Great italian food, good service, friendly staff and an all around clean restaurant. Would come back again!
(4)
Adam S.
Just ok-3 stars all the way. Pizza was ok, service was ok, eggplant Parm was pretty good.
(3)
Pat J.
Our first visit we waited for 25 minutes and still had nothing. So we left. Felt left out too.
(1)
Natalie S.
Great buffet for Mother's Day - good options, except, as an Italian restaurant, they were missing the bagels and schmear to go along with their perfectly smoked salmon. To me, that is a brunch staple! Great meat carving station , lots of dessert choices, and the location was good. The harpist was great!
(4)
Megan K.
I had a nice meal here. Was seated at quite table on the bar side and was taken care of very well by the wait staff. The manager came over to say hello, which is always appreciated. Only negative thing to say would be that the glass of white I ordered was served to me room temperature. The wedding soup was hearty and tasted home made. The atmosphere is romantic without being so dark that you can't see the menu. Overall I would visit again. Maybe even just to sit at the bar and have drinks with friends.
(4)
Michelle B.
This rating is based on food quality and staff encounters. I had an overpriced shrimp and linguini dish that was okay, but nothing to write home about. The sauce was simply bland--no bite, no spice. The server was nice enough. But later in the evening, I noticed another server being kind of short with a guest. It was an unapologetic type of act in response to a complaint. In short, I won't be back. Though the entertainment was good--a live band, and the group I went with along with the crowd at the restaurant, was wonderful.
(2)
Joe S.
Mediocre food. Everything is a la carte $18 for spheghetti really !! And slow service to top that which means adios to this establishment. Wouldn't recommend to anyone!!!
(2)
Stacy S.
I'm glad I didn't read the reviews before dining here. I can understand the mixed reviews, though. I had a wonderful evening even though the service was spotty and food was sometimes a miss. Loved the garlic butter with fresh bread - yum! Calamari was fair - too crusted and fried for my taste. Cioppino was good - not the usual tomato based. My date enjoyed his whole trout with spinach. We really enjoyed sitting after dinner at the long bar listening to the cute couple singing Sinatra tunes. It was a very pleasant evening...PS walked in at about &:30 with no reservation. The place was pretty busy but we were happy to get a table right away. I will definitely go back.
(4)
KariGirl G.
This isn't a fine dining restaurant, rather it is a casual dining restaurant with tasty food. They aim to please and have live entertainment. The wings that I ordered from the bar while watching football were delicious! Drinks are good too.
(2)
Kelly R.
This was my first time at Valenti's, and I was very pleased. I had dinner there with a friend, we both ordered salads as starters, I had the arugula salad, which was very simple, but very tasty. Arugula dressed with fresh lemon juice and EVOO, topped with red onion and shaved parmesan.....excellent! I then ordered a flatbread pizza topped with sausage and mushroom bianco.....very good. The Italian bread served with dinner was warm, slightly crusty and delicious. My friend and I shared a slice of cheesecake with raspberry sauce, NY style, very good, but a little bit pricey ($8.00), same price as the pizza:-(. Our server was not as attentive as we would have liked, long wait between refills, next course, check etc. The Executive Chef stopped by our table to see if we enjoyed our meal. I will definitely return.
(4)
Ken K.
Ive decided to be short on specifics tonight. I wish I could leave 3 or even 2 stars but in good conscience I cannot. this is my third time here. The first two were "eh....." My experience tonight could have been very disappointing but the good bartending service saved it. The food? Valentis isn't a dining destination but its ok. The atmosphere? Great. Looooooong bar. Piano player with a portable piano. Fun place. And very good service. On balance .....4 stars. ... We'll be back.
(4)
Ashley S.
They received one star ONLY because I couldn't write a review with zero stars....... The absolute worst experience I have ever had at a restaurant. First, we had made reservations for 12 people, weeks in advanced. Confirmed our reservations the morning of. When we arrived they only had a table set for 10. Their solution was to give us an additional table in the corner so that 2 lucky people could be separated from the rest of our group. Well we weren't having that....and finally they brought 2 additional chairs to our table. 2 chairs that were bar stools, so 2 people had to sit much higher than the table making it impossible for them to eat comfortably. Reservations were at 7:30. It was 8:30 before we received bread (which we had to ask for) still no one has taken our order. And we were having to get up from our table to order drinks at the bar....since our waiter was to preoccupied with other tables. Once we did place our order it was another 45 min before we received our food. A couple in our group ordered lobster ravioli, about 30 mins after we placed our order they were told they ran out of it. At this point everyone in our group was upset, and we asked to speak with the owner......this is where it gets good. We voiced our issues to the owner who replied with "I do this for fun, I don't feel like arguing so we will just take our food back" We were dumbfounded by his response. Some people continued to eat, I gladly gave my food back. In an attempt to fix the issue the owner did bring out lobster ravioli (that he must of pulled out of his ass, since they supposedly had just sold the last of it about 20 min ago and proceeded to say "here is ur ravioli, so don't complain because I myself made it for you" What a cocky SOB. If I wasn't there celebrating a friends birthday I would have walked out right then and there. When the bills came, they ended up charging me for my pasta, and literally hand wrote a 20% gratuity on each of the the checks. How ballsy is that?! No tips were given, and portions of the bills went unpaid. I have never had such an unprofessional experience in my life. I will NEVER go back..... And strongly advises that no one give business to those assholes either!
(1)
Athena D.
My meal was outstanding as well as the entertainment and bar atmosphere. The muddles and pasta were the best!
(5)
Anthony P.
So, I love the entertainment and ambiance at this restaurant. The owners are always present and welcoming. I love Stacey the bartender. They need some work on the food. My side of pasta was cold. Ugh! The Veal Piccata was boring and for 24.00 I expected more than four small pieces. The Pesto Red Snapper was bland, lacking any pizzazz. The pasta was lukewarm and hand churned Parmesan cheese was not offered, let alone cracked pepper. You have a beautiful restaurant and great service. If your food would be equal you have a winner. Step it up a few notches!
(3)
Jessica M.
In a world (at least a neighborhood) of waaay too many Italian restaurants, I was pleased to try Valenti's! I had the Pasta Aglio e Olio....FINALLY a place that didn't just serve noodles with too much garlic and swimming in oil. The ratio was perfect! The atmosphere was pleasant and comfortable with friendly service!
(3)
Craig E.
I actually went to another place across the parking lot and stood in the bar for a few minutes with no response from anyone. I walked out and saw this hidden gem while pulling out. I walked in and immediately loved the look of this place. Then the piano man Dennis was belting out some great tunes on the piano. I sat at the bar and Lauren promptly greeted me and made me feel like I was a regular. People started filling the bar and the place emitted so much good energy I knew I found a keeper. Angel the other bartender was bubbly on top of it and seemed liked she knew me for years. I ordered the Chicken Piccata which I am very critical of as I make this dish more than I like to admit. It came out perfect. I talked with Dino the chef here and he walked me through the whole process and said to come back and watch them prepare it next visit. I will definitely take him up on this. Then Linda ( owner I believe) talked with me for a few minutes about the place which she didn't have to do but I feel that is one of the reasons this place is so special. The staff is fantastic. The clientele was fun and the overall experience was first rate. I will definitely be back.
(5)
Tawana H.
Had the pleasure of visiting Valenti's on Tuesday May 7, I had a wonderful time....the atmosphere was so relaxing and fun as they just so happened to have Karaoke what live entertainment I thoroughly enjoyed myself.......the service was good and favorite part the DaMa red wine absolutely deelish.....if you haven't tried them stop on by and check them out....I'll definitely be back again.
(5)
Linsey D.
We went to Valenti's on a whim decision. We walked in around 7:15 on a Saturday night, & were immediately greeted by a friendly host staff, & waited under 5 minutes for our table. The place seemed very lively, & extremely loud with live music in the bar area. We thought it would be a perfect place for our 2 & 4 year old. We were unaware that this restaurant was not at all kid friendly, but soon discovered it was. Our server was friendly, but was observed rolling her eyes on numerous occasions (asking for a kid's menu, bread). She seemed very impatient and did not seem to pay attention to our orders fully. The bread took over 10 minutes to arrive. It was worth the wait as we enjoyed it very much. Then our main entrees arrived about 10 minutes after the bread. We explained that we did not receive our salad, the server put the blame on the food runner and offered to pack it up and not charge us. I expressed that was unnecessary, & that we would still enjoy our salad along with our main course. During this time my 21 month old had a small outburst and a few patrons seemed upset. I apologized and calmed him down. Back to enjoying our dinner, everything was going smoothly until I ordered dessert. I asked if the Spumoni was made in house, to where the server replied, "we don't have Spumoni". I simply pointed to it on the menu and she shrugged and explained they must be out of it. My son noticed carrot cake in the deli window in front of the hostess stand, and ordered that (it wasn't on the menu, nor were we informed of it's addition for the evening.) I ordered the "coppa pistachio" which sounded heavenly to me. It was described as a "pistachio gelato with crushed pistachio over top". I was a bit surprised when the server brought me something completely different which appeared to have grapes on top. When I questioned her, she simply stated, "this is what you ordered". She then brought a menu over and I pointed to what I really had ordered. She apologized, returned in 5 minutes to inform me that they were out of the dessert that I had ordered. We got the check and were about to pay when we overheard (VERY clearly) the owner at another patron's table say "Isn't it a bit late for children to be up?" (At this point it was 8:45 pm). Everyone at the table turned to look at us, & embarrassed as we were, we sat patiently and waited to pay the check (10 minutes to bring me change). We even asked another server for change and she rudely replied, "no, I don't have change". Without an offer to get us change or get our server to break our $20 bill). What server doesn't have change for a $20?? Come on. On our way out, I let the owner know that I heard his comment and was insulted. He lied to me saying he didn't say what I think he said. I told him we will not be back, & he replied, "good!" Our first clue that they didn't like kids, should've been the lack of a kid's menu. I agree if a place doesn't have a children's menu, then you shouldn't bring them, but there is a less crass way to approach the situation. Maybe explain that they don't cater to children? The bottom line, while, Valenti's food was delicious, the service was less than desirable, & kids are not welcome.
