We were hopeful we had found a charming, good local Italian restaurant. Wrong! We walked in and from the foyer glanced into the bar, which looked like a saloon--not the kind of place one would want to have a cocktail while waiting for a table. We glanced the main dining room to the right, which was a cavernous, empty charmless space. We inquired if the upstairs dining room was nicer, to which the reply was, "yes" so up we went. Another large open cavernous space--no charm, no intimacy, very loud and too much light. If only they had booths or some well-designed partitions to give the space a bit of coziness and intimacy instead of the cold, bland room that it was.
But enough about the decor. We would have overlooked all of its shortcomings if only the food had been excellent. Where to start! The bread (from a recipe they proudly developed) was a soft, slightly sweet wheat roll. What self respecting Italian restaurant doesn't have an excellent crusty Italian bread? We were told the owner's son has a gluten allergy. So why should their patrons suffer?
The entrées came out on a black lacquer plate that was unsightly--smeared with fingerprints and water marks. My fettuccine alfredo sauce was oily and bland. The food was just ordinary. Maybe the pizza is good--we didn't try it, but we've had Joe's pizza in the Nokesville location and while it's better than chain pizza, it's just okay.
Sure if you have kids it's probably fine, but I won't be back.
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