Disappointing and still hungry
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 11/18/07
After living in the hill for many years my friends I decided that we would try out the newly remodeled Toscano for a Friday night dinner. I do have to say that even living within steps of the restaurant for years none of us had ever stepped foot inside given the previous ambience and décor - dead. However, with a new summer remodel the place seemed to be quite popular, and peeping in the windows set our hopes high. We did however notice the menu went unchanged (should’ve been a red flag). The remodel is beautiful - well done. Four of us got a nice table and ordered the nights antipasti which was pretty good and the bread was tasty. But this is where it ends...the waitresswas terrible. She recommended the most expensive bottle she could find once we directed her towards the type of wine we wanted. I expect a fine dining experience to offer a waiter that can recommend wines based on your order and not necessarily the $90 bottle. Oh, she barely new the specials which did sound interesting and should have been played up. Two people order Osu Bucco which was interestingly made with Veal rather then Lamb...it was well prepared but not Osu Bucco. And the risotto: disgusting, tasteless and should have been left off the plate. Osu Bucco should leave everyone at the table mopping up the sauce with left over bread. Not the case. PASTA: AWFUL. The rest of us ate 3-4 bites and left a $20 bowl of pasta on table. Their house specialty was double smoked bacon sauce that tasted like a camp fire. Bacon? Hello what ever happened to Pancetta or guanciale. Then Dessert. We hoped it would end on an ok note since the antipasti was good - restaurant desserts are restaurant desserts. The espresso was good! One person did ask for a dessert wine recommendation which was a complete bust. She didn't know one type of dessert wine on the menu let alone one that would pair nicely with our order. In the end we took bets on how much the glass of sparkling wine would cost she ended up bringing. Surprisingly - only $9. Bets were up around $22-35 given her previous recommendations. OVERALL: Toscano had the perfect opportunity to redeem itself in Beacon Hill and failed miserably. To Artu we go. At least it is traditional and you don't leave angry and starving. Bad combo if you ask me.