(3)
Brooke P.
Met friends after work at Valentis for apps and to share a bottle of wine. I was impressed with the selection and value of their bottled wine list. We enjoyed a nice Soave and ended up staying for dinner, James our waiter guided us through the menu and I choose the veal piccata it was AMAZING, such a delicate sauce! Us girls shared a slice of the Sicilian cassata cake and a piece of ricotta pie both equally delicious. The four of us had such a wonderful evening we will be back!
(5)
Amanda G.
I rarely write reviews... but this place was terrible! We had a group of 7, not an oddly large group. Most retaurants just push two tables together. Here, the plop a random large table right next to the door and the host stand and call it their VIP table. Not only does everyone walking in watch you eat, but its right next to the kitchen and super busy... No thanks Wine: An italian restaurant that doesnt serve bottles of wine or carrafes? This is supposed be Italian, right? I'll leave it at that. Pizza? If you call dough with a salad on top pizza... I order the procuitto and red pepper pizza which was supposed to have goat cheese and arugula on it. Sounds fantastic. I got an overly doughy "pizza" with no sauce, 3 pieces of proccuitto and a side salad on top. NOT a pizza. To top it all off the service was terrible, we brought a cake and asked for coffee with it. Got our coffee as we were ready to go. NOT IMPRESSED
(1)
Sean C.
Had dinner here while I was in town on business. The food is excellent. The freshly made pasta is amazing and definitely sets this restaurant apart from many of the mock Italian joints I've been to. The staff is extremely friendly and accommodating. The decor is sort of cheap and the layout of the restaurant is a little thrown together, but it's an acceptable trade off for the quality of the food. I'd go back again.
(4)
Angie S.
Worst food I've ever had. but wait I didn't actually eat my dinner because it had no flavor. Not to mention no salt,pepper,cheese,or pepper flakes.......even a pizza shop has that on their table.And when I told the owner it wasn't good, he shrugged his shoulders and walked away. Horrible service. I wouldn't waste your time or money. Cleveland has a lot of really good Italian restaurants......this just isn't one if them
(1)
F U.
Love the huge, long bar. That is the only positive I have to say about this place. We sat at bar because we arrived early for our reservation. We found 2 seats and it looked as if the people before us just left. The bar top was sticky and had a large amount of debris and crumbs. When the bartender came over I thought he would wipe the bar, however, he threw down coasters right on top of the mess. Many people running around behind bar yet nobody paid attention. The dining room experience was even worse. Our server did not come to our table to greet us for at least 10 minutes. When she did arrive, no smiles, no welcome, no explanations. Just-what do you want to drink. She threw drinks down and ran off and did not come back for another 10 minutes-at least. In the meantime, food runners kept bringing food to our table that we did not order. I was tempted to accept some of it since we were starving and were being ignored by our server with no apologies. Zucchini app was all flour and egg and no zucchini. I had margarita pizza. It was awful! The menu claimed it had tomatoes and baby mozzarella. There were no tomatoes on the pizza. It had a smear of sauce and the cheese was only located in the middle where the corners of the slices met. It was like having thin bread for dinner. My husband had balsamic chicken which was $21 for a chicken breast with dressing and a TINY side of pasta. Noodles are cheap, why skimp? Bottom line-- our server was awful and unfriendly and the food was horrendous! The menu is tiny and the drinks are expensive. This place will be closed soon.
(1)
Michelle R.
I have had better service at a Waffle House! Terrible! My friend and I were excited to try a new place so we went to a "Wine and Canvas" event Friday 12/27/2013 hosted at Valenti's, but to our dismay, we had an awful experience. First off, when hosting such an event, I was disappointed that the restaurant did not give away the first glass of wine free to each of us. I would've purchased an additional 1-2 glasses in that 3 hour time frame of painting, creating more business for the restaurant and happy customers! Secondly, when we finally got the attention of one of the 2 servers in this side room set up for the painters, the bottle service was APPALLING. The server first stole our menu to give to another set of women (when you know you are having 20+ people, you should have enough menus out before their arrival). He came back to get our order and we had to repeat 5+ times what bottle we wanted and he had no idea what we were saying. When delivering the bottle, the waiter put it down in front of us and said he had to open another girl's bottle and that he would be right back. That wasn't the case, he promptly left the room after opening her bottle and didn't come back for 5 minutes or so, teasing us with this unopened bottle.....should I really have to bring my own wine key to a restaurant and open the damn bottle myself?! Since we had a bottle between the 2 of us, we were fine and did not require refills. It appeared he was prompt with refilling other people's drinks so that's one good thing this server did. In the 3 hour time frame, we were never handed a check for our wine bottle. We were so starving after this class that we directly got sat in the dining room for dinner after the class let out. We stayed until 10pm eating dinner, with that server never trying to find us, a total of 4 hours at Valenti's. We didn't walk out on our tab, we were neglected. The server had ample time to give us a check. Fast forward to today....the manager Nancy Prosser called my friend, who did leave her name with the server upon ordering the bottle, who must have found her number through the "Wine and Canvas" teachers' list. Nancy did not apologize for the poor service when my friend complained and then had the audacity to ask if she wanted to leave a tip when paying by credit card over the phone. After conversing with me what I owed her for my half of the bottle, the price didn't make sense....at $9 a glass, times 4 possible glasses in a bottle, that bottle should be around $36, one would assume. We initially got charged $52! We had to call back and complain AGAIN and Nancy begrudgingly admitted that the tabs were mixed up. Nancy didn't try to diffuse the situation at all, nor offer us a percentage off the wine or coupons/gift cards to come back to the restaurant. Good thing though, because I will never go back. Mess ups upon mess ups.....inconceivable. I have a serving background and am pretty understanding with common human errors, but last night was absolutely UNFORGIVABLE. Sorry for the long review, but I felt it was warranted.
(1)
Lee H.
Worst chicken piccata I've ever had. This place put an entire onion, practically raw, in the dish. Never had chicken piccata with onion and never will again. The "sauce" was white and the only flavor was onion. I believe the calamari was the frozen kind. I bet this place doesn't last much longer.
(1)
Lisa M.
Alas, a very disappointing meal. Our server, while pleasant, seemed extremely harried, and we waited for a good 20 minutes before our drinks were delivered. Meanwhile, there were several other servers standing by the kitchen, gossiping, so maybe not a staffing issue? There was a table of people next to us who may have been the owners or friends of the owners who were being fawned over while others, including us, in the nearby vicinity were studiously ignored. The food was not much better, with a limp, chewy calamari appetizer (although the marinara dipping sauce was quite good) that suggested it was quick fried from a bulk frozen bag. Chicken parmigiana was Ok, if uninspired. It was supposed to come with the vegetable of the day, which was creamed corn with pancetta, an awful combination, if you ask me. We asked for a substitution and got broccoli rabe, which I normally love, but which was swimming in so much butter that it was slimy. The service was so slow that we opted out of dessert. The long bar in the center of the room was hopping but the chatty patrons, along with really loud rock and roll music, made the dining experience even less pleasant. We have no need to go back, unfortunately.
I'm glad I didn't read the reviews before dining here. I can understand the mixed reviews, though. I had a wonderful evening even though the service was spotty and food was sometimes a miss. Loved the garlic butter with fresh bread - yum! Calamari was fair - too crusted and fried for my taste. Cioppino was good - not the usual tomato based. My date enjoyed his whole trout with spinach. We really enjoyed sitting after dinner at the long bar listening to the cute couple singing Sinatra tunes. It was a very pleasant evening...PS walked in at about &:30 with no reservation. The place was pretty busy but we were happy to get a table right away. I will definitely go back.
(4)
KariGirl G.
This isn't a fine dining restaurant, rather it is a casual dining restaurant with tasty food. They aim to please and have live entertainment. The wings that I ordered from the bar while watching football were delicious! Drinks are good too.
(2)
Michelle B.
This rating is based on food quality and staff encounters. I had an overpriced shrimp and linguini dish that was okay, but nothing to write home about. The sauce was simply bland--no bite, no spice. The server was nice enough. But later in the evening, I noticed another server being kind of short with a guest. It was an unapologetic type of act in response to a complaint. In short, I won't be back. Though the entertainment was good--a live band, and the group I went with along with the crowd at the restaurant, was wonderful.
(2)
Joe S.
Mediocre food. Everything is a la carte $18 for spheghetti really !! And slow service to top that which means adios to this establishment. Wouldn't recommend to anyone!!!
