Midtown Sip, Savor, Social — Restaurant in West Reading

I came to Midtown with some friends to try it out. Unfortunately, my experience wasn't the greatest. Service was very slow to the point where food came out lukewarm, the noise in the restaurant was so loud that I couldn't even hear what my friends were saying next to me, and lastly the food was okay but not great. A soft drink, appetizer and entree was more than $50 after tip.

I understand that the cost of anything food related has dramatically increased across the board, but I ordered a lemonade, the meatball appetizer and the risotto trio. It didn't feel like the food justified the pricing. The meatballs were actually well seasoned and the vodka sauce was tasty, but the cheese on top had clearly sat for some time before it was brought to our table because it had congealed and needed to be cut through in order to not end up with a giant glob of hard cheese pulling off every meatball all at once. This wasn't a huge issue, but the other appetizer that my friend had ordered wasn't much better.

When I got my main, the risottos were prepared well. All of them were creamy, the rice was properly cooked, and overall the execution was there. The flavor, however, wasn't. The three risottos were red endive and gorgonzola, saffron and crescenza, and parmesan truffle; they all just tasted like the cheese that was in them with the exception of the truffle parmesan risotto which just tasted like truffle. As a person who has a somewhat unhealthy parmesan truffle obsession, it's a hard flavor combination and the truffle becomes overpowering easily so it wasn't shocking to me that the balance of flavors wasn't there. The other two risottos being basically cheese risottos was disappointing.

The ultimate disappointment was when my server offered to box up the leftovers for the table, and when I got home, they had clearly taken the risotto trio and swiped a fork right down the plate making all of the leftover risotto into one giant risotto pile of mixed flavors. I know mixing was inevitable. And I know the restaurant was busy, but if you were just going to swipe the entire plate into one messy puddle of risotto I could have done that myself. Or at the very least if I had done it, I'd have no one else to blame when I came home with a puddle of cheese risottos.

I know Midtown is new to West Reading so maybe I went on an off night, but for me the overall vibes and execution just weren't there. For the price point, I expected better and unfortunately the restaurant gets so loud that once the restaurant is full it becomes almost impossible to hear anything anyone is saying. I know some of these issues like pricing and sound in an enclosed space being noisy are beyond any one’s control, but for me if I am paying for a pricier meal, I want to feel like the experience and quality of food justify the cost, and...

We enjoyed our evening at Midtown. The food was very good and service was top notch. The meatball appetizer was especially outstanding. A few things, however will keep us from returning. The hostess was not friendly. She was not welcoming at all. We almost left, but since we were celebrating and it was our first time here, we decided to stay and not let her ruin our evening. The wine selections were all from one winery, and they were definitely not a great quality wine. That was very disappointing. The meal and service were excellent. But the main reason we will not return is the 3% surcharge for using a credit card. I understand some small businesses feel the need to do this, but when the bill is going to be over $100, we find this unacceptable. We don’t carry that much cash with us, so we had no choice. If you are a fine dining restaurant, small business or not, most people don’t expect a cc surcharge. For this reason, we will not return. Eating out is...

Disappointing Experience Despite Beautiful Decor:

I was really looking forward to trying this new restaurant in town, but unfortunately, my experience was underwhelming. I ordered what was described as a deep-fried grilled cheese, but what I received was mostly breading and bread, with only a tiny amount of cheese inside. It was served with marinara sauce that lacked flavor and didn’t complement the sandwich at all.

The sandwich came with Hawaiian onion potato chips, which were overpowering and unpleasant due to the intense onion flavor. I also asked for a drink with no lemon, but it arrived with lemon anyway—a small detail, but it speaks to a larger issue. Our server seemed inattentive and rarely checked on us throughout the meal. It felt like we were completely overlooked.

The one redeeming quality was the decor—stylish, cozy, and very inviting. It’s a shame the food and service didn’t match the ambiance. I really wanted to love this place, but I left...