You don't need to be a food critic to know that the stuff you get at Red Lobster ain't necessarily up to snuff. This location is right by my house and my roommate and I and a few friends ventured out, mostly in humour, to get us some seafood. I got crab legs which were small and disappointing. We all ate, but we paid too much money and didn't see enough return. If I'd paid half the amount, it'd probably be a good deal. Service was slow and orders got messed up. Blah.

negative

One of my favorite pizza places in town! The atmosphere is just as great as the food. This location has a great front patio! Salads are a good sharing size.... love ordering a pepperoni, sausage, and ricotta cheese pizza, and of course I always have to have a cannoli for dessert!

positive

Why only a "fair rating"? I have been to Va Bene on MANY occasions. We decided to go for at Va Bene disappointing. To start with, I made my New Year's Eve reservation on/or about December 1. THAT was probably a mistake... it was too soon. When we arrived, I was learned that they had a "Special Limited Menu". I was NOT informed of that when I made my reservation. When I called, I specifically asked and was told the menu was normal! When I questioned the "special limited menu", I was told that everyone was told when they made their reservation.... NOT TRUE. I was told that everyone was called a few days before New Year's Eve to confirm their reservation.... NOT TRUE. I was told that when confirming the reservation, everyone was told there was a "special limited menu".... OBVIOUSLY NOT TRUE, because EVERYONE at all the tables around me said they were NOT CALLED. Besides, if everyone was told there was a "special limited menu" when your reservation was made, WHY would you have to let everyone know when you called to confirm? OBVIOUSLY MANAGEMENT WAS LYING!!!!! Despite their not being truthful, the choices were "adequate" (about 5 entrees) and she service was excellent. HOWEVER, we ordered the Stuffed Sea Bass and it was warm at best. I was going to send it back, but by that time, I was already annoyed enough by the way everything was going, so I just could not be bothered. A few other couples who did not know about the "special limited menu" had a difficult time with the menu. One woman was lactose intolerant and she was unable to select many of the choices including the appetizers and desserts. They did make a special but unimpressive special desert for her (because desert was supposed to be included with the "special menu"). Another couple had to leave because the woman was allergic to shell fish and most of the entrees included shell fish or shell fish ingredients. Bottom line, this was the first and only time I was disappointed with Va Bene. I highly recommend Va Bene, however, I would be very careful on a holiday and most certainly New Year's Eve. I STRONGLY SUSPECT, when I made my reservation on/or about December 1, they had no idea they were going to have a "special limited menu" for New Year's Eve and THAT is why it was such a surprise to both myself and the other guests. Lastly, our waiter was very good, and was obviously having difficulty with the restaurant's last minute decision to have a "special limited menu". He did a very good job and made a great effort to take care of the customer's request.

negative

Have gone a few times over the years, mainly because its a convenient place to pop in while strolling in Little Italy, and I've always left feeling like something was missing...or off... from the dining experience. A lunch time pit stop with a girl friend left us staring at our bill in amazement (2 panninis and 2 lemonades rang in at over 50$ with tax and tip!) We both had the prosciutto-mozzarella-red pepper pannini which wasn't bad but certainly not worth the price. It was stingy on prosciutto and the mozzarella was a little rubbery. Its fine quality for a quick, cheap bite but at that price, I expect better. Service wasn't terrible and certainly courteous but not particularly attentive. Although our waitresswas suddenly much more attentive when our very attractive male friend stopped by our table! Pet peeve - our waitress replied in French when we attempted to speak English. A quick dinner stop last Friday wasn't much different. We had the margherita pizza and sausage pizza and neither were showstoppers. The crust was very thin and well cooked(plus!) but both the cheese and sausage tasted very pre-packaged and neither pizza arrived particularly hot. Service was better - our waitress was bilingual and took time taking our orders and offering up clarifications (maybe because we were joined by abovementioned attractive male friend?) Although when I asked for San Pellegrino lemonade, I was brought a random brand of sparkling water... Restaurant itself is clean and spacious with comfortable seating and large screens which permitted us to watch hockey highlights.
negative