(2)
Linsey D.
We went to Valenti's on a whim decision. We walked in around 7:15 on a Saturday night, & were immediately greeted by a friendly host staff, & waited under 5 minutes for our table. The place seemed very lively, & extremely loud with live music in the bar area. We thought it would be a perfect place for our 2 & 4 year old. We were unaware that this restaurant was not at all kid friendly, but soon discovered it was. Our server was friendly, but was observed rolling her eyes on numerous occasions (asking for a kid's menu, bread). She seemed very impatient and did not seem to pay attention to our orders fully. The bread took over 10 minutes to arrive. It was worth the wait as we enjoyed it very much. Then our main entrees arrived about 10 minutes after the bread. We explained that we did not receive our salad, the server put the blame on the food runner and offered to pack it up and not charge us. I expressed that was unnecessary, & that we would still enjoy our salad along with our main course. During this time my 21 month old had a small outburst and a few patrons seemed upset. I apologized and calmed him down. Back to enjoying our dinner, everything was going smoothly until I ordered dessert. I asked if the Spumoni was made in house, to where the server replied, "we don't have Spumoni". I simply pointed to it on the menu and she shrugged and explained they must be out of it. My son noticed carrot cake in the deli window in front of the hostess stand, and ordered that (it wasn't on the menu, nor were we informed of it's addition for the evening.) I ordered the "coppa pistachio" which sounded heavenly to me. It was described as a "pistachio gelato with crushed pistachio over top". I was a bit surprised when the server brought me something completely different which appeared to have grapes on top. When I questioned her, she simply stated, "this is what you ordered". She then brought a menu over and I pointed to what I really had ordered. She apologized, returned in 5 minutes to inform me that they were out of the dessert that I had ordered. We got the check and were about to pay when we overheard (VERY clearly) the owner at another patron's table say "Isn't it a bit late for children to be up?" (At this point it was 8:45 pm). Everyone at the table turned to look at us, & embarrassed as we were, we sat patiently and waited to pay the check (10 minutes to bring me change). We even asked another server for change and she rudely replied, "no, I don't have change". Without an offer to get us change or get our server to break our $20 bill). What server doesn't have change for a $20?? Come on. On our way out, I let the owner know that I heard his comment and was insulted. He lied to me saying he didn't say what I think he said. I told him we will not be back, & he replied, "good!" Our first clue that they didn't like kids, should've been the lack of a kid's menu. I agree if a place doesn't have a children's menu, then you shouldn't bring them, but there is a less crass way to approach the situation. Maybe explain that they don't cater to children? The bottom line, while, Valenti's food was delicious, the service was less than desirable, & kids are not welcome.
(3)
Brooke P.
Met friends after work at Valentis for apps and to share a bottle of wine. I was impressed with the selection and value of their bottled wine list. We enjoyed a nice Soave and ended up staying for dinner, James our waiter guided us through the menu and I choose the veal piccata it was AMAZING, such a delicate sauce! Us girls shared a slice of the Sicilian cassata cake and a piece of ricotta pie both equally delicious. The four of us had such a wonderful evening we will be back!
(5)
Kelly R.
This was my first time at Valenti's, and I was very pleased. I had dinner there with a friend, we both ordered salads as starters, I had the arugula salad, which was very simple, but very tasty. Arugula dressed with fresh lemon juice and EVOO, topped with red onion and shaved parmesan.....excellent! I then ordered a flatbread pizza topped with sausage and mushroom bianco.....very good. The Italian bread served with dinner was warm, slightly crusty and delicious. My friend and I shared a slice of cheesecake with raspberry sauce, NY style, very good, but a little bit pricey ($8.00), same price as the pizza:-(. Our server was not as attentive as we would have liked, long wait between refills, next course, check etc. The Executive Chef stopped by our table to see if we enjoyed our meal. I will definitely return.
(4)
Ken K.
Ive decided to be short on specifics tonight. I wish I could leave 3 or even 2 stars but in good conscience I cannot. this is my third time here. The first two were "eh....." My experience tonight could have been very disappointing but the good bartending service saved it. The food? Valentis isn't a dining destination but its ok. The atmosphere? Great. Looooooong bar. Piano player with a portable piano. Fun place. And very good service. On balance .....4 stars. ... We'll be back.
(4)
Craig E.
I actually went to another place across the parking lot and stood in the bar for a few minutes with no response from anyone. I walked out and saw this hidden gem while pulling out. I walked in and immediately loved the look of this place. Then the piano man Dennis was belting out some great tunes on the piano. I sat at the bar and Lauren promptly greeted me and made me feel like I was a regular. People started filling the bar and the place emitted so much good energy I knew I found a keeper. Angel the other bartender was bubbly on top of it and seemed liked she knew me for years. I ordered the Chicken Piccata which I am very critical of as I make this dish more than I like to admit. It came out perfect. I talked with Dino the chef here and he walked me through the whole process and said to come back and watch them prepare it next visit. I will definitely take him up on this. Then Linda ( owner I believe) talked with me for a few minutes about the place which she didn't have to do but I feel that is one of the reasons this place is so special. The staff is fantastic. The clientele was fun and the overall experience was first rate. I will definitely be back.
(5)
Tawana H.
Had the pleasure of visiting Valenti's on Tuesday May 7, I had a wonderful time....the atmosphere was so relaxing and fun as they just so happened to have Karaoke what live entertainment I thoroughly enjoyed myself.......the service was good and favorite part the DaMa red wine absolutely deelish.....if you haven't tried them stop on by and check them out....I'll definitely be back again.
(5)
Amanda G.
I rarely write reviews... but this place was terrible! We had a group of 7, not an oddly large group. Most retaurants just push two tables together. Here, the plop a random large table right next to the door and the host stand and call it their VIP table. Not only does everyone walking in watch you eat, but its right next to the kitchen and super busy... No thanks Wine: An italian restaurant that doesnt serve bottles of wine or carrafes? This is supposed be Italian, right? I'll leave it at that. Pizza? If you call dough with a salad on top pizza... I order the procuitto and red pepper pizza which was supposed to have goat cheese and arugula on it. Sounds fantastic. I got an overly doughy "pizza" with no sauce, 3 pieces of proccuitto and a side salad on top. NOT a pizza. To top it all off the service was terrible, we brought a cake and asked for coffee with it. Got our coffee as we were ready to go. NOT IMPRESSED
(1)
Sean C.
Had dinner here while I was in town on business. The food is excellent. The freshly made pasta is amazing and definitely sets this restaurant apart from many of the mock Italian joints I've been to. The staff is extremely friendly and accommodating. The decor is sort of cheap and the layout of the restaurant is a little thrown together, but it's an acceptable trade off for the quality of the food. I'd go back again.
(4)
Angie S.
Worst food I've ever had. but wait I didn't actually eat my dinner because it had no flavor. Not to mention no salt,pepper,cheese,or pepper flakes.......even a pizza shop has that on their table.And when I told the owner it wasn't good, he shrugged his shoulders and walked away. Horrible service. I wouldn't waste your time or money. Cleveland has a lot of really good Italian restaurants......this just isn't one if them
(1)
Michelle R.
I have had better service at a Waffle House! Terrible! My friend and I were excited to try a new place so we went to a "Wine and Canvas" event Friday 12/27/2013 hosted at Valenti's, but to our dismay, we had an awful experience. First off, when hosting such an event, I was disappointed that the restaurant did not give away the first glass of wine free to each of us. I would've purchased an additional 1-2 glasses in that 3 hour time frame of painting, creating more business for the restaurant and happy customers! Secondly, when we finally got the attention of one of the 2 servers in this side room set up for the painters, the bottle service was APPALLING. The server first stole our menu to give to another set of women (when you know you are having 20+ people, you should have enough menus out before their arrival). He came back to get our order and we had to repeat 5+ times what bottle we wanted and he had no idea what we were saying. When delivering the bottle, the waiter put it down in front of us and said he had to open another girl's bottle and that he would be right back. That wasn't the case, he promptly left the room after opening her bottle and didn't come back for 5 minutes or so, teasing us with this unopened bottle.....should I really have to bring my own wine key to a restaurant and open the damn bottle myself?! Since we had a bottle between the 2 of us, we were fine and did not require refills. It appeared he was prompt with refilling other people's drinks so that's one good thing this server did. In the 3 hour time frame, we were never handed a check for our wine bottle. We were so starving after this class that we directly got sat in the dining room for dinner after the class let out. We stayed until 10pm eating dinner, with that server never trying to find us, a total of 4 hours at Valenti's. We didn't walk out on our tab, we were neglected. The server had ample time to give us a check. Fast forward to today....the manager Nancy Prosser called my friend, who did leave her name with the server upon ordering the bottle, who must have found her number through the "Wine and Canvas" teachers' list. Nancy did not apologize for the poor service when my friend complained and then had the audacity to ask if she wanted to leave a tip when paying by credit card over the phone. After conversing with me what I owed her for my half of the bottle, the price didn't make sense....at $9 a glass, times 4 possible glasses in a bottle, that bottle should be around $36, one would assume. We initially got charged $52! We had to call back and complain AGAIN and Nancy begrudgingly admitted that the tabs were mixed up. Nancy didn't try to diffuse the situation at all, nor offer us a percentage off the wine or coupons/gift cards to come back to the restaurant. Good thing though, because I will never go back. Mess ups upon mess ups.....inconceivable. I have a serving background and am pretty understanding with common human errors, but last night was absolutely UNFORGIVABLE. Sorry for the long review, but I felt it was warranted.
