Sorella — Restaurant in Town of Bethel

Cliff notes version: long waits, bus boy runs his hands through his hair constantly while filling water, clearing tables and setting tables. Food is lacking in flavor. Floaties in water when poured out of water pitcher. Staff overwhelmed and inattentive to details. Nice décor and jazz music.

The Details: Came in with a friend for dinner, we sat on the restaurant side. The bus boy initially sat us at the bar but then moved us to a table telling us they couldn't serve food at the bar. Must not have been someone on staff specifically for the bar that night. The back portion of the restaurant was closed limiting the number of tables they had available. Three couples were already seated and at different stages of their meal when we arrived. After we were seated our waitress took our drink order about 10 minutes later. We ordered our dinner when she brought the drinks. Chicken piccata and veal piccata. I wanted to substitute the oil and garlic broccoli for the side pasta but she said no substitutions. I advised her I wouldn't be eating the pasta my friend would take it to go home. Dinners came with side salad and bread as well. After placing our orders and waiting for 25 minutes we finally asked the bus boy about the bread. He told us it comes out with the salad. We looked at him, the table and each other. Ok, we don't have our salads either, when will they come out? The bread comes out with the salad was what he repeated two more times before we asked for him to find our waitress. She came out 5 minutes later with our salads and bread. Two minutes later she came out with dinner, chicken parm and veal parm. We asked why it wasn't piccata and she said we ordered parm. (She never repeated our orders back to us when we placed them.) I advised her I would not have ordered parm because I can't eat it. She took them back and offered to have our meals made it would be about 20 more minutes. My friend declined hers, I chose to get mine. I should have declined as well. The sauce was very runny and overly salted and lemony. The chicken did not taste fresh. My friend tried to eat her linguine but it was covered in tomato sauce (not what you put on linguine when serving with piccata). It was overcooked, soggy and gross. Broccoli with oil and garlic was steamed bland plain broccoli which was put on a plate then covered in oil and garlic. The bread was stale and not even warmed up. As we looked around the restaurant and watched the other tables, we noticed we were not the only dissatisfied customers. It seemed in fact all of the tables were having similar issues. Several tables opted to have their food brought in to go containers since the kitchen was taking too long. One couple got up and walked out shortly after arriving as they were ignored for 10 minutes by any server. Another couple said good luck to us after they paid their bill and were leaving, it seemed they were having food quality and service issues as well. Most of their food was left uneaten. We watched the bus boy run his hands through his hair as he set tables with dishes he carried out in his hands and tucked under his arm in his armpit. We would not recommend this place at all for dine in. We can not speak to the pizzeria side...

Last evening, I happen to be in the Kauneonga Lake area seeing an elderly friend and I decided to get a pizza for her as she recently moved into the area and had not unpacked yet. I went to Sorella pizzeria and as I walked into the place I noticed it had a nice retro ambiance. I was met by three friendly people - two staff and the owner who was making the pizzas. I noticed that the display pizzas were old looking and I immediately thought I would not order any of these slices. I hoped that if I ordered a whole pie it would be fresher and better than what was on display. So, I went ahead and ordered a large regular pie for my friend and carefully watched as the owner made the pie. I noticed right away that she made it with way too much sauce, and way too little cheese. In light of these observations, I decided to order a large pie but to ask for light sauce, and extra cheese. I added 1/2 sausage and 1/2 pepperoni, with fresh garlic on the whole pie. I was expecting some nice pizza! Unfortunately what I got was disgusting...! I drove home with my pie and was really looking forward to a nice dinner. It was late by the time I got home and I made the mistake of not inspecting the pie before I left Sorella's. My wife and I opened the box and were shocked. There was no extra cheese, no taste of garlic, and there was so much sauce it could not possibly have been light sauce. We had only three slices (although my wife threw her slice away) before we had to stop eating because it was so bad. What is even worse is I called Sorella's the next day and spoke with the owner - she remembered me because the pizza I ordered was kind of unique. After I explained that the pie was not made the way I wanted she became defensive and when I asked if I could return the five slices and get a new pie she refused because I "waited 24 hours" before contacting her. She also insisted she made the pie with extra cheese and light sauce. In my opinion, she has poor customer service and she makes a...

We stumbled upon this gem while out on a road trip in the Bethel / Woodstock area across from Kauneonga Lake. Sorella Restaurant is owned & operated by wife & husband team, Crissy & Gerry. There is a pizzeria, as well as, a formal dining room with linen table cloths & napkins which has a retro vibe & is also seasonally decorated for Halloween. A beautiful party room is available with a dance floor for your special events. When we were seated, we requested music by Frank Sinatra & were happily accommodated.

The red sauce is made from scratch. The eggplant parmigiana is made to order & was so flavorful & delicious; no breadcrumbs. The entrees are served with a super fresh side salad & a choice of pasta.

There is an extensive wine list & for those who may prefer their red wine chilled, red & white wines were available chilled or room temperature.

The desserts were very fresh & the cannoli shell was crispy & filled to order.

The only thing missing was the people. We were the only table in the dining room on a dreary Saturday afternoon. It's a great time of year to get out & enjoy the beautiful foliage, so make Sorella Restaurant part of your road trip!

P.S. We ordered the freshly made lasagna to go & heated it for dinner upon our return to Jersey. It was fabulous! Very lite filled with the perfect balance of ricotta, ground beef & sausage just like my mother-in-law used to make. If you are in the area, order it for Thanksgiving & save yourself the time &:effort. You will not be disappointed. I wish we...