San Vito - revisited

Did anyone notice that San Vito made it into the May edition of the Washingtonian magazine? I thought it was a mixed but albeit fair review. In fact, after seeing one of our local eateries reviewed, I went there last week with a friend for lunch. Before we got there I was telling my friend how much I enjoyed the restaurant, the atmosphere, the delicious food....

Well, after last week I will certainly not be going as often if I decide to go back at all.

The Washingtonian commented that San Vito had friendly but inexperienced staff. That was evident right away when the server had to come back after taking our orders and ask us again what we wanted. Then when our drinks were brought we received the wrong drink order. We were more than halfway through our meal before being served the bread.

As an appetizer we ordered the tomatos and mozzerella. It really had no flavor at all. In fact, although I'm certainly not much of a chef, I could have made it tastier myself.

I guess what really topped it off for me though was when I picked up my fork and there was this large dried mushroom affixed to it! It was so disgusting. And then I had to flag down a server to get a clean fork.

I was so surprised because this was not the same restaurant that I had frequented several months ago.

 

I have to agree. My family and I went one time about three months ago. They did not have a high chair that had a working strap on it. Doesn't seem like a big deal, but when you have a little guy that likes to climb it is a big deal. We ordered fried mozzarella sticks for appetizer and honestly that was the best part of the whole meal. The service was slow and we are a family of 5 only 4 ordered since my little guy is able to eat whatever we eat and our bill was $75.00 which was surprising. But to top it all off every single one of us ended up not feeling to well that evening.

clwjl5

 

They still have the best pizza in the area.

 

Carol, did you complain to the restaurant management?

 

Not this time since I had a guest and we had a business committment right after our lunch so time was at a premium.

 

Did you complain any time since that lunch? In other words does San Vito management know about the problem?

 

Unless they have read this forum or someone else has told them, I have not done so. I'm not going to make a special trip there just to say this.

 

I quit going there when it became obvious I couldn't get anything reliably gluten-free. They made the veal/chicken with olives and tomatoes, and managed not to dredge it in flour, but, there, in the sauce right next to the meat was a big linguine noodle. Simple carelessness on their part, but it could have had severe ramifications for me. BTW, I also thought it was OK at best.

 

For someone who preaches to everyone that they need to be constructive on these forums I find it hypocritical that you would open up a new thread to complain instead of speaking to restaurant management. That helps no one (not the customers, not the business, not the community). Since you've proudly stated that you "set an example" for others to follow maybe you can start by taking a more constructive route and speaking directly to whoever is in charge there instead of doing the equivalent of talking behind their backs.

We all know which restaurant you support but whether or not you like San Vito they are a part of our community and I think we should at least help them identify their problems. The same goes for any of our local businesses. There's no way services can improve if no one tells them what's wrong and all of a sudden customers stop showing up.

Let's help our local businesses!

 

Poultry,

It sounds like you had a rough day! Like others on these forums, I write what I speak. When I've written positive or negative responses, I've not necessarily taken them to the businesses themselves but representatives of these businesses do come to the forums. Cases in point if you choose to do searches include Broadlands Pub, the pet store and 321. And note the topic -- San Vito revisted -- so you will see I have not been the first and likely not the last to make comments on a particular establishment.

Your post comes across as personally attacking more than anything. You made good points about the restaurant and as a concerned Broadlands resident who cares and wants to support local businesses, by all means either take them copies of these posts or call them yourself and let them know they are here if it means that much to you.

For what it's worth in regards to 321 I never told them I was going to write on the web site about the restaurant or that I had written on the web site. But, 321 management did become aware of the forums and read what was there and then subsequently emailed me wanting to know if they could post my comments on their own web site. San Vito could do the same with residents who have posted positive comments as well as get other feedback.

So in closing, I'd appreciate if you would lighten up and stop attacking. Good day!

 

I'm not surprised.........it's probably because everything seems to offend you, displease you or not meet your expectations. Naturally you think everyone's after you.

(I'm not the one opening up new threads to complain about things that I refuse to do anything about.)

FWIW, I wouldn't have a gripe if you actually tried to do something to improve the local business community instead of just complaining. It isn't difficult to pick up the phone, drive the 2 miles to the restaurant or stop there on your way back home.

