My girlfriend and her family started the day right in Solvang by walking around and cherishing the beauty of the architecture and the many various offerings it has to offer. My girlfriend and I passed by a restaurant that seemed to be one of the luxuries in the area. We looked at the menu and the menu variety looks promising as well as the setting of the dining area. We would come back for lunch and see a whole different perspective. We go to a California City that replicates the Danish town of Denmark to eat at a Italian restaurant called, Cecco Ristorante in Solvang.
Located on the southwest corner of Park Way and 1st St, just to the south of the Solvang Park, you will find Cecco Ristorante. Out of most of the restorants, Cecco has a lot of dining space. From the wide, heated patio to the small initimate dining area, this seemed like a great spot to dine. We would come back in the afternoon and experience something different.
We came back to the entrance of Cecco and there was no one to greet us. When someone did see us, they told us to hold on. After that server came back, we weren't even greeted with a "Hello" or any sorts of warm welcome. We had a party of five in our group and we decided to sit inside because it was cold outside. Even with the heat lamps outside, we weren't going to chance it by getting sick. We were seated at one or probably, the only table that had a high table and chairs. I wonder why?! We were greeted by our server, Stephanie. We had asked if they had a child's menu and unfortunately, they did not have one. Two of our party had order lemonade ($3 each), but when they had looked at the menu, the choices for them wasn't that great. They decided to leave, but at the same time, Stephanie came back with the drinks. When they decided to leave, it appeared Stephanie wasn't in the mood to accommodate our party leaving. We decided to stay at our table.
When my girlfriend ordered her Linguini Al Pesto ($16), she snatched her menu. You can literally "HEAR" the snatch. You can tell she was so not into our table anymore. I can tell: TIPS just got downgraded. She had caught herself when I was about to order. I ordered the Isalata Di Pesce or a.k.a Salmon Salad ($17). The wait would be about 15 minutes. In the meantime, we like the interior design of Cecco. There are a lot of wine bottles beautifully place. Almost like an Italian cottage out in the country.
There was a party in front of us who were just loud. They kept talking about their trips across the world, their schedule, and even shouted to see the chef. Why not shout out your credit card number?! While we were waiting for our meal, the chef came out to meet the loud party. It was Chef David Cecchini. He looked like he wasn't all that happy to meet the party either. I wouldn't blame him. I did like the part that he had to leave the party to check in with the kitchen. Kudos to Chef David!
Our order came and this was one of the big saves for Cecco. It was exotically presented. My girlfriend had concerns about the pine nuts in her pesto, but Stephanie did promise that it would be close to negligible to taste. It tasted pretty good. However, my girlfriend did have concerns about the extra Parmesan cheese. It was shredded in the pasta, but it was grated on the side. What was that about?! As for my dish, I had a simple salad with a finely cooked salmon. I don't know if it was grilled or just in the oven. The pieces of salmon easily came off. With the goat cheese beneath the salmon, it slowly melted into the greens. I love the olives and slices of potatoes. Our meal kept our minds off of the service and onto the food.
I hate to say this was a "Hit or Miss". If the service was like this, I would completely avoid. The food is the only thing you should hope for. I know that Cecco is one of a kind in the area dominated by Italians, but if you want to gain more customers, then I guess customer service is where it needs to work on. You may be elite in the area, but doesn't mean, you are great. The food is great, but that is all Cecco Ristorante has to offer.
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