Vinny's Italian Grill & Pizzeria — Restaurant in Virginia

Sorry for the length, just want to share our experience because knowledge is power and someone else can make their decision based on the information that I'm sharing.

I want to start this by saying that I really had hoped to be able to email someone to talk about my experience but could not find any contact info other than a phone number for the store and I know that's just going to put me through to a server and no difference will be made.

We've gotten take out a few times since moving to the area and the food has always been great! And the staff even went above and beyond when I left a little note saying that we were about to have a baby when one of the takeout orders was for my after delivery meal. And for that reason I'm giving three stars instead of less. If I had to go by tonight's experience it would definitely be either one or two, I really can't decide at this point.

It was because of the great takeout that I decided I wanted to come here for my birthday dinner- which was our first time eating out since the baby was born. Everything seemed okay at first and I thought we had just beat the evening rush (which surprised me that there was one on a Monday). It didn't take long to notice that a lot of people were waiting on their food and that turned into us waiting a long time as well. It was probably about 40 minutes before our food finally came out and we were literally about to leave because our young kids were getting antsy.

But that was the least disappointing thing. The most disappointing thing was the food itself. I had ordered the chicken piccata which is pan-fried chicken over pasta in a lemon butter sauce. The chicken came out looking like Casper the ghost and it was sitting in a pool of basically lemon juice and butter. I know some sauces are a bit runnier than others but I really wouldn't call this a sauce at all. So beyond looking unappealing, the taste was just not what was expected. My husband's entree also was very unappetizing as the ravioli were just swimming in very runny cream sauce. But at least they tasted better than my dish did.

We didn't bring attention to it to our server because she was clearly overwhelmed. Other than taking and bringing our initial drink and food orders, we didn't see her (except for bringing stuff to other tables). We had asked another server if the kids fries could be brought out earlier since we were waiting so long at that point but that didn't happen. My husband went and stood in line at the front trying to ask about when the food would come out when it finally was brought out.

I got to say that at least the kids were good. Taking three kids out to a restaurant is a feat in itself, especially one with a food allergy and then a newborn! But my husband and I literally left without eating anything other than the appetizer since by time we got our food the kids were ready to go and we lost our appetite.

I really hope that it was just an off night for everyone and we definitely will try getting take out again but will not be trying to bring three kids out anytime soon. And we'll probably stick to the same tried and true dishes that we love instead of...

The WORST service I have ever received at a restaurant. I am not even exaggerating here. We came in to celebrate a special day and left with nothing but negative emotions! As we walked in, we were told to go ahead and pick a table and have a seat - which we did. The waitress who was serving us was extremely rude with her facial expressions and her tone when she was taking our orders. Any question I asked her was answered with an attitude – it was making us feel uncomfortable!! When we got our pizzas we asked if we can get any sort of dipping sauce with the pizzas and she again answered with an attitude saying “what? We don't serve sauces with pizzas” and I said “well last time we were offered ranch” and she said “yea if you want it you can ask for ranch” (again with an attitude). I said yes please can we have ranch? And she came back with one small container for 3 people!!!! When I asked for more ranch she went to the back and was telling her coworkers about our conversation, mocking us (the kitchen is open so you can really hear everything that is going on there) Anyway, the worst part here is that once we were done, I stayed at the table and let my husband and daughter go to the car because I wanted to ask this waitress why she was treating us so poorly. ( I will cut it short) I asked why she was talking to me with such attitude and she said “im not talking to you in any way, if you feel like I am talking with an attitude then that’s on you. Not my problem. This is how I talk and this is my tone” And I said “well thats not how you talk to the other people at the other table so what did we do to you? I wouldn’t want to ask for the manager, because maybe you’re having a bad day, I don't know, but this is not acceptable” she said “you can ask for the manager he is right there and he is my father” (which is such an embarrassing thing to say especially after you’ve mistreated your customer) I said “so this is how you treat your customers at a place where your father is the manager?” And she said “you are the one that’s upset what you want me to say?” Very very very unprofessional veryyyy rude. This person needs to quit this job because they clearly cannot work with people!!!! So so embarrassing for them and sad that the manager’s own daughter is ruining the restaurant’s reputation. I didn’t want to talk to the manager because he seemed like a lovely guy and I wouldn't want to ruin his day as well. That waitress has a lot of growing up to do. Very unprofessional. Very rude. I used to love coming here for their margherita pizza, but never again. She left me with such negative feelings...

We are regular customers at least once weekly. On Nov 4 at approx 7pm we waited 30 minutes on the list for a table. It was crowded but my granddaughter and I finally got 2 of the 3 seats by the door. Another lady sat down on the other side of my granddaughter and after she had had 2 or 3 violent fits of coughing, I thought it best to stand up and put some distance between us. The only place left to stand was on the right side of the doorway to the dining room...mind you we were NOT blocking patrons from being seated. The young girl who was working the door proceeded to tell my husband that we needed to move...that we were blocking the servers from taking out prepared food and we could NOT stand where we were. I do not know WHY servers are delivering food through the lobby anyway! It should ONLY be used for waiting customers, picking up to go orders and paying for orders. I am sure the health dept would agree that food should not be brought through the waiting area. There is another doorway to and from the kitchen for the servers! I explained that we wanted to put distance between us and the hacking lady and all I got was a shrug! I just think some training is needed. The staff needs to learn how to deal with these things without offending patrons (hint...she should have instructed servers to use the KITCHEN door or ask the manager if she is unsure). We know the manager, Alex well and I am sure he will be upset when he reads this review. We have always liked Vinnys but this girl made a BIG mistake in approaching us instead of her co-workers to solve the problem. We left and went to Fabios in Ruckersville. I hate this but we prob wont go back to Vinnys. ...