I grew up in Youngstown but now live in Connecticut. I had wanted to eat at Yosteria for the past…read moreyear and a half, so knowing I'd be in town on Friday, June 12, I asked my niece to make reservations for 6:00 PM. We were excited and really looking forward to the experience, especially since almost all the reviews are top notch and the venue itself looked cozy and unique.
Unfortunately, our experience was nowhere near top notch. Frankly, it has continued to bother me. So much so that when I saw Alex Zordich, the owner, the next morning at Golden Dawn, I considered saying something. I didn't. He was there enjoying time with his family. But back to the review.
We arrived at 5:55 PM and were promptly seated. The menu looked wonderful, the wine selections were intriguing, and the meals at the nearby table looked fantastic. We couldn't wait to get started.
By 6:17, no one had been to our table. Not to say, "I'll be right with you." Not to ask if we wanted anything besides water. Not even a simple "Welcome to Yosteria." I finally got up and went outside to ask if perhaps no one realized we were sitting in their section. It honestly seemed remarkable that nobody noticed we didn't have a server.
Another 5-10 minutes passed before someone finally came to the table. There was no explanation for why we had been overlooked, but we let it go. Things happen. We ordered wine, and when the waitress brought it, we ordered appetizers. She didn't ask about our entrées, but again, we were trying to be patient and go with the flow.
Meanwhile, a party of six was seated next to us. They were immediately greeted, drink orders were taken, and they were served their meals before we even received our appetizers or had the chance to order our entrées. (They left long before we were finished with our meal.)
By that point, my brother-in-law, who is an insulin-dependent diabetic, was dealing with low blood sugar. He had sugar pills with him, which helped somewhat, but by 6:45 -- with not even our appetizers served -- things were becoming serious for him.
Once the appetizers finally arrived, they were very good, so we were still hopeful. We eventually had to flag down the waitress in order to place our entrée orders, which we finally did around 7:00 PM. Ultimately, our meals were served and we were able to wrap things up by 8:15 according to the time stamp on the bill.
We did not order dessert. We just wanted to leave. The waitress said she would comp our desserts, but we declined. She insisted and suggested us take it home. So, we relented. We ordered the tiramisu. We nearly laughed out loud when she brought ONE. I am laughing even while writing this. For the horrible experience we had, the restaurant comped us ONE tiramisu that we didn't ask for or desire in the first place. That is funny and not what one would expect from what others regard as a fantastic restaurant.
You would think SOMEONE from management would have come to the table to apologize or thank us for our patience. You would think that someone would have said thank you for coming in when we left. Nope. Didn't happen. Did they think we didn't care because we weren't pitching a fit? I honestly don't know. I am not a mind reader and can't speculate of someone's motivations but regardless, we left a 20% cash tip. It would have been 30% if someone would have cared even a little.
Overall, the food was OK. The meatballs and the potatoes were over salted, which is unusual for me to say because I like salt. The pizza was good. The focaccia was good. The roasted Italian sausage was very good. The Pasta Alla Norma was good but better the next day. Bresaola and arancini were good.
So, folks at Yosteria, if your goal was to get us to never come back, you have succeeded. If that was not your goal, then I don't know what to say. I left your restaurant sad and disappointed. I don't think if I were the owners that is what I would be shooting for.
By the way, the YO VINA Zin was good. I was going to buy a couple bottles to take home but I was so over it by 8:20