“A celebration ruined :(”   The Flash 5 months ago

I have never written a review on a restaurant before. My service last night still bothers me this morning so I have to write one. My first date with my girlfriend was at Amici 1 year ago. We... More >

I have never written a review on a restaurant before. My service last night still bothers me this morning so I have to write one. My first date with my girlfriend was at Amici 1 year ago. We loved everything about it and I decided it would be special if we relived the night again. I drove in from Austin, set up a reservation at 8:30pm and asked her to put on a dress and get ready for a wonderful night... I figured dinner at 8:30pm would allow us to meet our event at 10:30 on time.. We arrive early (8:15pm) and valet. They take my new Corvette away and we walk inside. Then we are told the table is not ready... it will be 20 minutes... we wait at the bar and I have 1 jack and coke. 20 minutes turns into 45 before we are seated. We wait another 13 minutes before the manager spots that we have not been helped yet (He could tell I was not happy, so he yelled at his waiter to get over to my table instead of coming by himself) We simply asked for bread, water, and 2 orders of Fettucini Alfredo with Grilled Chicken (not on the menu anymore, but it was the same meal we had together 1 year ago and they still make it)... 25 minutes there was no water, bread, or food... but the manager kept on walking by. (This didn't stop him from visiting his favorite customers around us though!) Then a busboy brings us our food... nothing else... so we ask him for bread and water... he brings it to us in less than 60 seconds! Great! We eat and are ready to go... but where is our waiter?? 10 minutes go by before we can flag him down for the check... finally after another 8 minutes he comes back saying the computer crashed (I went to the bathroom and walked right by him as he was leaning against the back wall talking with another waiter) I look at the bill in shock... I was charged $9.00 for a jack and coke in the small glass... WOW!! I'm so upset we just pay and leave... or try to leave! Give the guy my valet ticket... 8 minutes later standing in the cold he comes back... they can't find my key! (A Corvette key looks like a square block about an 1.5 inches tall and 1 inch wide). After describing what my key looks like, he then remembers... he left it inside the car! No big deal because the car will not lock itself if the key is inside. So he pulls my car up 5 minutes later, but not before grinding the manual transmission... he holds his hand out as I open the car door for my girlfriend and in broken english says "PAY ME FOR PARKED CAR"... CLASSIC!! If you read and add the times of waiting you will notice that we were late for our 10:30pm reservation after this. I would like to personally take this moment to thank Amici and the manager for the the worst service I have ever had. I will never return to your restaurant again and this makes me sad. Pros: Nothing now.. it was once a great palce to go Cons: Everything... read my story to know more please!!
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“City search should update”   johnmckee87 9 months ago

It looks like the last good review was August 2008. Maybe that's when Bruno took over. I wish City Search would update their ratings or let reviews from over a year ago drop off. I appreciate the... More >

It looks like the last good review was August 2008. Maybe that's when Bruno took over. I wish City Search would update their ratings or let reviews from over a year ago drop off. I appreciate the reviewers, as they keep me from wasting time, money and having a decidedly bad time. Pros: Location Cons: Service, Price, Management
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“Good...sometimes”   savion05 10 months ago

I live near this place and have tried it out when it was busy and when it was slow, and the service is always poor. The food is great (I love the gnudi) but for the price, I expect at least... More >

I live near this place and have tried it out when it was busy and when it was slow, and the service is always poor. The food is great (I love the gnudi) but for the price, I expect at least informative waiters. They have this whole appetizer bar in the middle of the place, and if I had not read other reviews, or did not see it, I would never know it existed. The four times I had been there, not one waiter mentioned it. But it is a great date spot, just cross your fingers you get a good waiter. Pros: usually good food Cons: service
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“Extremely Bad Management”   AdamHezzelburg 11 months ago

I recently dined at Amici on Saturday night to celebrate a birthday and arrived 20 minutes early with my wife. The hostess stated that it would be a 40 minute wait even though I had previously made... More >

