I bought a Groupon for Germano's with the intention of taking our friends to dinner in our quest to conquer the restaurants we have never dined in within Little Italy district of Baltimore. Called our friends and planned our trip. I made a reservation via Open Table for 6 of us which worked out great!\r
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We all arrived and entered the restaurant where we were greeted warmly and showed to a table for six , had ice water poured and given a chance to look at the menu. In the comments of the Open Table rez, I mentioned that we had a Groupon which our friendly waitress mentioned. I opened my phone browser so she could see which one we had purchased and she gave us some options that we could do other than the four glasses of house wine that was in the original offering. I selected a bottle of wine that was brought at a discount. We were offered a bread with a lovely olive tapenade. This was definitely out of the ordinary, not to mention quite tasty. \r
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As I looked around the restaurant, I noticed the decor was not the normal of traditional Little Italy. Where we were seated was dark furniture and paneling. It was very warm and inviting....probably the only thing missing was the red and white checked tablecloths. Most of what you see in Little Italy looks like you are in someone's home....Germanos feels like a bistro in Europe.\r
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So by now, our lovely gal returned with the wine, let my hubby and I taste it, then poured for our group. She took some time to explain the menu and gave us a little time to decide on our choices. When she returned, we took our appetizer selections, which she immediately carried back to the kitchen while we perused the menu for our entrees.\r
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She came back to get our entree orders and to collect the menus. All of us got something different. We had a child and preteen with us and the waitress asked if she should bring their food when the appetizers were brought. We knew the younger of the two would have no interest in the appetizers, so asked if they would be so kind to do that...it was met with ""of course"" and smile.\r
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Food was perfectly timed from the appetizer to the main course. Germanos salad left something to be desired, especially since most of the restaurants in the area pride themselves on a signature dressing. The dressing was a unimaginative vinaigrette. I was expecting something a little more on such a beautiful salad. Thankfully the entrees made up for it. The menu went far beyond the normal pasta and veal dishes. The sauces were nothing short of spectacular. \r
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All in all a good experience, everyone was very friendly and food was good....we will return! :)
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