Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

For the 3rd time, we looked forward to Christmas Eve Feast of the 7 Fishes having been in 2014 and 2015. Sadly 2018 was not the year for fine dining at Spuntino. There was clearly a change from previous years as the restaurant was more than half empty and seemed as if the staffing was limited as well. Our next indicator was when our waiter asked if he could bring out 2 courses at a time to which I replied "As long as they don't get cold." I was surprised at this request having dined at many Michelin star and other less awarded restaurants for chef's menus and never is more than one course presented at a time. The first two courses were acceptable - smoked salmon bruschetta followed by lobster fritters which were more fritter and barely any lobster. The next course was presented with two together - 2 warm dishes, scallops and mussels which meant that one dish did get cold while we ate the other. The mussels were lackluster and the scallops were only edible while warm. Next was the shrimp ceviche made us all giggle as we tried to find shrimp in the bowl of tomatoes. I believe we each had 1-2 pieces of shrimp, not whole shrimp but small cut up pieces. Squid ink pasta was next but alas there was none available and a chef came out to explain offering a different pasta which appeared overdone upon arrival and then we tasted it - HORRIBLE! It was a soggy mess and salted to the point of tasting like someone had dumped a massive bowl of salt in the boiling water. How do you mess up pasta? Our last course was swordfish and for some reason that took forever to arrive. Upon arrival, the pieces were so overdone we could have used them to play hockey. At least we had an explanation as to why the swordfish took so long ... it was being cooked to a perfected hardness. We were all laughing by this time at the disaster of a meal. We couldn't wait to get out of there and continue on with our Christmas Eve celebration elsewhere. Of course paying the bill seemed to take eons to get a waiter's attention. Of note, two of us did the wine pairing as well and the waiter presented 2 glasses at a time. While we have enjoyed several meals at Spuntino and even were greeted by the chef when they were first opened, our time dining at this establishment is over. On to...

I have been here a few times and found the tapas to be great and reasonably priced. I did have a slightly poor experience this time though, hence the four star rating. The first issue was a minor one. One of the yellow carrots in my baby grilled vegetables was undercooked, leaving it with a raw crunchiness in the center of it. The second issue was with the service. I ate at the bar and while I felt the bartender was friendly and had a pleasant personality. I felt his quality of service could stand to improve greatly. Examples of this we're first with my beverage (I only had a cola). When he brought my original beverage it didn't have a straw (minor thing, but this is the first time this has happened to me here.) He did bring me one when I asked for it. When I needed a refill he confirmed it was a Coke, but he failed to add ice to my beverage, which Had none in it at this point. My final complaint with service had to do with him disappearing for what was at least 5 mins, but probably closer to 10. (I timed 5 mins of it as I was waiting) when he did come back he helped customers on both sides of me and then disappeared for a couple of more mins, before he came back and acknowledged me. During this time period I had finished eating and my plates were empty and my beverage was empty. While I understand that sometimes bartending you get called away, my server needs to do a better job of recognizing customer needs and anticipating the timing of when they may need a refill, especially if they are going to be gone for a bit or making sure they check on everyone when they come back. Otherwise I have always enjoyed this restaurant when I have been in the area, I was actually there on Monday and the bartender that night was excellent and the food was also. That's why I gave 4 stars, whereas tonight I would have only...

We have eaten here several times and loved every meal so when it came time to have our daughter’s 1st communion we thought this would be a good spot. Before I begin I want to give a shout out to the people who made this party spectacular Nicole, Gaby and the rest of the waitstaff. The manager Nicole who helped us with planning the party and going thru the menu was great, she always responded very quickly to any questions or changes we wanted very quickly, she was a pleasure to work with. Gaby our server was amazing so attentive to all of our guests needs. We had several guest with allergies and she made sure those guests got their own special portion of things served with any of their allergens.

The atmosphere in the dinning area with the open kitchen was perfect for a private party. Now let’s get to the food, it’s family style tapas with an italian flair. My wife had concerns that her Italian family coming over from the old country wouldnt be impressed and wanted to go to a more traditional Italian restaurant. Well when the food came out she couldnt be more wrong. For a party the food is off of the regular menu and depending on what catering menu you decide on the choices change (whatever menu you decide on you each item or course is 1 dish for 4 people). We went with the “Venetian” from the catering menu and was concerned maybe it wouldn't be enough food, but there was so much food at the end everyone got to go boxes. The food comes out in waves over 3 hours which makes it great for socializing as you don’t have to be seated the whole time. Halfway through the food all our guests were stuffed and everyone kept saying how amazing the food was and how they couldnt wait to come back for dinner.

We couldnt be more happy and this will definitely be our spot for...