(1)
Lee H.
Worst chicken piccata I've ever had. This place put an entire onion, practically raw, in the dish. Never had chicken piccata with onion and never will again. The "sauce" was white and the only flavor was onion. I believe the calamari was the frozen kind. I bet this place doesn't last much longer.
(1)
F U.
Love the huge, long bar. That is the only positive I have to say about this place. We sat at bar because we arrived early for our reservation. We found 2 seats and it looked as if the people before us just left. The bar top was sticky and had a large amount of debris and crumbs. When the bartender came over I thought he would wipe the bar, however, he threw down coasters right on top of the mess. Many people running around behind bar yet nobody paid attention. The dining room experience was even worse. Our server did not come to our table to greet us for at least 10 minutes. When she did arrive, no smiles, no welcome, no explanations. Just-what do you want to drink. She threw drinks down and ran off and did not come back for another 10 minutes-at least. In the meantime, food runners kept bringing food to our table that we did not order. I was tempted to accept some of it since we were starving and were being ignored by our server with no apologies. Zucchini app was all flour and egg and no zucchini. I had margarita pizza. It was awful! The menu claimed it had tomatoes and baby mozzarella. There were no tomatoes on the pizza. It had a smear of sauce and the cheese was only located in the middle where the corners of the slices met. It was like having thin bread for dinner. My husband had balsamic chicken which was $21 for a chicken breast with dressing and a TINY side of pasta. Noodles are cheap, why skimp? Bottom line-- our server was awful and unfriendly and the food was horrendous! The menu is tiny and the drinks are expensive. This place will be closed soon.
(1)
Lisa M.
Alas, a very disappointing meal. Our server, while pleasant, seemed extremely harried, and we waited for a good 20 minutes before our drinks were delivered. Meanwhile, there were several other servers standing by the kitchen, gossiping, so maybe not a staffing issue? There was a table of people next to us who may have been the owners or friends of the owners who were being fawned over while others, including us, in the nearby vicinity were studiously ignored. The food was not much better, with a limp, chewy calamari appetizer (although the marinara dipping sauce was quite good) that suggested it was quick fried from a bulk frozen bag. Chicken parmigiana was Ok, if uninspired. It was supposed to come with the vegetable of the day, which was creamed corn with pancetta, an awful combination, if you ask me. We asked for a substitution and got broccoli rabe, which I normally love, but which was swimming in so much butter that it was slimy. The service was so slow that we opted out of dessert. The long bar in the center of the room was hopping but the chatty patrons, along with really loud rock and roll music, made the dining experience even less pleasant. We have no need to go back, unfortunately.
(2)
Anthony D.
Great italian food, good service, friendly staff and an all around clean restaurant. Would come back again!
(4)
Adam S.
Just ok-3 stars all the way. Pizza was ok, service was ok, eggplant Parm was pretty good.
(3)
Pat J.
Our first visit we waited for 25 minutes and still had nothing. So we left. Felt left out too.
(1)
Natalie S.
Great buffet for Mother's Day - good options, except, as an Italian restaurant, they were missing the bagels and schmear to go along with their perfectly smoked salmon. To me, that is a brunch staple! Great meat carving station , lots of dessert choices, and the location was good. The harpist was great!
(4)
Megan K.
I had a nice meal here. Was seated at quite table on the bar side and was taken care of very well by the wait staff. The manager came over to say hello, which is always appreciated. Only negative thing to say would be that the glass of white I ordered was served to me room temperature. The wedding soup was hearty and tasted home made. The atmosphere is romantic without being so dark that you can't see the menu. Overall I would visit again. Maybe even just to sit at the bar and have drinks with friends.
They received one star ONLY because I couldn't write a review with zero stars....... The absolute worst experience I have ever had at a restaurant. First, we had made reservations for 12 people, weeks in advanced. Confirmed our reservations the morning of. When we arrived they only had a table set for 10. Their solution was to give us an additional table in the corner so that 2 lucky people could be separated from the rest of our group. Well we weren't having that....and finally they brought 2 additional chairs to our table. 2 chairs that were bar stools, so 2 people had to sit much higher than the table making it impossible for them to eat comfortably. Reservations were at 7:30. It was 8:30 before we received bread (which we had to ask for) still no one has taken our order. And we were having to get up from our table to order drinks at the bar....since our waiter was to preoccupied with other tables. Once we did place our order it was another 45 min before we received our food. A couple in our group ordered lobster ravioli, about 30 mins after we placed our order they were told they ran out of it. At this point everyone in our group was upset, and we asked to speak with the owner......this is where it gets good. We voiced our issues to the owner who replied with "I do this for fun, I don't feel like arguing so we will just take our food back" We were dumbfounded by his response. Some people continued to eat, I gladly gave my food back. In an attempt to fix the issue the owner did bring out lobster ravioli (that he must of pulled out of his ass, since they supposedly had just sold the last of it about 20 min ago and proceeded to say "here is ur ravioli, so don't complain because I myself made it for you" What a cocky SOB. If I wasn't there celebrating a friends birthday I would have walked out right then and there. When the bills came, they ended up charging me for my pasta, and literally hand wrote a 20% gratuity on each of the the checks. How ballsy is that?! No tips were given, and portions of the bills went unpaid. I have never had such an unprofessional experience in my life. I will NEVER go back..... And strongly advises that no one give business to those assholes either!
(1)
Athena D.
My meal was outstanding as well as the entertainment and bar atmosphere. The muddles and pasta were the best!
(5)
Anthony P.
So, I love the entertainment and ambiance at this restaurant. The owners are always present and welcoming. I love Stacey the bartender. They need some work on the food. My side of pasta was cold. Ugh! The Veal Piccata was boring and for 24.00 I expected more than four small pieces. The Pesto Red Snapper was bland, lacking any pizzazz. The pasta was lukewarm and hand churned Parmesan cheese was not offered, let alone cracked pepper. You have a beautiful restaurant and great service. If your food would be equal you have a winner. Step it up a few notches!
(3)
Jessica M.
In a world (at least a neighborhood) of waaay too many Italian restaurants, I was pleased to try Valenti's! I had the Pasta Aglio e Olio....FINALLY a place that didn't just serve noodles with too much garlic and swimming in oil. The ratio was perfect! The atmosphere was pleasant and comfortable with friendly service!
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Classy Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes
The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.
Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.
If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.
Anthony D.
Great italian food, good service, friendly staff and an all around clean restaurant. Would come back again!
(4)Adam S.
Just ok-3 stars all the way. Pizza was ok, service was ok, eggplant Parm was pretty good.
(3)Pat J.
Our first visit we waited for 25 minutes and still had nothing. So we left. Felt left out too.
(1)Natalie S.
Great buffet for Mother's Day - good options, except, as an Italian restaurant, they were missing the bagels and schmear to go along with their perfectly smoked salmon. To me, that is a brunch staple! Great meat carving station , lots of dessert choices, and the location was good. The harpist was great!
(4)Megan K.
I had a nice meal here. Was seated at quite table on the bar side and was taken care of very well by the wait staff. The manager came over to say hello, which is always appreciated. Only negative thing to say would be that the glass of white I ordered was served to me room temperature. The wedding soup was hearty and tasted home made. The atmosphere is romantic without being so dark that you can't see the menu. Overall I would visit again. Maybe even just to sit at the bar and have drinks with friends.
(4)Michelle B.
This rating is based on food quality and staff encounters. I had an overpriced shrimp and linguini dish that was okay, but nothing to write home about. The sauce was simply bland--no bite, no spice. The server was nice enough. But later in the evening, I noticed another server being kind of short with a guest. It was an unapologetic type of act in response to a complaint. In short, I won't be back. Though the entertainment was good--a live band, and the group I went with along with the crowd at the restaurant, was wonderful.
(2)Joe S.
Mediocre food. Everything is a la carte $18 for spheghetti really !! And slow service to top that which means adios to this establishment. Wouldn't recommend to anyone!!!
(2)Stacy S.
I'm glad I didn't read the reviews before dining here. I can understand the mixed reviews, though. I had a wonderful evening even though the service was spotty and food was sometimes a miss. Loved the garlic butter with fresh bread - yum! Calamari was fair - too crusted and fried for my taste. Cioppino was good - not the usual tomato based. My date enjoyed his whole trout with spinach. We really enjoyed sitting after dinner at the long bar listening to the cute couple singing Sinatra tunes. It was a very pleasant evening...PS walked in at about &:30 with no reservation. The place was pretty busy but we were happy to get a table right away. I will definitely go back.
(4)KariGirl G.
This isn't a fine dining restaurant, rather it is a casual dining restaurant with tasty food. They aim to please and have live entertainment. The wings that I ordered from the bar while watching football were delicious! Drinks are good too.
(2)Kelly R.
