1 /5 Terika Smith: A bittersweet 75th birthday dinner at Gervasoni’s
We’d heard so many wonderful things about Gervasoni’s that we were excited to finally go — and we chose it to celebrate my fiancé’s mom’s 75th birthday. Being such a milestone, we wanted somewhere special.
When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised by the setting. It’s located north of town with more of a rural feel than a city-center restaurant, which actually made it feel like a charming place for a celebration. The parking lot had plenty of cars, so we felt even more confident going in.
We were seated fairly quickly — about a fifteen-minute wait — even though there were several empty tables visible. We didn’t have a reservation, so we were thankful the wait wasn’t longer. However, while waiting, we noticed another customer asking if they could sit at one of the open tables. The hostess told them that several tables had to be held for reservations. The strange thing was that no one ever came to sit at those “reserved” tables the entire time we were there.
I don’t know if they were short-staffed and using the reservation explanation as a way to manage the dining room, but that was the impression it gave. And considering our own experience with service, I couldn’t help but notice that possibility.
Once we were seated, it took a long time before anyone greeted us. We placed our drink order with the hostess because no server had arrived yet. When the waitress finally came, the experience didn’t improve. The alcoholic beverages were slow to arrive, and the gin and tonic was so watered down that we ordered an extra shot to bring it up to standard — but by the time the shot arrived, the original drink was watered down from melted ice.
We were also really looking forward to the bone marrow appetizer, especially since it was our first time trying it and we’d heard such great things about it. Unfortunately, it was overdone to the point of being a burnt crisp rather than the buttery, spreadable texture bone marrow is known for. It was a huge letdown.
For the price of the entrées, we were surprised to be served crinkle-cut fries instead of fresh fries. I don’t mind paying good money for good food, but when you pay good money for mediocre or poor food, it definitely leaves a bad taste, literally and figuratively. We also paid an additional $2 for garlic fries and received barely any garlic, which made that add-on feel pointless.
The vegetable side — squash — was extremely overcooked and mushy. I like soft squash, but this was so overdone that it fell apart when we tried to pick it up with a fork.
What made the experience even more disappointing was the service. Our waitress had a bit of a “know-it-all” or indifferent attitude and barely checked on us after bringing our food. She didn’t return until it was time for the bill. Again, this made me wonder if she was overwhelmed or the restaurant was short-staffed — but it didn’t seem like the dining room was full enough to explain that level of neglect.
Overall:
The rural setting was charming, but the experience didn’t match the reputation. The food was mediocre to disappointing, the drinks were watered down, the service was inattentive, and the prices did not match the quality. I was surprised to see as many people there as we did, because our experience did not reflect the praise we’d heard.
I would not recommend this restaurant for celebrations or special occasions, and honestly, based on our visit, I wouldn’t recommend it in general.
