I was unable to get the attention of any of several staff members. My wife and I decided to leave and walked back outside. At that point a man outside asked if we'd like to be seated and directed another staff person, who was socializing outside, to assist us. I wish I could say the service got better, but it didn't. After we were seated we were forgotten about. We had read the menus, laid them down, and waited, ... and waited. Finally, a waiter asked if we'd been helped. We said no, he apologized, introduced himself, and took our order. We were offered wine, bottled water, Perrier, or just tap water. We said tap water was fine and ordered no other drinks. Our sin was immediately apparent. Our waiter turned to a young woman and told her, "they would like tap". She quickly returned and stated, "Here is your tap." My wife and I laughed at how exaggerated this all sounded and made fun as we sat with our "tap." In addition to our "tap," we received a very small piece of a baguette, some oil, and waited again. A second server came and refilled our "tap" before I had even taken a sip. That was the only time our water was refilled. During the meal, I finished my water but was never offered, or able to get, more. (This was my only drink). Three times during our meal a different staff member came by the table and grabbed my plate, attempting to clear our table. Each time I saved my meal, telling them I was still eating. It was amazing. We couldn't get their attention to seat us, take our order or offer us water but everyone that walked by attempted to take our meal from us. I told my wife if one more person grabs my plate I'm going to gnaw their arm off at the elbow. Guarding my plate, I finally finished, still unable to get more water, excuse me, "tap". A waitress took my empty plate as she walked by, leaving us with only two empty water glasses. I kept looking around to get someone's attention. Eventually, our waiter came and asked if we would like dessert. I said no, just the check please, having decided not to prolong this awkward drought by asking for more water when the meal was now over and the dishes cleared. He brought the check and, for the next 10 or 15 minutes, our superpower of invisibility took over. Our table became a ghost town, except for us. Two people, sitting alone, nothing but empty water glasses on the table and a small black folder with my credit card sticking out of the top, waiting to pay. I asked my wife if we were supposed to take the check somewhere to pay. She assured me they were supposed to come back for it. After several more minutes, I stood up, determined to figure out where to take this check so we could leave. The waiter saw me then and came for my credit card. Wouldn't you think that since I had to ask for the check and our table had been cleared, except for the empty water glasses, that it would have occurred to someone that we'd like to pay and leave? Apparently this occurred to no one. My credit card was brought back to the table, I signed the receipt, and we stood to leave. At no point did anyone acknowledge us as we left. No comment such as 'Have a good evening,' 'Thank you for coming,' or ' Please come again". We had once again become invisible. Other than the very small baguette that was brought to the table while we waited for our meal, the food was good. The service was exceptionally poor. We were ignored when we entered, to the point of leaving. We were caught on the sidewalk by a man outside and brought back in. We had difficulty getting anyone to take our order, could not get a refill on our "tap" during the meal, struggled to keep staff from taking our plates while we were still eating. The food is good. Atmosphere is very noisy. Prices are too high. Service is the worst. Do yourself a favor, get your tap somewhere else. Avoid the false sense of sophistication and...

Unfortunately this was the worst dining experience in the 18 years we have been vacationing at SH. Had called to make reservations and the gentleman that answered the phone stated reservations were not needed since we were looking to dine around 5pm. When my family and I, (party of 4), entered we were not greeted well as the hostess appeared annoyed that we did not have a reservation. The place was wide open as it was early and there were only two other parties in the entire place. I explained that I had just called and was told no reservations needed bc of the early time. She continued to display her annoyance as she looked for a table to seat us and stated they were booked that night. However, as previously mentioned it was super early and the place was practically empty. She clearly saw the horrified face I had since I felt so unwelcome that she even tried to make a joke about her behavior stating she was “just kidding”. We were reluctantly seated and waited for 15mins for our server who was not pleasant. Food was just okay, nothing special, complete let down since I had high hopes of salvaging the dinner. We had the chicken parm, fettuccine alfredo, veal marsala, and another chicken dish. After we had finished, it took the server 20mins (yes, I timed it) to return to our table. We promptly asked for the check and could not wait to leave. I cannot tell you how unwelcome I felt. I had to put my poker face on since we were there with our teenage kids and did not want to put a blemish on the night. My husband and I frequently dine at upscale restaurants and I myself had worked at a very upscale restaurant in college so I definitely know the ins and outs of fine dining and service. Needless to say…we will not...

We have been to the restaurant approximately 10 times over the last decade , and we always look forward to spot on service, sizable portions and excellent food. We also know that the owner takes great pride in the overall dining experience. First, we were thankful that they moved our outside reservation to inside due to inclement weather.

However, either things have changed or the chef was not in the kitchen the night we went. Appetizers were very tasty, and the eggplant and artichoke appetizers were excellent., The calamari was still good, but the size compared to the past was less. From there, it went downhill. The carbonara entrée had very little taste and appeared to have been prepared with cream. I believe they forgot to season it. The spaghetti and meatballs and the spaghetti pasta included in the chicken parm was grossly overcooked and mushy. While meatballs used to be gargantuan, they were much smaller and taste was ok. The ones on the ravioli special were especially hard on the inside. The Norcina and Rapini were both good, but the latter had too much garlic and was swimming in oil. Chicken Parmesan was solid.

When food is served, they should know which person ordered which dish rather than announcing , “who had the chicken Parmesan, who had the Norcini, etc.”

Finally, we understand that there is a 20% tip on a larger party ;however, it is a big faux pas to tip on the tax. Included tip should only be on food and beverage. While the total dollar amount was not a huge difference, management should know this!

Overall, unfortunately, the meal felt expensive and although we like the owner, attention to what is going on in the kitchen maybe be helpful. I’m not certain that we...