TOSCANA'S PEABODY,MA
The other night my husband and I dined at this restaurant. The entire experience was horrible. It really began when we arrived and the hostess kept walking by us without recognition. Then we were seated by the kitchen door. That should have been a sign of things to come. We arrived @ 6pm. We put in our order immediately. My husband order Pasta Bolognese and I ordered Pasta Siena and we ordered Fried Calamari as an appetizer. The Calamari arrived at 6:30pm. 1/2 hour for Calamari? Then 15 min. later our salads arrived.At 7:15 our dinners arrived. We're talking two pasta dishes, nothing elaborate and it took 1 hour and 15 minutes? The only table that was being attended to with great speed was a large corner round table which looked like restaurant employees. A blonde hostess (?) was sitting with them and occasionally got up to seat some people. And with an attitude, I might add. Other than that there were some tables full but not all. So, it wasn't crunch-time, it was a normal seating. The service couldn't have been slower if they tried. The food was nothing special. While my husband enjoyed his pasta mine was not edible. I tasted it but it was nothing like the Pasta Siena I've had in the past. It tasted like 1 cup of sugar had accidently fallen into the dish. The waitress said it was the Madeira. I've been cooking for 48 years and have used Madeira in quite a few dishes, so I'm quite familiar with the flavor. It's distinct. This was a cream sherry and not at all appealing in this particular dish. The waitress did take the meal off our bill, which I didn't expect and appreciate but I'm so disappointed in our dining experience I needed to let you know. We dine out 2-3 times a week. In fact, we've been dining in that restaurant when there were previous owners, and have been since Toscana's was born. We've noticed a change in the service since our last visit 3 months ago. The service was horrible on our last visit, but thought we'd give it a chance, once again. I'm not planning on returning.
Contessa