I recently dined at Amici on Saturday night to celebrate a birthday and arrived 20 minutes early with my wife. The hostess stated that it would be a 40 minute wait even though I had previously made and confirmed a reservation. I decided to wait it out in the bar as my wife did not want to leave. I was impressed by the service the two bartenders Ammer and Fellipe. After an hour of waiting, I asked to speak to the manager Bruno. Bruno was very rude and all he could say was that he would "take care of it". He stormed off and began yelling at his hostess and a waiter from the dining room to prepare a table. It took another 10 minutes before he returned only stating that our table is ready. I told him we would be dining somewhere else, and he once again stormed off without an apology. Ammer and Fellipe instantly apologized for Bruno and talked me into eating at a bar table. The waitress was great, and Ammer and Fellipe continued to check on us even though they were busy at the bar. I would only go back to Amici if I saw Ammer and Fellipe at the bar. Pros: Good Bartenders and waitstaff, Good Food Cons: Horrible Management
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“Excellent location and variety”   LynnTF 11 months ago

This is a gem of fine dining in Downtown Sugar Land. I have treated several friends to special occasion dinners here and have never been disappointed in the food. The extensive wine list is O.K.,... More >

This is a gem of fine dining in Downtown Sugar Land. I have treated several friends to special occasion dinners here and have never been disappointed in the food. The extensive wine list is O.K., but the servers do not appear to know their wines as well as they know the food. Overall the service and quality was superb. Pros: savory pasta and fish dishes Cons: can get loud
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“Vallone disappoints again”   QueenVictoria

I have dined at Amici a few times and had a decent experience. The food is good but overpriced and the atmosphere is generally pleasant. My review today has nothing to do with the food/ambiance of... More >

I have dined at Amici a few times and had a decent experience. The food is good but overpriced and the atmosphere is generally pleasant. My review today has nothing to do with the food/ambiance of the restaurant. This is because I never actually made it INTO the facility. I made a reservation on opentable and received both a confirmation and a reminder. It shouldn't be necessary for me to confirm with the restaurant as well while using this service. Apparently no one from Amici's thought to advise opentable that they were not open for lunch the day after Xmas and took reservations anyway. I arrived for my reservation early and stood outside looking at a sign on the door stating that they were closed for lunch that day. I called while standing outside and the girl than answered was no help except that she was sorry and didn't know what happened. I didn't have time to deal with her since I had to call 5 people to reschedule a location within 15 minutes. I was fairly livid. I made a call to complain in the next couple days and spoke to Bruno(?) who stated he was the manager and I explained my situation. I fully expected to receive my opentable points since I was there for my reservation even if they were not there to serve me. This simple concept took me 10 minutes to get through this man's head. He just kept telling me that they were closed that day. I obviously figured that part out on my own! Finally he seemed to understand and said he would have to call the home office the next day to see what could be done and that he would call me back the following morning. I have not heard back from him, but have since received my opentable points and nothing further. That will be my last attempt to dine at that facility. I suppose I should have known better - must be a reason that Vallone establishments couldn't sustain themselves and have been bought up by others. Pros: location in Town Square Cons: poor management
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“Expensive, loud, some good food, decent service”   gerardj

Made reservations for 8pm on my birthday, Saturday. Arrived 15 minutes late, parking, even in free garages, was full. Upon arriving was told our table was being cleaned off. Fifteen minutes later... More >