No, we can't expect that area businesses will read these forums.

Yes, even though I'm probably not going to be in this area for too much longer I still think that businesses need our support. The least we can do is point out things we don't like and give them a chance to improve.

 

I have to agree with Steve.

 

I actually like San Vito's and have not had a bad experience there yet other than a long wait and during that time, our food was not the best but we did not complain. I also happen to know that if anyone had mentioned their unhappiness, the owner would step in and rectify it. The owner is very hands on there.

As an example, I went to Bonefish...awful. Got a porkchop and it was horribly overcooked, daugther had pasta dish and the pasta was rubbery. I never complained. I just did not want to go back. A friend dragged me back there, and my steak was nothing short of fab. However, my friend had asked for well cooked (though a crime in my opinion) and it came rare. They took the steak back after we mentioned it and gave her some soup to 'tie' her over. When it came back her meat was cooked properly but it was full of fat. Mine was the same type of cut and sans the fat. We complained again. Manager came over brought her a brand new steak - that was perfect in all regards, took the meal off the bill. We were completely happy and I would now go back there again.

I think unlike the Safeway - I believe the manager / owner of San Vito's would have stepped in and tried to make you happy. It is possible you would never like the food there - if that is the case, no amount of service will change your opinion. It is not Ashland 321 but it is also not priced the same either. Good luck and I wish you would at least give them a chance to earn back your patronage.

- Donna

 

Put yourself in the business owner's shoes. He or she is like a lot of us who work. Imagine if your boss one day told you you're fired because of something he or she didn't like but refused to tell you about in the past. So he or she didn't give you a chance to change or improve or even know about what you were doing wrong. You have your ups and your downs, your good days and your bad days and you should at least be given the chance (early on) to change.

Let's not ditch businesses without giving them a chance to do anything. I'd hate for the shopping center to turn into a place where businesses come and go constantly because they don't know what they're doing wrong. Or have a stigma attached to this area that people are so uncaring that they'll just watch a local business die without speaking up about what's wrong. Trust me, no one's gonna want to open up shop around here if it comes to that. If we simply treat local businesses like replaceable things then they might as well treat us like replaceable things.

 

FYI -- San Vito's does have a web page where comments, etc., can be made. In addition to copying my comments, I sent them the link to this thread. http://www.sanvitorestaurant.com/index.php

 

I visited San Vito recently (last week) and there was no problem with their food. However, they have an obviously inexperienced waitstaff, and I'M SURE the management is well aware of it. We visited months ago and experienced the same issue. I don't believe this is the type of issue that needs to be brought up to the management -- they are the ones doing the hiring.

 

All,

First, I'd like to thank Carol for directing me to this forum ... had she not, I would not have had the chance to review the comments. So, thank you very much. I'd very much like to echo the comments about letting the management know. We care very much about every customer's experience ... and as much as I enjoy the positive feedback, the negative feedback actually provides more opportunity to improve.

Although some of specific incidents are more difficult to comment on (e.g., someone's view of the food on a particular night), I can address the "staff" issue. Our staff is young, and more so when compared to larger and more established restaurants. To be honest, we like it that way. Of course we want to "fix" the experience issue, and it would unquestionably be more professional if all of our staff were more familiar with the culinary arts, but what is most important to us is that we hire good kids from the community who, first and foremost, make our customers feel like part of the family. For most of our staff, working at San Vito is not only their first time serving tables, it also their first job, period. They, like you, are members of the community -- the sons and daughters of our customers. They try hard and care a lot about what they do. But they do make mistakes. When they do, we try to professionally coach and teach them ... for both their benefit and the benefit of our customers.

Most of the other issues are somewhat hard to address in hind-sight (except for the high chair straps which have long since been replaced). However, I take them very seriously and will certainly do my best to ensure such incidents don't occur again.

Again, I appreciate the feedback (although, to be honest, it's somewhat like the shot at the doctor ... it hurts, but it's good for you). Although the vast amount of feedback we get is extremely positive, we won't be happy until that positive experience is reached every time. We're committed to doing just that ... and your experience helps tremendously. Thanks!

best regards,
Michael
co-owner,
San Vito