Trattoria Pasquale — Restaurant in Tampa

Awful server. I ate at Trattoria Pasquale last night for the first time, and was so excited to try out a new Italian restaurant in the area since I recently moved here. I asked two of my girlfriends to join me. Our waiter was Julio C. When we arrived, we knew we wanted to share a bottle of Italian wine, but since we are not familiar with Italian wines, I asked Julio if he could recommend something Italian, red and smooth. I told him I really like Belle Glos so I was looking for something somewhat similar. Julio told me to just order the Belle Glos. I reminded him that we wanted an Italian wine and he told me he didn’t really know anything about wine but would consult with the bartender and come back with 2 wines for us to taste. He brought us back our samples and we decided on the first bottle the bartender recommended. Julio responded to us by saying “now that you took forever to choose your wine, I’ll go get your bottle and maybe then I can finally go over the menu with you”. My friends and I all looked at each other with surprised faces but brushed it off as a joke and didn’t think too much into it. When Julio returned, he poured our wine and then said “I’m going to go over the menu now if that’s okay since you took 45 minutes to pick your wine”. I responded with “45 minutes? We have only been here 15 minutes total”, and I shook my head to let him know his attitude was bothering me. When it was time to order, I chose the lasagna and a side of penne pomodorro. Julio interrupted me during my order and said “are you really going to order pasta on top of pasta?!” in another rude tone. I was a little confused by his question so I answered “no, I don’t want the penne served on top of my lasagna, I want it served as a side”, and Julio responded with “no, I understand that, I just don’t understand why you are ordering pasta with pasta. Makes no sense.” Thankfully my friend answered for me and said “She wants to taste both flavors, is that an issue?” and Julio just stared at us blankly and then walked away. My friend had planned to order a side of penne with her meal as well, but was too afraid to order it after the way Julio responded to my order. The restaurant ended up being out of lasagna so I changed my main dish to the gnocchi. A few other minor details: Julio never refilled our water. My friends kept trying to find him for a glass of water with her dessert, but he never returned. He also didn’t make sure we had silverware with our dessert (our silverware was taken away when our dinner plates were cleared). But I was able to flag someone down for new forks. I’m not really sure what Julio’s issue was last night. He was extremely sweaty so I just imagine maybe he was irritable because he was hot? I know I can get a little irritable when I’m overheated. Or maybe he wasn’t feeling well or was hungover or something? I’m not sure but I can say that all of the other staff members were great. The hostess was very sweet, and anyone who stopped by our table to bring our salad, bread and meal were very friendly and smiling. And the food was delicious. In total, I spent $61.33 for my meal, the wine, plus the tiramisu and an espresso martini for dessert. Typically I would tip 25-30% tip on a meal, but I only tipped Julio 18%. I know a lot of people would have tipped much lower or not tipped at all, but I don’t believe in treating someone poorly just because they treat you poorly. My grand total was $71.33. For that price, I don’t think I would return any time soon just because the way Julio treated us ruined the entire experience for me. It just goes to show how important it is to have good wait staff. They can make or break your entire experience. If you go to the restaurant, I would highly advise you ask to be served by...

NEVER GOT TO FOOD, SERVICE STAFF DISINTERESTED/RUDE AND WALKED OUT

Went to do advanced check before arranging important dinner there, glad I did (don’t trust reviews completely)

Walked in at 9 pm, cute guy greeting was nice, told him was for dessert, coffee and scoping place out, etc.

Got seated main dining, guy told me he’d get my server to come.

Place mostly full, lots of service staff, but staff all relaxed (seemed rush over, most people served…), no one running or rushed. Was at obvious table in full view, looked at menu, put it down waited…

First couple servers walked by, none would look directly at me - no big deal but noticeable.

Few more staff walked by, fairly relaxed, some waiters talking together in small groups of 2, again, no one would look me in the face and acknowledge my presence.

5-10 minutes gone by, now getting little odd.

Waitress serving tables immediatley to my left and right comes to them, once, twice, third time, she doesn’t look at or acknowledge me either.