Made reservations for 8pm on my birthday, Saturday. Arrived 15 minutes late, parking, even in free garages, was full. Upon arriving was told our table was being cleaned off. Fifteen minutes later we asked about our table and were told they were getting us a really good table. A few minutes later we were seated. The noise was so bad we could not well hear the specials. We chose italian sausage stuffed mushrooms, prosciutto wrapped melon, lamb shank, and trout special. The mushrooms were good, 3 for $9. The wrapped melon was good and unique, also about $9. The trout was thin on a thick bed of wilted spinach, with a seafood sauce. Was good enough but expensive at $26. The lamb shank was totally worthless. It reminded me of ordering a roast, a mass of meat with the bone sticking out, extrememely overcooked. Served with risotto, which I am not a fan of anyway, the rice had a chaulky center (not cooked enough). The shank dish was $25 and I would have preferred a good sandwich. The wines were so-so. The waiter asked if we wanted desert, we said no. Waiter then showed up with strawberry italian-style cake, complimentary. Make me think, what if we had ordered desert? Why would they ask? The service was average. All in all; expensive, need to choose your dishes carefully, too loud for anything but an outside voice (at least on Saturday nights between 8 and 9. Don't bother with reservations, they don't know what that means. Pros: Location Cons: Price, dishes, noise
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“Avoid the mid-afternoon customer service”   copper1126

My wife and I stopped in for a late Saturday lunch, around 3pm, dressed from having just come from a friend's wedding. After being seated, it seemed to take a very long time before we even saw a... More >

My wife and I stopped in for a late Saturday lunch, around 3pm, dressed from having just come from a friend's wedding. After being seated, it seemed to take a very long time before we even saw a menu. Although there were at least five waitstaff visible, none seemed to be very engaged in serving either us or the other diners, the only others being a family with young children. The wait for our meal was entirely too long, and our meal only appeared shortly after I suggested that the burger joint down the street would, by then, be an acceptable alternative. My wife's chicken salad was very good, and my grilled salmon with arugula and tomatoes was very tasty, but was probably the thinnest piece of salmon I've ever been served. The fact that my salmon was also served at a temperature not much above that of the room made me wonder why it could not have been served sooner. This was a Saturday-afternoon lunch, not an evening dinner where an "appropriately-civil" lapse of time between courses would have made for a pleasant dining experience - I'm not sure how the young waitstaff mistook our lunch for anything else. "Casual" dining is one thing, but having to wait due to indifference and inattentiveness is an entirely different matter. In the Houston area, the senior Mr. Vallone has enjoyed a long and well-deserved reputation as a fine restaurateur. It's a shame that the service we encountered today is such a poor reflection upon this legacy. Pros: great bread, tasty entrees Cons: attention to service
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“the dessert is the only thing that validates this place getting a star”   elongtime

ive dined at a lot of italian places throughout the country and esp in houston. Many of those have been Vallone restaurants. This one ranks up there as the worst dining experience in one of their... More >

ive dined at a lot of italian places throughout the country and esp in houston. Many of those have been Vallone restaurants. This one ranks up there as the worst dining experience in one of their restaurants. jeff the owner is not the host his father was. you can get better food at any of the places they used to own, before they sold them out to landrys. the strawberry ricotta cake was the only highlight of my trip here. myself and 2 others frequented for a quick dinner, knowing the vallones past restaurants. never again. go to la griglia or any other landry place. the trout was had small bones, one of which i swallowed. the meatballs were crusted over and burned. meatballs are one of the easiest things to make and they were crunchy, dry and burnt. thank god for the good dessert . i wont be coming back. Pros: strawberry ricotta dessert Cons: small bones in the fish, burnt meatballs, stale bread
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“Superb Italian Food”   didihi36

I have been frequenting Amici since it opened. The food is wonderful and the staff is very attentive without being intrusive. I have tried numerous items on the menu and have enjoyed each of them.... More >

I have been frequenting Amici since it opened. The food is wonderful and the staff is very attentive without being intrusive. I have tried numerous items on the menu and have enjoyed each of them. The Calamari Pepperonicino is simply out of the world. Other favorites include; Aunt Mary's Chicken, Tufoli and the Paccheri. I take clients to lunch at Amici on a regular basis and was very pleased that they are now offering the dinner menu all day. This is definitely a restaurant to check out. Pros: Great Food, Great Service Cons: None
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