Caffe Boa TEMPE — Restaurant in Tempe

Let's just start from the beginning: My husband and I walk in, and there's no one to greet us so we go straight to the bar and I get a glass of wine. Ten minutes later, we go back to the hostess station and tell them we are early for our reservation and give them our name. They look at us like we are aliens. Today is the 13th, and I just received a call to confirm the reservation that was supposed to be for the 7th. LOL. Maybe if they hadn't called to confirm the wrong date and brought back our horrible memories, we would not have taken the time to write this review. So, they seat us and I already have a glass of wine but my husband does not have a drink. We wait patiently for the server to come over...Very patiently...15 minutes go by. Then I stick my head around the corner to signal someone we need a drink and interrupt a conversation that the servers and hostesses are having. My husband ordered a drink and, we ordered the bruschetta as an appetizer . He brings the brushcetta which looks like someone poured five cans of diced tomatoes over the top of everything. After we clear off the tomato murder massacre, we eat the bread which is ok only because we are starving. And I love garlic. I put 3 cloves in almost every dish I make, but I was still tasting it when I went to bed that night and the next morning when I woke up. I ordered the ravioli with tomato cream sauce. My husband ordered the linguine and clams. While we waited for our entrees, I knew there was trouble afoot when I overheard a just seated customer ask her server what the specials of the day were. He replied with annoyance, "They're right up there on the board." Our food arrived fairly quickly but the reason for that soon became apparent. I would have needed a steak knife to cut through that ravioli. After repeated efforts to carve the ravioli with a fork, I chewed it with as open a mind as I could offer what felt like cooked plastic in my mouth. My husband asked how it was, so I offered him a bite and asked him what he thought. "It's awfully undercooked," he said. When I realize an Italian restaurant can't cook ravioli properly, I am ready to go home. We called over our server and then he got the manager. She appeared more irritated with us than anything else. She made it quite clear that she did not think there was any problem with the food. She said, "If you don't like it al dente, we can cook it more." We informed her it was closer to cardboard than al dente. If looks could kill, I would not have survived the one she shot me in that moment. Of course, she comped the untouched entrees, but there was never any apology, much less any kind of genuine sentiment about our ruined experience. In fact she made sure to remind us of the drinks and bruschetta we had ordered, as if we were trying to get out of paying for them. Honestly, if I carried cash, I would have thrown a hundred dollar bill in her face just to get out of the restaurant at that point. Throughout the experience it seemed like she was more interested in getting rid of us than making the situation right. She really added an exclamation point to what was already an awful experience. This review comes from two people who worked in the restaurant industry for several years in our teens and twenties. I've never had to write a review like this one. The one bright spot was Amber. When I called today to get the lead manager's information, she was extremely apologetic and was the first person who seemed to take the...

This was my second time dining here and I’ll say the only complaint I had was about the service. I know the food is very good which is why we chose this place for Valentine’s Day. From the moment we sat down I felt judged or predetermined to be a difficult or a no tipping family when we decided to bring our well behaved 7 year old daughter. All the other servers in our section were very attentive and accommodating to their guests while we felt like our server Olivia was not bothered to upsell, offer recommendations or even make sure we had enough silverware or water on the table. I understand that for Valentine’s Day they were offering a limited menu that was $150 per person or $100 per person if no alcohol was ordered. We opted out of alcohol for the evening just to be brought the bill with the standard price of $300 for two people drinking. We informed her of the error just for her to return with a corrected bill but with an extra 20% gratuity included for “large parties”. I did the math only to find that the gratuity claiming to be 20% was actually closer to 27% of the bill. I calculated the bill and the correct 20% tip which should have been $48-$50 which is still great if you ask me for doing nothing but order taking. Because I didn’t want to be those people, we just told her that the total doesn’t add up instead I should’ve asked why gratuity was included for a party of 3. So she left and came back with an extra $20 off the bill still leaving the $64 gratuity she intended on giving herself. My husband ordered an espresso with our dessert only to receive the dessert and no espresso. From the moment we ordered the dessert to the moment she finally checked on us halfway through the dessert it was probably 15-20 minutes we had to remind her that we ordered an espresso. Once she returned she said that it had just been made but it was cold. I work in the industry myself and I know what it takes to offer above and beyond service (more than 20% service). At this point we just paid the bill and she walked away with almost a 30% tip with less...

Sure, the food is tasty. Their salads are fresh and the sauce is great on all of their pastas. The flatbread is good (though not worth the price). HOWEVER, their service is truly terrible. We had a reservation for 15 people for a birthday party on the weekend, where we would have spent a LOT of money on drinks, appetizers, and our main meals. All we asked was whether we could bring our own cake, and we got a condescending "You should have let us know earlier. We have our own pastry chef to make cakes. That will be a $35 charge regardless of whether you cut it yourself or not." response followed by being HUNG UP ON by the manager. Needless to say, reservation canceled only 5 hours before the party! We were happy to leave the cake at home, but you don't hang up on us and still get our money and patronage. NO salad is worth that! This is not an anomaly, nor are we a group of hillbillies. The last birthday party I went to there the service was so strange and slow, even though the restaurant was virtually empty and we ordered every appetizer, multiple cocktails, entree specials and several bottles of wine. For a very pricey place, I expect to be treated as a valued customer. Want an alternative? La Bocca on Mill is just as beautiful, just as tasty, slightly less pricey, and will happy accommodate any party (even with 5hrs to go before start time) and ANY cake. Move your party down the street and give some friendly...