Aiello's Ristorante — Restaurant in Town of Triangle

It’s not been the norm for me to stop into a restaurant – especially an Italian restaurant – located at the exit of a major interstate in Central New York State and expect anything more than a familiar atmosphere and perhaps some decent red sauce dishes if that much. A number of times passing through Whitney Point N.Y. I have noticed the façade of Aiello’s, right at the crux of that town’s I-81 exit and had some curiosity. On a recent night I was very hungry and had very few options between Maine, N.Y. and my home in Weedsport N.Y. I noticed the bright lights still on at Aiello’s later than I would have expected and so I pulled into the parking lot just in case they were still serving at a little after 9 p.m. When I asked the hostess if they were still serving, she responded “of course” with a smile. This is a rare experience for me. Once seated at my booth I scanned the menu. Although this place is known for its pizzas I wanted something a little fancier, and so I started with the stuffed mushroom appetizer. “Madonna me,” as my sainted late grandmother would say. This was the most exquisite stuffed mushroom experience I have had in a decade. The mushroom caps were cooked just a little, just enough, and the seafood stuffing topped by a unique and tasty cream sauce was the best of this type of offering I have had in decades. There was no overwhelming taste of oregano and garlic, which are often not just overused but also overcooked even in some premier establishments. The main course was a special for that night, Little Neck clams in a special creamy sauce that had just a hint of curry. It was enough of a hint to provide a delightful taste experience. Not so much that I thought I had happened into an Indian restaurant by mistake, but just enough for my palate to direct slow eating so that I could truly savor this taste experience. All of this was on a bed of perfectly cooked linguini. Oh, yes, the bread. A generous serving of pull-apart toasted garlic bread with a soft center that was a treat itself, not just an accompaniment to the meal, this bread. When I finished the linguini and clams with their amazing sauce I regretted that I had already devoured the bread along with the entrée, because I so wanted to sop up the wee bit of the sauce that remained at the bottom of the dish. My server, Jessica, was attentive to a fault. At no time did I feel rushed even though I was still there well past the 9:30 p.m. closing time. When she asked how everything was, I swear it appeared she really truly wanted to know, not that she was saying so in a perfunctory manner. Both she and the busser, Lucca, were charming and helpful (if you stop by, ask this polite young man how his name came to be spelled that way). As someone who in his salad days was a busboy (at the time this was the only word used for that job) as well as a waiter in some fine (and not so fine) Italian restaurants, this experience brought me back to that time when service mattered, and there was no sense of portions being prepared according to non-culinary mathematical calculations. I truly felt like a guest and not a customer. Oh, speaking of salads … yes the salad was not only nicely done, but there was no reason it turned out for me to request extra dressing (as I normally must). This little touch added to...

It was the worst service and meal I have ever had. It started great. The appetizer was delicious and plentiful. We waited a good 20 minutes for our salad to arrive. It was also good. Then we waited and waited for 50 minutes before I grabbed what I thought was a manager and asked if we had been forgotten. I got an offhanded comment along the lines that we got stuck behind a large group. We had a reservation the "large group" were walk ins. During this whole time not one person informed us of a problem. We were ignored. We could have ordered more drinks or even more water. We sat and watched 3 other tables walk in, get served their meals and pay for them while we sat and waited for our food. Even nearby tables commented that others had been served. We finally got our food about 1 hour after we finished our salad. My chicken marsala was dried out. The side order of spaghetti tasted like it had tomato juice for a sauce. Everything was lukewarm. It wasn't until we were just about finished that the same "manager" came to the table and offered us a drink. Mind you we had no beverage during our entire meal because no one even came to the table. This was supposed to have been a birthday celebration. My brother and I don't get a chance to sit down to dinner very often. We are both in our 70s. This restaurant ruined our celebration. The meals should have been comped. I won't be back. I can't let management response go unchallenged so now I will let it lose. The table next to us communicated to us that three other tables were served, ate, and paid their bill while we waited between the salad and the meal's arrival. Why did their meals go ahead and our didn't? We both were raised to be polite and didn't want to make a scene. We had discussed not leaving a tip, but the manager comped us a drink for the delay so we decided to leave a tip to recognize that. As for the meal itself, it was lukewarm. The sauce was right out of a can, not seasoned or even cooked. I grew up in the Italian restaurant business and I know sauce. The chicken was dry. How long did it sit on your counter until it was picked up? We weren't expecting any special service because of the birthday. It was a birthday dinner treat between us. Yes, we were early, but were perfectly content to sit at the bar. Your staff sat us and began this mess by taking our order. They should have just waited until your kitchen was ready. Perhaps the problem lies with having your bartender also wait table is part of the problem. Your response is so off the mark that not only will I not be back but I will be sure to share the experience with as many people as I can in the...

My husband , myself and our two children went here just today for the first time. It was not a pleasant dining experience to say the least. It started out ok... we got our drinks and I let the waitress know that it was our first time there and she kindly said “oh good, well if you have any questions, just ask” so as we sat there looking over their EXTENSIVE menu, she came back around and asked if we were ready to order... we were not. So she turned and walked away and said “I’ll comeback back then” so a few minutes went by and she returned. Well I ordered a burger for my son, a fish sandwich for my daughter and a pizza for my husband and I. I also ordered calamari as an appetizer. I asked the waitress specifically if they had cocktail sauce because the calamari stated it came with marinara sauce or a sweet chili sauce, not cocktail, and I like cocktail sauce with my calamari. The others like marinara. She said to me “ the calamari doesn’t come with cocktail” I said to her “I know, but do you have cocktail sauce” she shrugs her shoulders, COMPLETELY ANNOYED, and says “ YEA” (with a very inappropriate head shake) I was completely aggravated at that point... I said “can I please have that along with the marinara” WELL her eyes ROLLED all the way back into her head, so far, that she probably could see behind her... well about 10 minutes passes.. she brings the appetizer and she brings my children’s food out... it was cooked correctly and looked good.. my daughter commented to me about how good her fish was... then takes another bite and there was hair COOKED INTO THE BREADING ON THE FISH...completely disgusting... they take it back with no issues and bring out another sandwich in a timely fashion... this time the cheese is BURNED so badly on her fish, it came off in a thin layer , still leaving a layer on the fish itself.. i understand that mistakes happen , especially in a restaurant, hair is gonna sometimes end up in your food and will go unnoticed... BUT THE CHEESE WAS COMPLETELY VISIBLE. On top of all that, our waitress NEVER came back to the table to check on us at all except to bring the food and drop the check... Suffice it to say, we will not be returning again. Not because there was hair in the food or the cheese was CHARRED (although they are both contributing factors) but for the simple fact that the waitress was not attentive to us at all.

I don’t mind paying $90.00 dollars for a meal but I refuse to be waited on by someone that obviously doesn’t...