Did not look or was doing anything weird, not buried in my phone, just looking calmly around room, and directly at all wait staff nearby.

10-15 minutes, gone from odd to weird vibe in place.

After 15+ minutes of 15-20 nearby passes of somewhat relaxed staff with no direct looks, never mind a proffesional “hello, I’ll get you server”, or “hi, I’m your server, I’ll be right with you…”, I stood up and walked out.

Told greeter of experience on the way out, and while he said the right words (“oh, i’m sorry, that shouldn’t happen…”) he clearly had no interest in doing anything about it, and his expression and tone was more like he didn’t want to hear it and “why are you having a problem with us, we are so popular…”

That all said - diners seemed happy, menu looked decent, fairly priced, etc. If you don’t mind a “…we are popular and special, and pay attention to you when we feel like it, maybe…” attitude, then might be worth a try.

Not me however - don’t care how good the food is if staff is like this.

23 MARCH - in response to Trattoria Pasquale's message, below:

You have not been misquoted -- the approximate words and attitude of your greeter were as stated.

Otherwise -- I will not take you up on your offer. Different styles for different places and people - you had a dining room full of people who looked happy so clearly not everyone shares my requirements or impressions.

But, in my view -- you have a fundamental cultural problem that doesn't fit with me.

I explain as follows - a server who is focused on seeing that all customers are satisfied and happy will keep their eyes open as they pass through the dining area to see if anyone is looking up trying to meet their glance and likely is looking for help. Such a server will acknowledge the customer looking for help, find out their need, and either help them directly or get someone else to do so quickly (staff supporting staff supporting customers...).

If one server doesn't do this, well, not great... If a few don't do it, there is a problem of staff selection, training, and supervision.

If THE ENTIRE STAFF THAT PASSES BY -- 8 to 10 by my count, including 2 serving adjacent tables -- avoid eye contact so as not to have to help someone clearly looking for a server, you have a cultural problem.

The cultural problem was confirmed by the attitude of the greeter when I relayed my experience to him.

Not my...

Disappointing is an understatement, we have been here so many times over the last few years, but this evening will be the last... we made a reservation for 9:30 got there at 9:15 and was seated right away. Our waitress Taylor was super bubbly and seemed so nice even gave us recommendations. We ordered the meatballs and calamari appetizers, some one came from the back and said they were out of calamari. Taylor came back and we ordered the salmon croquettes instead. Within a few mins the salmon croquettes came out, i cut one open and it was not cooked inside, had to send it back. Orderred dinner everything came out good except the gnocchi, we added chicken to the gnocchi, it came plain. When we said something Taylor said the kitchen is remaking it with chicken. About 10 mins later a small bowl of chicken came out no gnocchi, chicken was dry also. Taylor came and said she is so sorry not sure whats going on with the kitchen she's just going to remove the meal off the bill. We said ok and kept eating. Got the bill and the Gnocchi was still on there, when we asked her she said, she removed the chicken add on to the gnocchi but left the gnocchi on the bill. I said thanks for removing the chicken we did not eat. Frustrated with the lack of service i asked for a manager. Q the manager on duty, came over to our table. I explained to him how our evening was and shared that we felt like we were being rushed out since the closed at 10 pm. Shared that maybe they should not take a reservation for later in the evening if they would be rushing the food and guests. He just stood there and did not say anything. Worst reaction from a manager, being in a service industry myself, i expected better. No apologies or offer to make it right. This used to be such a great place. It's so sad to see its decline. I will leave my original review below for comparison and do hope the owner reads this and fixes the issues.

"One of the best Italian restaurants I've been to. Everything we had was delicious. Lasagna, veal Parmesan, gnocchi, nonno pasquale, and the grouper special was amazing. We had one of each dessert and they were all good, Fave was the Tiramisu. Coffee and latte was great also. Service was phenomenal, thanks to Jackie!! She took excellent care of us. Will be back!!"

Sad to say we will not be back and will no longer be recommending this place to our many...