This was my first time at Valenti's, and I was very pleased. I had dinner there with a friend, we both ordered salads as starters, I had the arugula salad, which was very simple, but very tasty. Arugula dressed with fresh lemon juice and EVOO, topped with red onion and shaved parmesan.....excellent! I then ordered a flatbread pizza topped with sausage and mushroom bianco.....very good. The Italian bread served with dinner was warm, slightly crusty and delicious. My friend and I shared a slice of cheesecake with raspberry sauce, NY style, very good, but a little bit pricey ($8.00), same price as the pizza:-(. Our server was not as attentive as we would have liked, long wait between refills, next course, check etc. The Executive Chef stopped by our table to see if we enjoyed our meal. I will definitely return.
(4)Ken K.
Ive decided to be short on specifics tonight. I wish I could leave 3 or even 2 stars but in good conscience I cannot. this is my third time here. The first two were "eh....." My experience tonight could have been very disappointing but the good bartending service saved it. The food? Valentis isn't a dining destination but its ok. The atmosphere? Great. Looooooong bar. Piano player with a portable piano. Fun place. And very good service. On balance .....4 stars. ... We'll be back.
(4)Ashley S.
They received one star ONLY because I couldn't write a review with zero stars....... The absolute worst experience I have ever had at a restaurant. First, we had made reservations for 12 people, weeks in advanced. Confirmed our reservations the morning of. When we arrived they only had a table set for 10. Their solution was to give us an additional table in the corner so that 2 lucky people could be separated from the rest of our group. Well we weren't having that....and finally they brought 2 additional chairs to our table. 2 chairs that were bar stools, so 2 people had to sit much higher than the table making it impossible for them to eat comfortably. Reservations were at 7:30. It was 8:30 before we received bread (which we had to ask for) still no one has taken our order. And we were having to get up from our table to order drinks at the bar....since our waiter was to preoccupied with other tables. Once we did place our order it was another 45 min before we received our food. A couple in our group ordered lobster ravioli, about 30 mins after we placed our order they were told they ran out of it. At this point everyone in our group was upset, and we asked to speak with the owner......this is where it gets good. We voiced our issues to the owner who replied with "I do this for fun, I don't feel like arguing so we will just take our food back" We were dumbfounded by his response. Some people continued to eat, I gladly gave my food back. In an attempt to fix the issue the owner did bring out lobster ravioli (that he must of pulled out of his ass, since they supposedly had just sold the last of it about 20 min ago and proceeded to say "here is ur ravioli, so don't complain because I myself made it for you" What a cocky SOB. If I wasn't there celebrating a friends birthday I would have walked out right then and there. When the bills came, they ended up charging me for my pasta, and literally hand wrote a 20% gratuity on each of the the checks. How ballsy is that?! No tips were given, and portions of the bills went unpaid. I have never had such an unprofessional experience in my life. I will NEVER go back..... And strongly advises that no one give business to those assholes either!
(1)Athena D.
My meal was outstanding as well as the entertainment and bar atmosphere. The muddles and pasta were the best!
(5)Anthony P.
So, I love the entertainment and ambiance at this restaurant. The owners are always present and welcoming. I love Stacey the bartender. They need some work on the food. My side of pasta was cold. Ugh! The Veal Piccata was boring and for 24.00 I expected more than four small pieces. The Pesto Red Snapper was bland, lacking any pizzazz. The pasta was lukewarm and hand churned Parmesan cheese was not offered, let alone cracked pepper. You have a beautiful restaurant and great service. If your food would be equal you have a winner. Step it up a few notches!
(3)Jessica M.
In a world (at least a neighborhood) of waaay too many Italian restaurants, I was pleased to try Valenti's! I had the Pasta Aglio e Olio....FINALLY a place that didn't just serve noodles with too much garlic and swimming in oil. The ratio was perfect! The atmosphere was pleasant and comfortable with friendly service!
(3)Craig E.
I actually went to another place across the parking lot and stood in the bar for a few minutes with no response from anyone. I walked out and saw this hidden gem while pulling out. I walked in and immediately loved the look of this place. Then the piano man Dennis was belting out some great tunes on the piano. I sat at the bar and Lauren promptly greeted me and made me feel like I was a regular. People started filling the bar and the place emitted so much good energy I knew I found a keeper. Angel the other bartender was bubbly on top of it and seemed liked she knew me for years. I ordered the Chicken Piccata which I am very critical of as I make this dish more than I like to admit. It came out perfect. I talked with Dino the chef here and he walked me through the whole process and said to come back and watch them prepare it next visit. I will definitely take him up on this. Then Linda ( owner I believe) talked with me for a few minutes about the place which she didn't have to do but I feel that is one of the reasons this place is so special. The staff is fantastic. The clientele was fun and the overall experience was first rate. I will definitely be back.
(5)Tawana H.
Had the pleasure of visiting Valenti's on Tuesday May 7, I had a wonderful time....the atmosphere was so relaxing and fun as they just so happened to have Karaoke what live entertainment I thoroughly enjoyed myself.......the service was good and favorite part the DaMa red wine absolutely deelish.....if you haven't tried them stop on by and check them out....I'll definitely be back again.
(5)Linsey D.
We went to Valenti's on a whim decision. We walked in around 7:15 on a Saturday night, & were immediately greeted by a friendly host staff, & waited under 5 minutes for our table. The place seemed very lively, & extremely loud with live music in the bar area. We thought it would be a perfect place for our 2 & 4 year old. We were unaware that this restaurant was not at all kid friendly, but soon discovered it was. Our server was friendly, but was observed rolling her eyes on numerous occasions (asking for a kid's menu, bread). She seemed very impatient and did not seem to pay attention to our orders fully. The bread took over 10 minutes to arrive. It was worth the wait as we enjoyed it very much. Then our main entrees arrived about 10 minutes after the bread. We explained that we did not receive our salad, the server put the blame on the food runner and offered to pack it up and not charge us. I expressed that was unnecessary, & that we would still enjoy our salad along with our main course. During this time my 21 month old had a small outburst and a few patrons seemed upset. I apologized and calmed him down. Back to enjoying our dinner, everything was going smoothly until I ordered dessert. I asked if the Spumoni was made in house, to where the server replied, "we don't have Spumoni". I simply pointed to it on the menu and she shrugged and explained they must be out of it. My son noticed carrot cake in the deli window in front of the hostess stand, and ordered that (it wasn't on the menu, nor were we informed of it's addition for the evening.) I ordered the "coppa pistachio" which sounded heavenly to me. It was described as a "pistachio gelato with crushed pistachio over top". I was a bit surprised when the server brought me something completely different which appeared to have grapes on top. When I questioned her, she simply stated, "this is what you ordered". She then brought a menu over and I pointed to what I really had ordered. She apologized, returned in 5 minutes to inform me that they were out of the dessert that I had ordered. We got the check and were about to pay when we overheard (VERY clearly) the owner at another patron's table say "Isn't it a bit late for children to be up?" (At this point it was 8:45 pm). Everyone at the table turned to look at us, & embarrassed as we were, we sat patiently and waited to pay the check (10 minutes to bring me change). We even asked another server for change and she rudely replied, "no, I don't have change". Without an offer to get us change or get our server to break our $20 bill). What server doesn't have change for a $20?? Come on. On our way out, I let the owner know that I heard his comment and was insulted. He lied to me saying he didn't say what I think he said. I told him we will not be back, & he replied, "good!" Our first clue that they didn't like kids, should've been the lack of a kid's menu. I agree if a place doesn't have a children's menu, then you shouldn't bring them, but there is a less crass way to approach the situation. Maybe explain that they don't cater to children? The bottom line, while, Valenti's food was delicious, the service was less than desirable, & kids are not welcome.
(3)Brooke P.
Met friends after work at Valentis for apps and to share a bottle of wine. I was impressed with the selection and value of their bottled wine list. We enjoyed a nice Soave and ended up staying for dinner, James our waiter guided us through the menu and I choose the veal piccata it was AMAZING, such a delicate sauce! Us girls shared a slice of the Sicilian cassata cake and a piece of ricotta pie both equally delicious. The four of us had such a wonderful evening we will be back!
(5)Amanda G.
I rarely write reviews... but this place was terrible! We had a group of 7, not an oddly large group. Most retaurants just push two tables together. Here, the plop a random large table right next to the door and the host stand and call it their VIP table. Not only does everyone walking in watch you eat, but its right next to the kitchen and super busy... No thanks Wine: An italian restaurant that doesnt serve bottles of wine or carrafes? This is supposed be Italian, right? I'll leave it at that. Pizza? If you call dough with a salad on top pizza... I order the procuitto and red pepper pizza which was supposed to have goat cheese and arugula on it. Sounds fantastic. I got an overly doughy "pizza" with no sauce, 3 pieces of proccuitto and a side salad on top. NOT a pizza. To top it all off the service was terrible, we brought a cake and asked for coffee with it. Got our coffee as we were ready to go. NOT IMPRESSED
(1)Sean C.
Had dinner here while I was in town on business. The food is excellent. The freshly made pasta is amazing and definitely sets this restaurant apart from many of the mock Italian joints I've been to. The staff is extremely friendly and accommodating. The decor is sort of cheap and the layout of the restaurant is a little thrown together, but it's an acceptable trade off for the quality of the food. I'd go back again.
(4)Angie S.
Worst food I've ever had. but wait I didn't actually eat my dinner because it had no flavor. Not to mention no salt,pepper,cheese,or pepper flakes.......even a pizza shop has that on their table.And when I told the owner it wasn't good, he shrugged his shoulders and walked away. Horrible service. I wouldn't waste your time or money. Cleveland has a lot of really good Italian restaurants......this just isn't one if them
(1)F U.
