Ciao Vito Restaurant

08/27/09

A Favoirite spot serves disappointment

by InternationalMystique

Normally, I love the food at Ciao Vito. I am a total foodie and go to many restuaruants through out the Portland area so the I am no stranger to the few "good" italian spots we have. I was extremely surprised at the level of service we received this past weekend. After giving us the specials detail, our server seemed irritated that we asked for additional bread while we waited for our food (it was taking a little while but we are never too bothered by that if we know it is worth the wait). After dinner we ordered dessert and three bites into it found a long blonde hair in it! We are both brunnettes. When we showed it to her, she shrugged her shoulders, said "sorry?", and walked away. The apology WAS a question and insincere. No offer to take it away and then when we got the bill, it was STILL on there!!

Very disappointing especially since we were celebrating our upcoming wedding with my parents.

• Pros: Good Italian Food

06/30/09

Horrid service - small servings

by makemineyoga

This place is terrible. Service was awful. People around us who had been sitted after us and ordered after us received their food before we did. Asking about our meal didn't help either. We were ignored! The bartender serving us knew her order got messed up (or maybe she messed it up herself) and didn't even have the courtesy to give us another serving of bread! We waited 45 minutes after our salad to get our meal. When we did, one was of good proportion, but the pasta with pesto was the size of a small salad plate. This is what we waited 45 minutes for! And after asking for the manager, we never saw him/her! No siree, management did NOT want to take care of us!. Ceasar salad was only so so. Not worth the money we spent. There are SO MANY OTHER PLACES TO GO IN PORTLAND. Why EVER go there. Trust me, don't!!!

• Pros: Comfy bar stools
• Cons: Manager was not managing!

02/13/09

Made my top 5 Worst restaurant experiance tonight and yes i have cooled down, Other 2 times, average at best in last year.

by MalePSUStudent

My fiance and I walk in without reservation 7:15. We got sat immediately at the bar. After a lively bar area order, I get sugo pork, with polenta and ragu $18, my fiance, skirt steak with french fries $21. Ok, french fries at an Italian spot!?! the menu had only a few actual Italian words on the menu. The entire menu barely fills a page and mild.

After searching my fiance's plate for the tablepoon of murky water. I spoke up, looking forward to a good red wine demi glace. FYI, demi glace is FRENCH for half glaze and any chef will tell you that it should be thick enough to cover the back of a spoon. I asked the bartender of 5 years, where the sauce was and was told that the sauce was supposed to be thin. After poking at our food for 20 min we got our food to go. With a quarter of a glass of wine, and half a beer, we're asked to move. We were shocked, but ok leaving some alcohol. I set my food down on a table because thats the only place I can find to put it while I put my jacket on, my girlfriend wrestlin' to get her jacket on, and a waitress picked up my box and scoffed at me giving my fiance "whats wrong with this guy", I begin to explain my actions, hey I was trying to finish my beer and I got kicked. . . she hands me my box & walks away.

We go to the hostess asking for the manager, she replies, is there a problem? Yeah we got kicked out and we want to talk to a manager. She corrects me and tells me Ciao Vito doesn't kick people out, we ask them to move. At this point, realizing that this is the way Ciao Vito treats you when you sit at the bar and try to spend $100, we leave.

You might not get treated bad here, maybe you will. As a former chef, I have actually been transferred for making sauce like that.

To the staff, We may have looked young, but when customers get treated like that, believe we are going to say something.

To potential customers, you have been warned. And don't go up the street to Siam Society, even worse.

• Pros: Decent wine and spirit collection
• Cons: poor service, non-authentic food, poor quality control mechanism, money making is primary concern not customers.