Acqua Restaurant-White Bear Lake — Restaurant in White Bear Lake

Very disappointing experience this time around. We are regular customers at Acqua and this is the first time we had a very very disappointing experience. We ordered the usual three course which used to be $45 at some point and now $55 but here is the twist. You cannot share that with another person on the table. Please note we have been regulars here and we know these policies as we have shared the three course before. Nothing on the website or the restaurant menu says that the three course cannot be shared which is misleading to the customers. They care about the business but do not care about the customers. They seem to only care about the money they are making these days. At least have people make an informed decision whether they should come or not in regards to the 'new policies' that you are adhering to. So the server lets us know this cannot be pursued and has the owner talk to us. I greet her with the smiling face and the owner comes and says very strictly that nothing can be shared and there was really nothing they could do to make us happy and convert the disappointing experience to a good one. Then I wanted to work toward a solution and I asked the owner if it was okay to just order four entrees for four people. She said yep that is fine but she will still ask $55 per entree or per person. So the option was you pay $55 for one entree or pay $55 for the full course. That is a bizarre statement right there. So she basically gave us 'Choose the best of the two worst options'. We came expecting to be able to share based on our past experiences but sadly the owner claimed that the business needs to keep running during these trying times. Well, everyone knows that employees which were affected claimed $600 extra from the government every week and the fact of the matter is Acqua wasn't fully closed and was still open for take outs and did really well. We still supported them during the covid with ordering take outs. And yes we come from a well to do family, we also have been to restaurants that take $120 per person but they explicitly state the course cannot be shared. But I guess Acqua wants people to be misled and then find out at the restaurant itself that the course cannot be shared anymore (which again has been widely accepted in our previous experiences). I literally let them know that this is very disappointing. And yes by the way, I noticed 3 tables out of the 6 tables in our seating area asked the same question to their servers about sharing the three course menu- I guess this is an indication that people are not happy with this policy and maybe it is time to change the policy or let people make an informed decision whether to come or not instead of having them come there and then find out. To add to this, when the entree came, I asked my dad why aren't you eating. He replied that he was full but then I find out that they didn't even replace the silverware so I just stand and grab it from the table myself and give it to my dad. He ate some of his entree then. What kind of service is this when you want to charge so much but lack basics in customer service. Where were your 'You are welcomes' today when we thanked you for bringing food from our table or taking them back once we were done. This is not the Acqua that I have been used to. Food is one thing but your attitude/customer service goes a long way. You can make the world's greatest food but if you lack in service, you will see less and less footfalls going forward and chefs won't really be that busy in the kitchen, just a food for thought. We will not be back until this...

Based on our experience, one star is being generous. If you like your Easter Brunch COLD, then this is the place. The empty entre plate arrived as if it came directly from the freezer. I than assumed that all of the entre items were meant to be served cold. On our way out I asked our server, Patricia H. if, in fact, the cold food was intentional. She said NO. And I told her that was exactly what we got for our $48/ea. No offer to adjust the bill was offered, either. Apparently the others in our party did have warmer food than the two of us (that paid the bill!). I would send them an email if one was listed on their website or on the bill.

IN RESPONSE TO OWNER

Yes, the first, second and fourth courses were fine. I wasn't sure if the Parmesan Béchamel on the Egg Strata was supposed to be hot or cold.

Our party received 3 "family style" serving plates. When I asked, our son and his wife said that their food was not cold. My wife said that her's was not warm. My entrée plate was ice cold when it was presented so I assumed that the food would also be chilled. One doesn't normally use a cold plate for hot food.

My "family style" plate food (Bolognese, Ham, Sweet Potato Puree and baby red potatoes) was cold. I did assume that they were supposed to be. The carrots, on the other hand, were still warm when they found their way to my end of the table.

I asked Patricia about the food temperature when I was away from the table because I would have embarrassed our son had I asked her at the table. I was genuinely curious if the food was actually supposed to be cold. I thought, perhaps, that it was your style of cuisine and presentation.

How could mine be cold and the others be warmer? You had 15 customers receiving the brunch menu all at the same time. I'll wager that no two were the same temperature. It happens.

Please understand that I do pay for my mistakes and I would have declined any offer to make adjustments. And, it is my job to take my wife where she wants/needs to go and to pay for meals at places selected by our children. My individual satisfaction is of no consequence and my opinion is not requested.

The "short comings" that I experienced with the food temperature could easily be addressed with a plate warming device. Even a quick hot bath would work to take the chill of the plates.

And, BTW, the coffee cup I had wasn't clean. There were stains in it. It would also have been nice to have had more than 2 lumps of sugar with the coffee. It's always better to give more than not enough.

I don't know if you'll get this message. I would have preferred a direct email address, but none is provided. Perhaps a "contact us" function on your website...

Update 5/19/25: Acqua continues to put out some of the highest quality food at reasonable prices. We recently did their Sunday date night $80 for two and the food was immaculate and the service top notch. We had a special request that they were happy to work with us (with proper early warning of course) to accomplish and it made our dinner perfect. Still one of my top destinations for fine dining in/near the twin cities.

The Short of it: Cost: $55 / person for 3 course meal Fine dining with large portions. No tiny plates here, I walked away with leftovers and being stuffed. Quality did not take a back seat to portion size though, everything was amazing!

The Long of it: The food -------------------- One of, if not the best fine dining experience we've had in the twin cities area. Our food consisted of: Black Cherry tom Collins and St. Germain cocktail, Scallops with blue crab, blue crab cake, roasted beat salad, lobster bisque, glazed pork shank, new york strip, butterscotch budding. Everything was amazing, cooked to perfection. The scallops were the best I've ever had with a beautiful sear and an abundant amount of blue crab on top. If i could have just gotten this for all 3 coursees, I would have. Hands down the winner of the night. I've had lobster bisque in Main and in San Francisco and this had both beat. Amazingly bursting with umami and multiple large chunks of lobster. The main courses were giant, the pork shank was the size of my fist (I have a large fist) and there were healthy portions of all sides. You will not walk away hungry, and will likely have leftovers. The staff - ---------------- The wait staff were all wonderful and worked as a unit. Our waters were neve empty, and we never had a need go unanswered for more than a minute. That being said we also didn't feel rushed or annoyed at any point. They perfectly balanced being helpful without feeling in your face. The setting --------------- This is a unique dining location and looks almost like a converted house. It may not be as fancy as some, but they do not overcrowd the space with tables and it was the perfect, calm, low light date night that I had hoped for. Everything was immaculately clean and even the bathrooms felt top notch.

Kudos all around, we will be back several times a year, and bring family...