Love the huge, long bar. That is the only positive I have to say about this place. We sat at bar because we arrived early for our reservation. We found 2 seats and it looked as if the people before us just left. The bar top was sticky and had a large amount of debris and crumbs. When the bartender came over I thought he would wipe the bar, however, he threw down coasters right on top of the mess. Many people running around behind bar yet nobody paid attention. The dining room experience was even worse. Our server did not come to our table to greet us for at least 10 minutes. When she did arrive, no smiles, no welcome, no explanations. Just-what do you want to drink. She threw drinks down and ran off and did not come back for another 10 minutes-at least. In the meantime, food runners kept bringing food to our table that we did not order. I was tempted to accept some of it since we were starving and were being ignored by our server with no apologies. Zucchini app was all flour and egg and no zucchini. I had margarita pizza. It was awful! The menu claimed it had tomatoes and baby mozzarella. There were no tomatoes on the pizza. It had a smear of sauce and the cheese was only located in the middle where the corners of the slices met. It was like having thin bread for dinner. My husband had balsamic chicken which was $21 for a chicken breast with dressing and a TINY side of pasta. Noodles are cheap, why skimp? Bottom line-- our server was awful and unfriendly and the food was horrendous! The menu is tiny and the drinks are expensive. This place will be closed soon.
(1)Michelle R.
I have had better service at a Waffle House! Terrible! My friend and I were excited to try a new place so we went to a "Wine and Canvas" event Friday 12/27/2013 hosted at Valenti's, but to our dismay, we had an awful experience. First off, when hosting such an event, I was disappointed that the restaurant did not give away the first glass of wine free to each of us. I would've purchased an additional 1-2 glasses in that 3 hour time frame of painting, creating more business for the restaurant and happy customers! Secondly, when we finally got the attention of one of the 2 servers in this side room set up for the painters, the bottle service was APPALLING. The server first stole our menu to give to another set of women (when you know you are having 20+ people, you should have enough menus out before their arrival). He came back to get our order and we had to repeat 5+ times what bottle we wanted and he had no idea what we were saying. When delivering the bottle, the waiter put it down in front of us and said he had to open another girl's bottle and that he would be right back. That wasn't the case, he promptly left the room after opening her bottle and didn't come back for 5 minutes or so, teasing us with this unopened bottle.....should I really have to bring my own wine key to a restaurant and open the damn bottle myself?! Since we had a bottle between the 2 of us, we were fine and did not require refills. It appeared he was prompt with refilling other people's drinks so that's one good thing this server did. In the 3 hour time frame, we were never handed a check for our wine bottle. We were so starving after this class that we directly got sat in the dining room for dinner after the class let out. We stayed until 10pm eating dinner, with that server never trying to find us, a total of 4 hours at Valenti's. We didn't walk out on our tab, we were neglected. The server had ample time to give us a check. Fast forward to today....the manager Nancy Prosser called my friend, who did leave her name with the server upon ordering the bottle, who must have found her number through the "Wine and Canvas" teachers' list. Nancy did not apologize for the poor service when my friend complained and then had the audacity to ask if she wanted to leave a tip when paying by credit card over the phone. After conversing with me what I owed her for my half of the bottle, the price didn't make sense....at $9 a glass, times 4 possible glasses in a bottle, that bottle should be around $36, one would assume. We initially got charged $52! We had to call back and complain AGAIN and Nancy begrudgingly admitted that the tabs were mixed up. Nancy didn't try to diffuse the situation at all, nor offer us a percentage off the wine or coupons/gift cards to come back to the restaurant. Good thing though, because I will never go back. Mess ups upon mess ups.....inconceivable. I have a serving background and am pretty understanding with common human errors, but last night was absolutely UNFORGIVABLE. Sorry for the long review, but I felt it was warranted.
(1)Lee H.
Worst chicken piccata I've ever had. This place put an entire onion, practically raw, in the dish. Never had chicken piccata with onion and never will again. The "sauce" was white and the only flavor was onion. I believe the calamari was the frozen kind. I bet this place doesn't last much longer.
(1)Lisa M.
Alas, a very disappointing meal. Our server, while pleasant, seemed extremely harried, and we waited for a good 20 minutes before our drinks were delivered. Meanwhile, there were several other servers standing by the kitchen, gossiping, so maybe not a staffing issue? There was a table of people next to us who may have been the owners or friends of the owners who were being fawned over while others, including us, in the nearby vicinity were studiously ignored. The food was not much better, with a limp, chewy calamari appetizer (although the marinara dipping sauce was quite good) that suggested it was quick fried from a bulk frozen bag. Chicken parmigiana was Ok, if uninspired. It was supposed to come with the vegetable of the day, which was creamed corn with pancetta, an awful combination, if you ask me. We asked for a substitution and got broccoli rabe, which I normally love, but which was swimming in so much butter that it was slimy. The service was so slow that we opted out of dessert. The long bar in the center of the room was hopping but the chatty patrons, along with really loud rock and roll music, made the dining experience even less pleasant. We have no need to go back, unfortunately.
(2)Jim G.
Introduction My wife was willing to go out in public again with me. She took a big risk by going with 2 other couples. I must have behaved pretty well. I never got my hand slapped. Overall Rating- 3-4 Stars Food - 3-4 Stars I had the Pappardelle Bolognese ($20). It was pretty good. I love lots parmasan cheese on my pasta - more than any reasonable human being would want. This is one of those restaurants that uses a grinder. The gal was grinding at the table for me. After 90 seconds I felt sorry for her and let her go before I got enough. (I'll have to start carrying a can of Kraft parmasan cheese with me.) One of the other men got the Monkfish Scaloppini - $25. He said it was quite good (then again, he's a very diplomatic guy). One of the women got it too and said it was too black for her taste. (She originally ordered the Peasant Combo - $18. When she did, the server waived her off of it with a negative nod. - - - Milo (owner), if you're reading this, no, I can't tell you which server that was!) One of the women got the Chicken Picatta $18. She said it was very good, but on the tasteless side. Service - 3 Stars The server was OK, but seemed rushed, despite we were only 1 of the 4 tables in a room of 20+ table that had guests. It was another one of these cases in which the server was willing to make 3 trips to the kitchen for 3 separate items. (I remember my father-in-law telling me about a man he knew who was so unproductive that if he needed 3 stamps, he would go to the Post Office 3 times!) Price - 2 Stars Virtually everything is a-la-carte. So, if you buy a medium priced entrée, a salad, and 1 drink/glass of wine, tax, and tip, it's tough to see how a couple gets out of there for less than $100. That may be the average cost for very good Italian cuisine these days, but there are good alternative restaurants that will cost you less. - - - I'm into value more than "presentation" and "ambiance". Accommodations - 4 Stars When you go out to eat with 6, it is best to have a round table. We did and it makes it much more enjoyable. As we arrived at 6:15, we would actually hear each other talk! When you get to be may age, that can be a challenge. If you invite me out to dinner at a noisy restaurant and you mention something bad that is going on in our life and I say, "That's good", just slap me. Atmosphere - 5 Stars The decor was fine, but I gave it 5 stars because of the piano player. Dennis was amazing. He played classical and pop music. He took requests, played about anything without any sheet music. - - - I did stump him, though. I asked him if he would/could play either (A) Prokofiev's Piano Concerto #3 the 3rd Movement or (B) Greenback Boogie. (I have a very eclectic music preferences.) By the way, the Prokofiev piece is the most extraordinary musical performance I've ever seen. You can watch it on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v= KDfGBmbNbMw. The YouTube video is almost 33 minutes long. If that it too much classical piano music for you, start at the 27:45 point. It will be the fastest 3 minutes of your life. Watch the pianist's hands closely. They sometimes move faster than the shutter speed on the camera. It is an amazing physical feat. The pianist is always exhausted afterwards.
(3)Stacy S.
I'm glad I didn't read the reviews before dining here. I can understand the mixed reviews, though. I had a wonderful evening even though the service was spotty and food was sometimes a miss. Loved the garlic butter with fresh bread - yum! Calamari was fair - too crusted and fried for my taste. Cioppino was good - not the usual tomato based. My date enjoyed his whole trout with spinach. We really enjoyed sitting after dinner at the long bar listening to the cute couple singing Sinatra tunes. It was a very pleasant evening...PS walked in at about &:30 with no reservation. The place was pretty busy but we were happy to get a table right away. I will definitely go back.
(4)KariGirl G.
This isn't a fine dining restaurant, rather it is a casual dining restaurant with tasty food. They aim to please and have live entertainment. The wings that I ordered from the bar while watching football were delicious! Drinks are good too.
(2)Michelle B.
This rating is based on food quality and staff encounters. I had an overpriced shrimp and linguini dish that was okay, but nothing to write home about. The sauce was simply bland--no bite, no spice. The server was nice enough. But later in the evening, I noticed another server being kind of short with a guest. It was an unapologetic type of act in response to a complaint. In short, I won't be back. Though the entertainment was good--a live band, and the group I went with along with the crowd at the restaurant, was wonderful.
(2)Joe S.
Mediocre food. Everything is a la carte $18 for spheghetti really !! And slow service to top that which means adios to this establishment. Wouldn't recommend to anyone!!!
