Web Administrator's Note: Our readers have been asking for some examples of reviews that didn't have the outcome we've seen thus far. Here's a great example of a recent visit from our contributor, Charity. Take a look:
Restaurant Review
Date Visited: 5/14/11 @ 4:15pm; no reservations
Type: Italian
Gamberetti's Italian Restaurant
2360 Fairgrounds Rd NE
Salem, OR 97301
No website, but you can find them on Facebook
Monday - Thurs
11:00am - 9:00pm
Friday
11:00am - 10:00pm
Saturday
4:00pm - 10:00pm
Sunday
3:00pm - 8:30pm
Affordability: $10 - 30 p/person for dinner
Dress Code: Casual
Overall Rating: 1 Lemon Twist
Willamette Valley residents named Gamberetti's the best overall Italian food restaurant. HB and I love Italian food, and it's always hard to find really good, truly authentic, Italian food. We originally planned on heading to the restaurant last weekend, but we couldn't find any parking nearby. This was a great sign! We jotted a note down to head back the following weekend. So, we visited them with pure excitement this last weekend, and we headed in just after opening so that we could get a spot to park.
Initial Impression:
Located on the the busy Fairgrounds Rd, it's easy to find. Parking, on the other hand, is attrocious at minimum. At some point, the auto parts store nextdoor claimed all of the parking spots on the left and right. This is evidenced by the large "Parking for XXX Only" signs located at every parking spot. All of them were empty, but not wanting to have our vehicle towed, we finally found one located in the very back, behind the trash cans, labeled "Restaurant Parking." It smelled so bad. Suggestion #1: fix the parking or fix the trash. Anyways, we headed around to the front to find some nice outdoor furniture. I can see people lounging outside sipping wine on a warm spring evening. They had Nora Jones being piped through the outdoor speakers...the mood was nice!
Once HB and I headed inside, we were greeted by two staffmembers. They asked how we were and lead us to a booth around the corner. The restaurant looks like it could be a repainted Mexican food restaurant with the bright tiles and harsh stuccoed walls. But, they've painted the walls a dark chocolate brown and added touches if Italy in the form of artwork on the walls. The booths were extremely uncomfortable; lacking softness. My rear end dropped to the bottom of the cushion immediately (and I hadn't even eatten yet!). HB and I began to feel disappointed we came.
Food:
Our server left menus at our table and asked us for our drink preferences at the same time. HB and I both ordered iced tea. We scanned over the menu and found somewhat limited offerings, but he decided on the seafood alfredo and I decided on the butternut squash ravioli (my personal favorite--and was excited because not too many restaurants offer it). We also started with an anti-pasta platter.
Our bread arrived quickly--three small slices of foccacia bread. While the bread was pretty good, I was very disappointed to only receive three small pieces. They didn't even fill up the bottom of the bread bowl. The bread was good though--crunchy on the outside and very, very soft and moist on the inside. Dipped in the local Oregon grown and pressed olive oil, it was fantastic. Our server offered up more bread a few times, and we gladly took him up on his offer!
Our anti-pasta platter arrived soon afterwards. This is what cemented our experience. Everything on that platter could have been bought at the local grocery store and served for a low-budget baby shower. The meat--salami and procutto appeared straight out of a package; the round slices of provolone were cut into quarters; the medium cheddar cheese cut into small cubes; the pickles, artichokes, and olives are probably the same as the ones in my refrigerator. I could continue, but this platter was very disappointing. I feel like if I pay nearly $10 for a plate of food, I want the chef's passion for food to be on exhibit--just like every plate they put out.
Our plates of food arrived soon afterwards. The plates looked delicious! HB immediately dug into his seafood alfredo. He said the shrimp was nice; just a tiny tad overcooked. The scallops were chopped up, but cooked nicely and had a nice flavor. The white fish; however, was overcooked and tough. He noted the alfredo was missing some flavor--just seemed bland. I started to dig into my ravioli. There were about 10 - 12 raviolis in the bowl, a very nice size meal compared to other restaurants. The ravioli was delicious! HB was right though, the alfredo isn't what I'm used to. It has a yellow tint and is very bland. It's creamy, but I wished I could have had a true alfredo on the pasta. The sweetness of the ravioli became too sweet about halfway through the meal, and unfortunately, because the alfredo lacked depth and flavor, it because an unpleasent meal in the end.
Neither of us ordered dessert.
Food Twist: 0 twists. The food was below standards; bland; overcooked; lacked depth and passion.
Service:
The service here was just like basic service you would expect in a restaurant. Pleases and thank yous; take your times; is there anything else you needs; how's the foods; it's all here. A few things to note:
It was 4:30 when we ordered, but a special of the day hadn't been created. People who were seated next to us at 5:00pm were told the same thing. If you're going to have special, make it available for folks for dinner. At 5pm, that special should be on the board!
When our server arrived with our iced tea he asked, "Did either of you want sweetener with your tea?" I smiled and said yes. He replied, "Ok, I'll be right back." He left to go get our sweetener. Our iced tea sat for almost three minutes while we waited for sugar. Be proactive. Assume I'll want sweetener. If I don't, take the sugar back.
When we left, the server said, "have a good night." The hostess by the door said, "have a good evening." No on thanked us for our business.
Service Twist: 1 twist. They weren't rude; just need to step it up.
Summary:
1 Lemon Twist. Overall, if you're looking for a great Italian food place, ask me for a recommendation. I have a few top restaurants I hit up! One of them won't be Gamberetti's. I was very disappointed.
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