Via Italian Table-Sheri's assessment

Let me begin by saying, I had really high hopes for this restaurant. I am a big fan of the 111 Chophouse and The Sole, and when I heard they were opening an Italian restaurant right on Shrewsbury Street, I was elated. I drove by each week and saw the restaurant quickly come together. That being said...my actual dining experience was not quite what I had anticipated. I was picturing succulent, rich Italian dishes with decadent ingredients and, of course, plenty of garlic. My experience on Saturday evening was a little different.




The Food:
I perused the paper placemat menus for several minutes trying to find something that would say "Eat me." Sadly, nothing really jumped out at me. In fact, I was really sad that there was no fettuccine alfredo, in fact very little selection in regards to white sauces in general. The vast majority of the menu featured red sauces such as bolognese and vodka sauces. I was happy to see many pasta dishes offered in both small and large sizes. There was also a nice selection of pizzas. Since I had my heart set on alfredo sauce, and nothing else seemed especially interesting to me, I settled on the Baked Caprese Salad. I figured I'd sample everyone else's dishes to try a little of everything else.

Soon after being seated, they brought us some freshly baked bread. It was tasty. They also provided a small carafe of olive oil (the tiny spout wasn't especially efficient considering my inclination towards olive oil), pepper mill, and salt. The only thing lacking was some parmesan cheese to add to the olive oil. The oil itself was great.

My Baked Caprese Salad was OK. The bread was a little burnt around the edges, the mozzarella didn't taste especially fresh, and the balsamic dressing was too sweet for my taste. On a positive note, it was a good size portion. 4 thickly cut pieces of tuscan loaf with plenty of mozzarella and fresh basil.

I also sampled some of the other dishes. The Basil Pesto with farfalle was tasty, but again, nothing spectacular. At $10 for a "small" plate, it was no bargain. When they say small, they mean small. For only $12 the grilled pizza with rotisserie chicken, roasted red peppers, mozzarella, and romano seemed like the best deal at the table. It was a large rectangular pizza plenty big enough for 2, maybe even 3 or 4 as an appetizer. My friend at the table got the small portion of vodka sauce with penne and said it was the best vodka sauce she ever had. I let her be the judge, since I'm not big on vodka sauces.

I did splurge for the dessert (and I do mean splurge-$8 a piece). I had a hard time choosing between the Espresso Brownie Sundae and the Crepe Cake. After much deliberation I chose the Crepe Cake. It was an innovative idea-layer upon layer of crepes with a sweet marscarpone like cheese in between and a small spattering of black cherry preserves sauce on the side. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell you what kind of cheese it was, because my waitress didn't know. It wasn't a dramatic taste by any means, but it wasn't a bad taste either. Basically, nothing spectacular. In my personal opinion, if they would've put more of the cherry sauce over the cake instead of just a small spoon full on the side, maybe it would've stretched the taste a little more. My friend got the Espresso Brownie Sundae and I heard no complaints whatsoever coming from her side of the table.

The atmosphere:
Its absolutely beautiful inside. The heavy drapes and "candle" chandeliers cast a warm glow over the dining room. The open kitchen with basket fulls of freshly baked bread at the ready gives it an old world feel. The brown leather round booths give it a chic touch. The wait staff in simple black T's and long white aprons give it a more casual feel.

We arrived around 9pm on a Saturday evening, and it was a full house. We didn't have to wait more than 15 minutes for our table for 8. They get big points for that. A typical wait for us on a Saturday evening, without reservations, is usually more like 45 minutes. The bar area was great for waiting with plenty of stools to spare. The only downside was if you sat at the end of the bar, where the wait staff came in and out, it got a little crowded and congested. In fact, looking around the dining area, it seemed like the wait staff was all over the place. The congestion seemed to be coming mostly from them, not from the patrons. It added a bit of a rushed and frantic aura to the air. Once we were seated, we loved the big brown leather booths. Plenty of seating for all 8 of us.

The place settings were a bit surprising. Heavy weighted silverware wrapped in dish cloth napkins seemed out of place. When we ordered the House wine, it was served in a carafe with small drinking tumblers, instead of wine goblets. That sort of took away from any notions of upscale dining. The paper placemats/menus were the clincher. That's when I realized that my preconceived notions of posh dining in a trendy Italian restaurant were way off course. This wasn't an upscale restaurant designed to make you feel trendy and chic. It was old world designed to make you feel comfy and at ease.