(2)Linsey D.
We went to Valenti's on a whim decision. We walked in around 7:15 on a Saturday night, & were immediately greeted by a friendly host staff, & waited under 5 minutes for our table. The place seemed very lively, & extremely loud with live music in the bar area. We thought it would be a perfect place for our 2 & 4 year old. We were unaware that this restaurant was not at all kid friendly, but soon discovered it was. Our server was friendly, but was observed rolling her eyes on numerous occasions (asking for a kid's menu, bread). She seemed very impatient and did not seem to pay attention to our orders fully. The bread took over 10 minutes to arrive. It was worth the wait as we enjoyed it very much. Then our main entrees arrived about 10 minutes after the bread. We explained that we did not receive our salad, the server put the blame on the food runner and offered to pack it up and not charge us. I expressed that was unnecessary, & that we would still enjoy our salad along with our main course. During this time my 21 month old had a small outburst and a few patrons seemed upset. I apologized and calmed him down. Back to enjoying our dinner, everything was going smoothly until I ordered dessert. I asked if the Spumoni was made in house, to where the server replied, "we don't have Spumoni". I simply pointed to it on the menu and she shrugged and explained they must be out of it. My son noticed carrot cake in the deli window in front of the hostess stand, and ordered that (it wasn't on the menu, nor were we informed of it's addition for the evening.) I ordered the "coppa pistachio" which sounded heavenly to me. It was described as a "pistachio gelato with crushed pistachio over top". I was a bit surprised when the server brought me something completely different which appeared to have grapes on top. When I questioned her, she simply stated, "this is what you ordered". She then brought a menu over and I pointed to what I really had ordered. She apologized, returned in 5 minutes to inform me that they were out of the dessert that I had ordered. We got the check and were about to pay when we overheard (VERY clearly) the owner at another patron's table say "Isn't it a bit late for children to be up?" (At this point it was 8:45 pm). Everyone at the table turned to look at us, & embarrassed as we were, we sat patiently and waited to pay the check (10 minutes to bring me change). We even asked another server for change and she rudely replied, "no, I don't have change". Without an offer to get us change or get our server to break our $20 bill). What server doesn't have change for a $20?? Come on. On our way out, I let the owner know that I heard his comment and was insulted. He lied to me saying he didn't say what I think he said. I told him we will not be back, & he replied, "good!" Our first clue that they didn't like kids, should've been the lack of a kid's menu. I agree if a place doesn't have a children's menu, then you shouldn't bring them, but there is a less crass way to approach the situation. Maybe explain that they don't cater to children? The bottom line, while, Valenti's food was delicious, the service was less than desirable, & kids are not welcome.
(3)Brooke P.
Met friends after work at Valentis for apps and to share a bottle of wine. I was impressed with the selection and value of their bottled wine list. We enjoyed a nice Soave and ended up staying for dinner, James our waiter guided us through the menu and I choose the veal piccata it was AMAZING, such a delicate sauce! Us girls shared a slice of the Sicilian cassata cake and a piece of ricotta pie both equally delicious. The four of us had such a wonderful evening we will be back!
(5)Kelly R.
This was my first time at Valenti's, and I was very pleased. I had dinner there with a friend, we both ordered salads as starters, I had the arugula salad, which was very simple, but very tasty. Arugula dressed with fresh lemon juice and EVOO, topped with red onion and shaved parmesan.....excellent! I then ordered a flatbread pizza topped with sausage and mushroom bianco.....very good. The Italian bread served with dinner was warm, slightly crusty and delicious. My friend and I shared a slice of cheesecake with raspberry sauce, NY style, very good, but a little bit pricey ($8.00), same price as the pizza:-(. Our server was not as attentive as we would have liked, long wait between refills, next course, check etc. The Executive Chef stopped by our table to see if we enjoyed our meal. I will definitely return.
(4)Ken K.
Ive decided to be short on specifics tonight. I wish I could leave 3 or even 2 stars but in good conscience I cannot. this is my third time here. The first two were "eh....." My experience tonight could have been very disappointing but the good bartending service saved it. The food? Valentis isn't a dining destination but its ok. The atmosphere? Great. Looooooong bar. Piano player with a portable piano. Fun place. And very good service. On balance .....4 stars. ... We'll be back.
(4)Craig E.
I actually went to another place across the parking lot and stood in the bar for a few minutes with no response from anyone. I walked out and saw this hidden gem while pulling out. I walked in and immediately loved the look of this place. Then the piano man Dennis was belting out some great tunes on the piano. I sat at the bar and Lauren promptly greeted me and made me feel like I was a regular. People started filling the bar and the place emitted so much good energy I knew I found a keeper. Angel the other bartender was bubbly on top of it and seemed liked she knew me for years. I ordered the Chicken Piccata which I am very critical of as I make this dish more than I like to admit. It came out perfect. I talked with Dino the chef here and he walked me through the whole process and said to come back and watch them prepare it next visit. I will definitely take him up on this. Then Linda ( owner I believe) talked with me for a few minutes about the place which she didn't have to do but I feel that is one of the reasons this place is so special. The staff is fantastic. The clientele was fun and the overall experience was first rate. I will definitely be back.
(5)Tawana H.
Had the pleasure of visiting Valenti's on Tuesday May 7, I had a wonderful time....the atmosphere was so relaxing and fun as they just so happened to have Karaoke what live entertainment I thoroughly enjoyed myself.......the service was good and favorite part the DaMa red wine absolutely deelish.....if you haven't tried them stop on by and check them out....I'll definitely be back again.
(5)Amanda G.
I rarely write reviews... but this place was terrible! We had a group of 7, not an oddly large group. Most retaurants just push two tables together. Here, the plop a random large table right next to the door and the host stand and call it their VIP table. Not only does everyone walking in watch you eat, but its right next to the kitchen and super busy... No thanks Wine: An italian restaurant that doesnt serve bottles of wine or carrafes? This is supposed be Italian, right? I'll leave it at that. Pizza? If you call dough with a salad on top pizza... I order the procuitto and red pepper pizza which was supposed to have goat cheese and arugula on it. Sounds fantastic. I got an overly doughy "pizza" with no sauce, 3 pieces of proccuitto and a side salad on top. NOT a pizza. To top it all off the service was terrible, we brought a cake and asked for coffee with it. Got our coffee as we were ready to go. NOT IMPRESSED
(1)Sean C.
Had dinner here while I was in town on business. The food is excellent. The freshly made pasta is amazing and definitely sets this restaurant apart from many of the mock Italian joints I've been to. The staff is extremely friendly and accommodating. The decor is sort of cheap and the layout of the restaurant is a little thrown together, but it's an acceptable trade off for the quality of the food. I'd go back again.
(4)Angie S.
Worst food I've ever had. but wait I didn't actually eat my dinner because it had no flavor. Not to mention no salt,pepper,cheese,or pepper flakes.......even a pizza shop has that on their table.And when I told the owner it wasn't good, he shrugged his shoulders and walked away. Horrible service. I wouldn't waste your time or money. Cleveland has a lot of really good Italian restaurants......this just isn't one if them
(1)Michelle R.
I have had better service at a Waffle House! Terrible! My friend and I were excited to try a new place so we went to a "Wine and Canvas" event Friday 12/27/2013 hosted at Valenti's, but to our dismay, we had an awful experience. First off, when hosting such an event, I was disappointed that the restaurant did not give away the first glass of wine free to each of us. I would've purchased an additional 1-2 glasses in that 3 hour time frame of painting, creating more business for the restaurant and happy customers! Secondly, when we finally got the attention of one of the 2 servers in this side room set up for the painters, the bottle service was APPALLING. The server first stole our menu to give to another set of women (when you know you are having 20+ people, you should have enough menus out before their arrival). He came back to get our order and we had to repeat 5+ times what bottle we wanted and he had no idea what we were saying. When delivering the bottle, the waiter put it down in front of us and said he had to open another girl's bottle and that he would be right back. That wasn't the case, he promptly left the room after opening her bottle and didn't come back for 5 minutes or so, teasing us with this unopened bottle.....should I really have to bring my own wine key to a restaurant and open the damn bottle myself?! Since we had a bottle between the 2 of us, we were fine and did not require refills. It appeared he was prompt with refilling other people's drinks so that's one good thing this server did. In the 3 hour time frame, we were never handed a check for our wine bottle. We were so starving after this class that we directly got sat in the dining room for dinner after the class let out. We stayed until 10pm eating dinner, with that server never trying to find us, a total of 4 hours at Valenti's. We didn't walk out on our tab, we were neglected. The server had ample time to give us a check. Fast forward to today....the manager Nancy Prosser called my friend, who did leave her name with the server upon ordering the bottle, who must have found her number through the "Wine and Canvas" teachers' list. Nancy did not apologize for the poor service when my friend complained and then had the audacity to ask if she wanted to leave a tip when paying by credit card over the phone. After conversing with me what I owed her for my half of the bottle, the price didn't make sense....at $9 a glass, times 4 possible glasses in a bottle, that bottle should be around $36, one would assume. We initially got charged $52! We had to call back and complain AGAIN and Nancy begrudgingly admitted that the tabs were mixed up. Nancy didn't try to diffuse the situation at all, nor offer us a percentage off the wine or coupons/gift cards to come back to the restaurant. Good thing though, because I will never go back. Mess ups upon mess ups.....inconceivable. I have a serving background and am pretty understanding with common human errors, but last night was absolutely UNFORGIVABLE. Sorry for the long review, but I felt it was warranted.
