My brother and I both live in the City and both eat out a fair amount. We thought it would be nice to take our parents to dinner prior to going to a play. ZIngari was our 3rd choice after the previous two restaurants we called had no reservations. This should have been a sign to stay away. We arrived and we're seated promptly. We informed the host that we were attending a play at 8:00 PM. It was 6:00 PM when we arrived. It took 20 minutes for the waiter to return after we ordered drinks. After we ordered the entrees, it was 45 minutes before the first 2 entrees arrived. Then another 15 minutes for the next entree which was the wrong one. The waiter seemed confused as to what we had ordered. Unbelievable, as he had written it down. 10 minutes later and my parents' dinners arrived. The food was good but not near as good as a few North Beach restaurants I frequent. We asked for the check as soon as we were finished with the dinner and ended up waiting 10 minutes for the check and another 10 after I had placed a credit card in the holder. I sent everyone to the theater while I waited for the receipt to sign. Good thing. By the time I had signed the receipt, I was running 2 blocks to make the curtain. While waiting for dinner, the waiter kept saying that the kitchen was experiencing problems and had been slow all night. While waiting for the check, 2 of busboys said that the check would be back soon and the kitchen was backed up. Not sure how that effects the check and credeit card coming back to the table? Excuses like this have no place in any restaurant above that of a Denny's or IHOP. The restaurant was crowded at the time either. The couple behind our table were very upset at the service as was the family that was seated, waited over 15 minutes for menus or a waiter to appear before storming out of the restaurant. I really don't understand how a restaurant like this can stay in business in a city with such high standards and a lot of competition. Just terrible.
Pros: Not sure. Proximity to theaters maybe?
Cons: Attrocious service, not much ambience, quiet for a good reason
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