The Service:
One thing that really impressed me at 111 and at The Sole was the level of service. The wait staff at Via seemed inexperienced and inattentive, and fell short of my expectations. When I ordered my Pellegrino, I asked for a lemon instead of a lime. When my water came out, with a lime, I asked again for a lemon. It never came. I know that lemons and limes are not huge deals, but it was a bad first impression in my mind. Then my friend ordered a salad as her entree and asked that it be brought out with the rest of the entrees instead of as an appetizer. The good news is that it came out pretty soon after placing the order, but she was the only one with food. Our waitress, however, did notice and apologized. When our entrees were brought out by various wait staffers, they were rushed and bordered on rude. When I asked my waitress what kind of cheese was in the Crepe Cake, she said she didn't know, but "some people like it, and some people don't." She said it was served with a blueberry sauce, but it was actually a cherry sauce. Trivalities, I know, but again, I was expecting the service to be on par with 111 or The Sole, and it wasn't. Interestingly, the pricing was right up there with its cousins, with entrees ranging from $17 for lasagna right up to $60 for Steak Florentine (for two). The high prices did not match the level of service.

Lasting impressions:
I admit, my review is less than glowing. However, I would like to go back to Via. Here's why. My first visit was a disappointment. That being said, I feel as though it was partially my own fault. My expectations were on a completely different plane than the vibe that Via is actually trying to send out. When I visited their website (after I visited their restaurant) I realized that it was not fair of me to be expecting some sort of fancy Italian restaurant. They never made those claims. So I'd like to go back, and give it another shot. This time with an open mind and a hungry appetite.

Via Italian Table (Guest Contributor)

The ambiance was great. However, it was blurred by the hectic wait staff. As I watched from the bar, I actually saw a pregnant patron get bumped twice without acknowledgement. Although small, I enjoyed my arugula salad. The size was more like a side salad. My margarita drink was a delicious and fun combination of cilantro and pear. Dessert was well worth the wait and size was not lacking. Would I come back? For the dessert-yes.

Contributed by Fantom Four guest writer-Erica

Via Italian Table - Worcester, MA - Ian

My friends had been talking about this restaurant since long before it opened. They knew who was opening it, where it was opening and what it was going to be. A lot of anticipation was built. Well, we finally made it over there on Saturday night, almost a month after they opened their doors.




The Ambiance and Location
The first impression was great. Stunning styles, oval tables and candle-chandeliers. It seems as though they achieved the look they were going for: neo-old-world-Italian...if that's not an oxymoron for you. One of my favorite features was the fact that the kitchen is wide open and you can see everything that goes on. That means it's clean. Always a good thing when dining out. And sitting at those oval tables was a neat experience.

And of course, add to that Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, which a sign on 290 labels as the "Cultural District", and you've got yourself a hot spot. And it certainly is a hot spot, from the looks of the clientele wining, dining and feeling free.

The Service
Unfortunately, I can't say as much for the service. I didn't really notice it myself until my friends mentioned it. Our server was very attentive and friendly, but the runners that brought out our food seemed kind of careless, practically throwing our plates down on the table.

The Food
The menu was very simple and interesting, although I felt that the variety was a bit lacking and I was disappointed not to find a dear favorite of mine, fettuccine Alfredo, even though I know it's more of an Italian-American dish.

My wife and I split an order of calamari that was very pleasing. I thought the marinara was sufficient. The breading on the squid rings was very light and crunchy, just as it should be. I was able to sample what my friends ordered, thought I kept it simple and decided to try the pesto sauce, which I was very pleased with. I got it on farfalle--always a good choice to hold that sauce.

I was able to sample their pizza, vodka sauce and a mozzarella salad on toast, which was very sweet with balsamic vinegar--yummy. I enjoyed the samplings, though nothing really struck me as groundbreaking.

For dessert, my wife and I ordered the crepe cake, which was a tad bit disappointing. It came with an insufficient drizzling of black cherry sauce that was tasty. Without the sauce however, there was not much to the flavor of the crepe cake. We would have liked to have seen more sauce. On the other hand, my friends who ordered the chocolate cake dish were very happy with it.

All in all, I'd say that Via Italian Table has a bit of a way to go in order to reach the bar set by its steak house counterpart, One Eleven Chophouse, from the same restaurant group. I would definitely go back again for the pleasing and fun atmosphere, but I'm hoping to see it mature and catch up to its fantastic cousins--111 and the Sole.

Here's the scorecard:
// Menu Selection: 7.8
// Taste: 8.4
// Presentation: 9.2
// Ambiance/Atmosphere: 10
// Service: 6.7

http://www.viaitaliantable.com