Fortina — Restaurant in Town of Rye

After recently seeing Chef Petroni on DDD, we stopped in for Friday lunch on our way up to CT. Wasn't busy yet soon after opening, although the shopping center was pretty busy.

From a COVID standpoint, seems like everyone was following guidelines. Most people in the shopping center were wearing masks properly, even outside of the stores in the parking lot. Everyone in Fortina we saw were as well. One-way directional flow signs inside. Tables were properly distanced.

We grabbed a table outside, since it was a nice morning with great weather. Building threw shade on the outdoor tables. Menu is online via Toast. They provide a QR code to get to the menu, and you have to order and pre-pay through the app.

It was early in the day, so there were a few menu items that were unavailable, like the half chicken and pork braciole. We'll have to come back and try the braciole someday, cuz it sounded delicious!

We ordered the calamari to start, which comes with an interesting story. When the order first came, we dug in. It was delicious and perfectly cooked as it was super tender and lightly breaded. Halfway through our digging in, the server came over to apologize, that two executive chefs in the indoor dining space didn't like how our order smelled and wanted the kitchen to make us a fresh batch. We didn't spot anything wrong, but we appreciate how they're careful and take pride in their product!! A new order was delivered a few minutes later, and it was delicious too! They even took it off of our check, even though we thought it was great!

We couldn't decide on a pizza, but our server recommended The LB so we went with that. So happy on the recommendation! It was delicious, the crust was thin and crispy, and the burrata and robiola cheese was pillowy. Will definitely come back...

5 Stars because the food was delicious and the manager and staff were incredibly accommodating and took all of our complaints seriously and acted to make us happy.

We're out-of-towners looking for a quick, tasty bite. We called to check to see if we could get reservations for an 8-top. We were told they were all booked up for reservable tables, but that they also have walk-in space, so it would be worth a try. We ended up being 6, so we got there around 6:45 on a Saturday night and were seated within 10 minutes. We were given a choice of outside or the high-top inside - we opted for the high-top inside which unbeknownst to us was right across from the oven, so it was a little warm, but we got used to it. Hindsight says we should have taken the outside table. Music is booming, and it is not the place for intimate conversations, which was fine for us. 4 of our party ordered entrees off the menu, 2 of our party ordered pizzas. The coordination between the kitchen and pizza ovens was not good - entrees came out and 40 minutes later the pizzas came out, so we asked to speak to the working manager, Harold. He was incredibly helpful, very serious about making his customers happy - he comp'ed both pizzas and some drinks because we had to wait so long for the second half of our meals. I would absolutely go back to this place, as their food was very good, and the staff made the effort to make us happy, even when things didn't go as smoothly as we would...

I should’ve realized something was wrong when the first “complements of the house” dish was brought to our table. After 30 minutes waiting for our pasta dish, and a couple attempts to get someone over to our table, a manager came over to explain the delay. After that, it seemed more like we became the table every staff member was avoiding. Being that they had such a severe delay in the kitchen, the staff, & MANAGER, could’ve been more attentive. I could’ve appreciated a sincere attempt to get us drink refills if nothing could be prepared from the kitchen. We tried using their card system to get some attention and I’m sure I saw the server pretend she didn’t just look at our table. Had to literally wave someone over and request soda refills, as all the waiting turned ice into water. Sodas didn’t come and cancelled them. We dine out for the experience. Left feeling like we did something to piss them off. Thanks for the few comps but need to really work on recovery strategies when things go wrong. We arrived about 8:30pm on a Monday night and were the last table to leave at 10pm. We paid for the food we got on time, but...