We had been looking forward to visiting Andiamo for over a year having heard about it at an Italian language course last summer. We were preparing for a second visit to Italy last fall. We love Italian food and dining and had hopes for a true Italian dining experience in Central Texas. Our visit on a Saturday evening a week or two after Thanksgiving was very disappointing, especially with all the prior recommendations. Parking is easy near the Jack In The Box. The ambience is not romantic or anything striking, but a room with some Venetian artwork. The restaurant was not full at 7:30. Our reserved table for two was against the wall. After being graciously seated, over ten minutes passed before even the bus boy brought bread and olive oil. No olive oil was left on the table. Our waiter finally appeared and we selected two entrees from the evening's chef offerings. The shared warm calimari/polenta appetizer was excellent as were the two house salads. My wife selected the lobster ravioli after being assured the sauce was light tomato-basil. The actual sauce was so rich and heavy we could not taste the lobster, if it was really there. My zuppa di mare was very hearty and satisfying. No one visited our table to check on the entrees once we were served. Our waiter was woefully untrained in wine service and the wine list. Our glasses were over-filled only once and I had to ask for an ice bucket for our chilled white wine. In Italy, as well as the rest of Europe, once you are seated at a restaurant, the table is yours until you finally leave. At Andiamo, even with a less-than-full house, we had our table bussed while we were trying to salvage our evening over the wine remaining after our meals. We had high hopes for a pleasant evening meal event and were very disappointed on this first visit. We will return someday with lower expectations and hopes the next dining experience will be more professional to match the very good cuisine.
Pros: cuisine
Cons: service, ambience, table, too Americanized
more