Wednesday, June 15th, 2005
So recently, the Austin Chronicle ranked Vespaio as the best restaurant in Austin. I went there last night, and it was definitely not the best restaurant I’ve been to.
When we first walked in, the hostess sauntered towards us with turtle-like speed. Although we did get the obligatory “I’ll be with you in a moment”, the moment took quite some time because she was walking so incredibly slowly. This was not a huge deal in and of itself. However…
…as we were putting our name in (for the 30 - 45 minute wait), another patron approached and inquired about when her table would be ready. It turns out that she was skipped! Marked off of the list and everything! And then, nothing more than an “Ooops… you’re table will be next”.
Luckily, we found a first-come, first-serve table near the bar and ordered a bottle of wine immediately.
The food and the bread came out at exactly the same time. The bread fails miserably. It was cold. Not cold like “not warm”. Cold like “chilled”. The refrigerated bread was served with some kind of butter-ish-looking substance that was covered in a GREEN liquid. It was the most bland spread I’ve ever tasted. Oh, it was cold too.
Hm. The entrees were both good. And dessert was tasty as well. I guess those are plusses. But the dining experience in total was not worth the cover charge.
My recommendation? If you want Italian, go to the Tree House Italian Grill. I’ve been at least 3 times and been increasingly impressed each time.