Moretti's Of Arlington — Restaurant in Upper Arlington

It's a nice enough neighborhood Italian restaurant. A review can only be based on prior experiences at similar establishments.

On a cold December evening we changed tables before we even saw our server. The cold air flows right into the dining room from the front door. Looking around, we saw several patrons with their coats over their shoulders or on. An extensive choice wine list, and a bottle of Pinot noir later, we were set. Linen napkins and heavy silverware adoring the table. Nice heavy stemware for water. I think a nicer touch would have been linen tablecloth's or to go so far as linen chair covers. Tables and high back booths are available. There was one mismatch color and shaped booth in the entire place. We kept wondering what had happened to the original. They did not even cover it with the same colored black fabric. The menu contained many similar choices to most Italian restaurants. The server bragged of their house made sauce, and house made pasta. I asked about the sausage is being made on premise. She found out from the kitchen that they are not theirs. Bread is brought to the table complementary with an herb butter. We skipped the appetizers because of the reviews for the large portions. A wedge salad arrived only to be looking less of a wedge. It was a 1 inch lettuce steak with a sprinkle of toppings. For seven dollars, we sent it back for the bacon and Gorgonzola salad which another guest was also eating. It comes served in a 16 inch bowl. Very large! while waiting for the salad, our server brought us a sample laying of their house made Italian wedding soup. The broth had a strange smell and taste to it for me. Kind of a celery broth. It did not appeal to me. It was however packed with ingredients. I had a hard time deciding what to order, so I ordered the Italian plate which is a sampling of many. It came with a cheese ravioli, spaghetti and marinara, grilled chicken, eggplant, and sausage with peppers onions and mushrooms. Obviously it was a large platter. But when it arrived the eggplant was missing. The server acknowledged it when setting it down and said that it would be out shortly.I asked for a re-cook of the grilled chicken. It was very flat and over cooked, tough. When the re-cook arrived, it appeared to have no seasoning other than some parsley sprinkled on top. I was underwhelmed. The pasta was fine. I rarely get egg plant, but do not dislike it. It was breaded with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. The only flavoring I got was from the breading. I also found the cheese ravioli to be about 4 inches large, and meh. The consistency was firmer and tougher than the pasta. I used a knife to save my fork the strain. The sausage was the greatest pop of flavor on the table. I first thought it was too overcooked. Digging through the peppers and onions, I found 3 slices on each sausage. Why would someone purposely release the moist flavor to the grates of the grill?

I think all of this mediocrity is the kitchen staffs blame. The service was spot on. My only critique to her would be, to learn proper serving techniques. Always serve the ladies first. Serve from one side, clear from the other. Do not pour splashing wine from across the table. The refills and pre-bussing were very attentive. She missed opportunities to refill our wine glasses with the bottle and offer another bottle. It's ok here. I will return if guests invite us, but not invite guests. The choices of better quality Italian fare is plentiful in...

This was the first time that my husband and I went here for dinner. We got there at 4:50 and they'd only been opened for 20 minutes on a Saturday afternoon ( we had a 5:00 p.m. reservation). Our waiter, John K approached us within a couple minutes of sitting down and we told him that we would need a little bit of time to look at the menu. We assumed he would come back in a few minutes, but it was at least 15 minutes before he ever came back. There were only a few other customers in there and only appeared to be one other table with four people that belonged to him? Once he arrived, we quickly placed our order before we lost him again. We got the bucatini carbonara which was quite tasty. Was very heavy sauce, so half of it was able to come back home for leftovers. The angry Italian rustic flatbread was also very tasty, however quite messy with all of the dripping oil. My husband raved over how delicious and hearty the Italian wedding soup was. Caesar salad was also very good. Table bread is also yummy and has an interesting butter that appears to have carrots in it, but it's quite tasty. We enjoyed our food and said if we ever came back we would probably order the same stuff. Prices are typical, $51 for our two meals (before tip) with water to drink. Our waiter was friendly, and welcoming, and thanked us for stopping in. He was very soft spoken though, and it made it hard to hear once it got busier in there. By 6:00 there were a lot of people in there. The tables are right on top of each other, even closer than Cheesecake Factory. So it's extremely difficult to squeeze between your table and the next person's table over if you're not skinny as a rail. We simply waited on the table next to us to leave, so I could get out without putting my butt or boobs in somebody's face. We would like to come back, but next time only if we sit outside. Their patio...

While we had fantastic service, we should have had dessert first.

My husband and I went to Moretti’s to celebrate our promotions at work. A friend recommended this restaurant as we both love Italian food. I was super excited and looking at the menu days before to figure out what I wanted.

We ordered the small plate of meatballs which needed a lot more seasoning. Without the tomato sauce and cheese they would have been extremely bland.

I ordered the short ribs with smoked mozzarella ravioli. The sauce was a new taste for me and the smoked mozzarella ravioli had the texture of bad mashed potatoes. The highlight was how generous the kitchen was with the portion of short ribs for the dish. It was quite generous and they were excellently prepared. Very tender and delicious. A little too heavy on the spinach though.

My husband ordered the angry Italian flatbread. According to him it was quite flavorless and disappointing. There were also too many tomatoes on top for his liking.

For dessert I ordered the chocolate cake and my husband ordered the chocolate cheesecake. My cake was probably the best thing that either of us had the entire meal. Even then, it was a little too heavy and not spongy or light enough for my preference. My husband’s chocolate cheesecake was supposed to come served with fresh berries but there weren’t any. Maybe they ran out or no longer add them, but if they are on the menu, they should be on the dish.

We both left hungry but the service was good and our server was very kind and attentive.

We probably won’t be going back (even for the cake…I can make that myself) but maybe we will give it another try and order something else and have the...