March Adventure - Marotta's Bar Ristro "Tunnel Lounge"
Marotta’s Bar-Ristro “Tunnel Lounge”
Server: Ashley O
Table: 11 Guests
The Tunnel Lounge is an addition to the Marotta’s Bar-Ristro establishment which was to feature a more “night club” feel with its own separate menu.
The following are out of 5 Points.
(2) Customer Service - Meaning how well they assisted me in my needs.
I decided to use their e-mail service to place my reservation due to having a busy schedule. They called and confirmed my reservation to be in the Tunnel Lounge, but alas the person who called put me in for THAT day instead of my desired date; creating a bit of confusion as to where I was. When I arrived at Marotta’s I was told that the Tunnel Lounge was closed. I really don’t understand why I wasn’t informed about this when I specifically asked to be in the Tunnel Lounge. Our server was a bit less to be desired. She completely lost interest in us as soon as we asked for separate checks. You could literally see her smile turn into a frown. Later on in the evening when a few of the guests wanted dessert, they wanted the tartufo that was pictured in the iPads on the tables (which are not updated). Ashley told us that Marotta’s didn’t have any, but she believed it to be a season item here; however when she worked at the Lighthouse it was available year round. I’m all about ownership, no matter the job I believe we should be all about that job; even when we hate it. For her to tell us about what the Lighthouse does shows disrespect to who she works for and who signs her paycheck.
(4) Decor - The atmosphere of the place.
Since I was placed within the Bar-Ristro and unable to experience the décor of that addition, I will simply quote what I said about Marotta’s Bar-Ristro’s décor from an earlier adventure.
“Marotta’s is Italian dining. The color palette of the inside can be best described as Tuscany. However, for it to be a hybrid of a bar and bistro you get more of a feel of fine dining.”
(3) Food & Drink - How well the food tastes, their selection of drinks
First and foremost, I really wanted to try the Tunnel Lounge’s menu. That was the entire reason behind coming. I was told that the menu didn’t do well so they scrapped it. It wasn’t even open for five months!
For drink wise, I went with a Tunnel Bellini, which supposedly had St. Germaine Liqueur, EFFEN Cucumber Vodka, and Prosecco. (A bellini is a Prosecco wine that has a fruit puree in it.) I didn’t taste any of that, what I got was a Prosecco wine with some muddled raspberries.
Appetizer I went with mozzarella in carrozza, deep fried grilled cheese. It was good. For entrée I went with crostaceo fradiavlo. It was OK. My fish was cooked well and so was the spinach risotto that I got as a side.
(3) Price - Here I am not grading my cost, but by the quality of the food I get for the money I spent. (Example: I pay $5 for a hamburger that I could make myself.)
Comparing my adventure to this one, the prices are a bit higher and the food portions are somewhat smaller than before.
(4) Presentation - How things are presented. Food, Drink, Staff, etc.
Everyone is uniformly dressed, but the lighting is left to be desired.
Overall Score: 16/25
() Guests’ Opinion – I’m giving my guests an opinion. Before it was my general perception of how the night went. The overall score can be affected by their opinion. If their opinion is positive, it’s plus one point. However if their opinion is negative it’s minus one point. Below will also be quotes from my guests.
“All I tasted was vinegar and red pepper, do they not use herbs?” -1
“I liked it!” +1
“I paid 11 dollars for a salad this small? And paid 3 more dollars for a small piece of grilled chicken?” -1
“I thought the bread for bruschetta was supposed to be crunchy and not soggy?” -1
“It was OK, it wasn’t as good as the first time we went.” -1/+1
Total Guest Points: -2
New Overall Score: 14
Final Thoughts: As much as I loved Marotta’s Bar-Ristro, I’ve never had such a bad experience before. I find the lack of communication and ownership to leave a lot to be desired. If I didn’t have such a large party, I would have taken everybody elsewhere.