(1)Lee H.
Worst chicken piccata I've ever had. This place put an entire onion, practically raw, in the dish. Never had chicken piccata with onion and never will again. The "sauce" was white and the only flavor was onion. I believe the calamari was the frozen kind. I bet this place doesn't last much longer.
(1)F U.
Love the huge, long bar. That is the only positive I have to say about this place. We sat at bar because we arrived early for our reservation. We found 2 seats and it looked as if the people before us just left. The bar top was sticky and had a large amount of debris and crumbs. When the bartender came over I thought he would wipe the bar, however, he threw down coasters right on top of the mess. Many people running around behind bar yet nobody paid attention. The dining room experience was even worse. Our server did not come to our table to greet us for at least 10 minutes. When she did arrive, no smiles, no welcome, no explanations. Just-what do you want to drink. She threw drinks down and ran off and did not come back for another 10 minutes-at least. In the meantime, food runners kept bringing food to our table that we did not order. I was tempted to accept some of it since we were starving and were being ignored by our server with no apologies. Zucchini app was all flour and egg and no zucchini. I had margarita pizza. It was awful! The menu claimed it had tomatoes and baby mozzarella. There were no tomatoes on the pizza. It had a smear of sauce and the cheese was only located in the middle where the corners of the slices met. It was like having thin bread for dinner. My husband had balsamic chicken which was $21 for a chicken breast with dressing and a TINY side of pasta. Noodles are cheap, why skimp? Bottom line-- our server was awful and unfriendly and the food was horrendous! The menu is tiny and the drinks are expensive. This place will be closed soon.
(1)Lisa M.
Alas, a very disappointing meal. Our server, while pleasant, seemed extremely harried, and we waited for a good 20 minutes before our drinks were delivered. Meanwhile, there were several other servers standing by the kitchen, gossiping, so maybe not a staffing issue? There was a table of people next to us who may have been the owners or friends of the owners who were being fawned over while others, including us, in the nearby vicinity were studiously ignored. The food was not much better, with a limp, chewy calamari appetizer (although the marinara dipping sauce was quite good) that suggested it was quick fried from a bulk frozen bag. Chicken parmigiana was Ok, if uninspired. It was supposed to come with the vegetable of the day, which was creamed corn with pancetta, an awful combination, if you ask me. We asked for a substitution and got broccoli rabe, which I normally love, but which was swimming in so much butter that it was slimy. The service was so slow that we opted out of dessert. The long bar in the center of the room was hopping but the chatty patrons, along with really loud rock and roll music, made the dining experience even less pleasant. We have no need to go back, unfortunately.
(2)Anthony D.
Great italian food, good service, friendly staff and an all around clean restaurant. Would come back again!
(4)Adam S.
Just ok-3 stars all the way. Pizza was ok, service was ok, eggplant Parm was pretty good.
(3)Pat J.
Our first visit we waited for 25 minutes and still had nothing. So we left. Felt left out too.
(1)Natalie S.
Great buffet for Mother's Day - good options, except, as an Italian restaurant, they were missing the bagels and schmear to go along with their perfectly smoked salmon. To me, that is a brunch staple! Great meat carving station , lots of dessert choices, and the location was good. The harpist was great!
(4)Megan K.
I had a nice meal here. Was seated at quite table on the bar side and was taken care of very well by the wait staff. The manager came over to say hello, which is always appreciated. Only negative thing to say would be that the glass of white I ordered was served to me room temperature. The wedding soup was hearty and tasted home made. The atmosphere is romantic without being so dark that you can't see the menu. Overall I would visit again. Maybe even just to sit at the bar and have drinks with friends.
(4)Jim G.
Introduction My wife was willing to go out in public again with me. She took a big risk by going with 2 other couples. I must have behaved pretty well. I never got my hand slapped. Overall Rating- 3-4 Stars Food - 3-4 Stars I had the Pappardelle Bolognese ($20). It was pretty good. I love lots parmasan cheese on my pasta - more than any reasonable human being would want. This is one of those restaurants that uses a grinder. The gal was grinding at the table for me. After 90 seconds I felt sorry for her and let her go before I got enough. (I'll have to start carrying a can of Kraft parmasan cheese with me.) One of the other men got the Monkfish Scaloppini - $25. He said it was quite good (then again, he's a very diplomatic guy). One of the women got it too and said it was too black for her taste. (She originally ordered the Peasant Combo - $18. When she did, the server waived her off of it with a negative nod. - - - Milo (owner), if you're reading this, no, I can't tell you which server that was!) One of the women got the Chicken Picatta $18. She said it was very good, but on the tasteless side. Service - 3 Stars The server was OK, but seemed rushed, despite we were only 1 of the 4 tables in a room of 20+ table that had guests. It was another one of these cases in which the server was willing to make 3 trips to the kitchen for 3 separate items. (I remember my father-in-law telling me about a man he knew who was so unproductive that if he needed 3 stamps, he would go to the Post Office 3 times!) Price - 2 Stars Virtually everything is a-la-carte. So, if you buy a medium priced entrée, a salad, and 1 drink/glass of wine, tax, and tip, it's tough to see how a couple gets out of there for less than $100. That may be the average cost for very good Italian cuisine these days, but there are good alternative restaurants that will cost you less. - - - I'm into value more than "presentation" and "ambiance". Accommodations - 4 Stars When you go out to eat with 6, it is best to have a round table. We did and it makes it much more enjoyable. As we arrived at 6:15, we would actually hear each other talk! When you get to be may age, that can be a challenge. If you invite me out to dinner at a noisy restaurant and you mention something bad that is going on in our life and I say, "That's good", just slap me. Atmosphere - 5 Stars The decor was fine, but I gave it 5 stars because of the piano player. Dennis was amazing. He played classical and pop music. He took requests, played about anything without any sheet music. - - - I did stump him, though. I asked him if he would/could play either (A) Prokofiev's Piano Concerto #3 the 3rd Movement or (B) Greenback Boogie. (I have a very eclectic music preferences.) By the way, the Prokofiev piece is the most extraordinary musical performance I've ever seen. You can watch it on YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v= KDfGBmbNbMw. The YouTube video is almost 33 minutes long. If that it too much classical piano music for you, start at the 27:45 point. It will be the fastest 3 minutes of your life. Watch the pianist's hands closely. They sometimes move faster than the shutter speed on the camera. It is an amazing physical feat. The pianist is always exhausted afterwards.
(3)Ashley S.
They received one star ONLY because I couldn't write a review with zero stars....... The absolute worst experience I have ever had at a restaurant. First, we had made reservations for 12 people, weeks in advanced. Confirmed our reservations the morning of. When we arrived they only had a table set for 10. Their solution was to give us an additional table in the corner so that 2 lucky people could be separated from the rest of our group. Well we weren't having that....and finally they brought 2 additional chairs to our table. 2 chairs that were bar stools, so 2 people had to sit much higher than the table making it impossible for them to eat comfortably. Reservations were at 7:30. It was 8:30 before we received bread (which we had to ask for) still no one has taken our order. And we were having to get up from our table to order drinks at the bar....since our waiter was to preoccupied with other tables. Once we did place our order it was another 45 min before we received our food. A couple in our group ordered lobster ravioli, about 30 mins after we placed our order they were told they ran out of it. At this point everyone in our group was upset, and we asked to speak with the owner......this is where it gets good. We voiced our issues to the owner who replied with "I do this for fun, I don't feel like arguing so we will just take our food back" We were dumbfounded by his response. Some people continued to eat, I gladly gave my food back. In an attempt to fix the issue the owner did bring out lobster ravioli (that he must of pulled out of his ass, since they supposedly had just sold the last of it about 20 min ago and proceeded to say "here is ur ravioli, so don't complain because I myself made it for you" What a cocky SOB. If I wasn't there celebrating a friends birthday I would have walked out right then and there. When the bills came, they ended up charging me for my pasta, and literally hand wrote a 20% gratuity on each of the the checks. How ballsy is that?! No tips were given, and portions of the bills went unpaid. I have never had such an unprofessional experience in my life. I will NEVER go back..... And strongly advises that no one give business to those assholes either!
(1)Athena D.
My meal was outstanding as well as the entertainment and bar atmosphere. The muddles and pasta were the best!
(5)Anthony P.
So, I love the entertainment and ambiance at this restaurant. The owners are always present and welcoming. I love Stacey the bartender. They need some work on the food. My side of pasta was cold. Ugh! The Veal Piccata was boring and for 24.00 I expected more than four small pieces. The Pesto Red Snapper was bland, lacking any pizzazz. The pasta was lukewarm and hand churned Parmesan cheese was not offered, let alone cracked pepper. You have a beautiful restaurant and great service. If your food would be equal you have a winner. Step it up a few notches!
(3)Jessica M.
In a world (at least a neighborhood) of waaay too many Italian restaurants, I was pleased to try Valenti's! I had the Pasta Aglio e Olio....FINALLY a place that didn't just serve noodles with too much garlic and swimming in oil. The ratio was perfect! The atmosphere was pleasant and comfortable with friendly service!
(3)