A Tavolo Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Town of Chenango

I want to start with the fact that the food was very good. We have no complaints about the food or our waitress (after our initial encounter). This review is based on the service we experienced when we first arrived, which I have to say turned us off to this place immediately, and we probably won't be return because of it.

When we pulled in, there were only 2 other cars in the lot so we assumed they probably weren't too busy. We stepped in the door at 7:04 on a Sunday. Mind you, their Sunday hours list that they close at 8. MOST restaurants we have ever dined at (we eat out at least 2x a week) list their hours as the time they stop seating people, but regardless EVEN IF they were actually closing at 8, we still had almost an entire hour to be seated, eat, and leave, in my opinion/experience that was plenty of time. So 3 of us awkwardly stood in the doorway and waited as a younger waitress was busy in the waitress station across from us, not even acknowledging that we were there. A few minutes go by and another waitress came by and told us that they close at 8 and said she had to run in the back and ask if it's OK that we are there. At that point I looked at my phone and we had already been standing there for nearly 11 minutes before anyone even came up to us. In front of us, she asked the younger waitress if she was going to seat us, and she said that she was just going to finish what she was doing at the moment. The other waitress then seated us soon after.

As I said before, food was great, and staff was friendly. But this seemed a little ridiculous, and slightly unprofessional. And to top it off, we walked out the door at 7:52, before they even closed. So all of that waiting, checking, and making your guests feel awkward was for nothing, and had it not occurred, would have absolutely resulted in a 5 star review from me.

If you want to close at 8, maybe update your hours to reflect that you close at 7 instead, to avoid anyone walking in if you consider the entire last hour too late for customers to come in. Otherwise, what is the purpose of listing that you close at 8 if you expect customers to be there well before 7??? It's a little misleading.

Update- now seeing that this has been responded to, I'm a little more irritated. To start, I believe you may have generously rounded based on your cameras, but I am glad you checked to prove a point. But - maybe you should be more worried about addressing the fact that you've successfully made guests feel awkward for trying to have dinner within your business hours, in what was a completely empty restaurant...

We celebrated my birthday at A Tavolo last night. Customer Service was amazing. They made sure your glass of water was refilled, very attentive. Throughout the dinner we were never rushed and since reservations are strongly recommended, the restaurant is able to book with enough customers so excellent personal attention can be given, rather than overbooking. This made for an intimate dinner and no elbow to elbow tables full of others talking around you. The owner of the restaurant personally approached us to ask us how our meals were. I’d say outstanding!!! I ordered French Onion Soup to start and for my main course, Alfredo Fettuccine with mushrooms and extra sauce. Before I make a review of the dishes, I want to add you are served fresh bread and a nice herbal dipping sauce. Really good. The side salad was very much to my liking with fresh greens, cranberries, and nuts. I had homemade ranch dressing. The French Onion Soup was delicious, the stock was hardy with a slight sweet taste. Loaded with onions and a slice of bread, topped with good cheese to compliment. I think I could make a meal just out of the soup. My Alfredo Fettuccine was a beautiful presentation, and diving into the noodles (home made?) with a wonderful rich Alfredo sauce satisfied my curiosity with pleasant results. The ultimate yum. I can’t wait to warm up my leftovers for lunch today. If I could give this restaurant more...

I’m going to say 4 stars on food, and my server was great. The older woman, whom I guess is a career waitress was beyond rude and offensive. Quick summary: I walked in at 5pm to a completely empty restaurant and was seated on the patio on a beautiful evening. The career waitress suggested/implied I should move to a much smaller table that was basically shoved in a corner. I said no, because I was already seated and she said that all these tables were reserved. I asked her if she honestly thought that each and every table would be filled in the 45 minutes that I would be there for. She kept suggesting that I switch at which point I began telling her how rude she was actually being. So - if you don’t have to deal with her, your actual experience will be very good. The food was great. We usually eat in Endicott when we go for Italian. Some people just don’t know any better when it comes to working with the public. All good. It’s a post-Covid world. Side note: in this day & age be grateful for every...