SesTina, you've redeemed yourself! Our first dinner visit left everyone at the table underwhelmed -- everything missing flavor and seasoning. But we gave brunch a shot and it was a totally different experience. The steak and eggs and the shrimp and polenta were both really impressive -- flavorful and well done. Our server Bradley was wonderful and handled every modification request without missing a beat. And the space? Light, airy, and feels like an Arkansas escape that makes you want to linger. read more

Sestina - Shrimp and polenta - Italian Near Me - Bentonville, Arkansas

See all

I returned to Sestina for a late hour work dinner after a colleagues office arranged for the meeting. The evening began poorly at the host stand. The maître d', a young woman, was visibly disengaged and dismissive. It was late in the evening and multiple tables were empty. She seated our group at a poorly configured table despite multiple better options. We pointed this out to the person who was seating us. We were walked us back to the front where the maître d' dismissed the request without addressing us directly. When questioned about table availability, she showed little interest in accommodating our needs. We were informed through her staff that the other tables were reserved (they remained empty through our visit). Food was underwhelming and one dish was lukewarm warm. At this point, I just set it aside. Her demeanor and just the sense of gloom were surprising and not often encountered. I have instructed my company and recommended the group not to rebook future events here. I do not intend to return. read more

See all

We went for my birthday, couldn't have asked for a better experience! We are foodies so have high expectations for food, service, friendliness and ambience. A space that feels open and airy due to lighter wood and floor to ceiling windows even though it is not a particular large space. We ate at the bar as is our custom. The Bistecca Florentine for 3 was cooked perfectly, seasoned well, and sooo tender. Two unique items not found at other restaurants that are must...the crispy artichoke side dish and the chocolate mousse encased in meringue torched tableside. Don't miss this place! We are going back for Valentines Day! read more

Sestina in January 2026 has a brand new menu, premium and timely service, and exceptional cuisine from appetizers to dessert. It's also booked out for at least a month in advance if you want to get in on a weekend. Their oysters were delicious and had an interesting pairing sauce (we liked the dirty). Also loved their squid ink seafood pasta and wagyu beef radiatori (still thinking about it today and wish I had leftovers). It's the best pasta in town, and we also enjoy Mezzaluna and Ermilio's in Eureka Springs. Filet mignon was so tender and perfectly cooked. Only steak I like in town aside from Ruth Chris. Their Bordeaux and pepper sauce were excellent. And you have to get the chocolate mouse with the meringue that they flambé at the table. Usually desserts with a show aren't good but this one was incredible. Pastry chef is an artist and cares about flavor and texture. We already booked another reservation for next month and asked for Reuben who did an incredible job. read more

See all

Our first trip for dinner and wow! Beautiful ambience, we were seated in a great location. David made the evening exceptional with his surprise flight of craft cocktails. The food was prepared perfectly, and everything was delicious. They also have an interesting wine menu. read more

In the area for a business meeting, my colleague and I decided to check out this restaurant in the beautiful Compton Hotel. We stopped in on a Thursday evening without reservations. It was about 6:30p and were told first available table would be 9pm on the patio. However we were given option to sit at the bar, which we took. It seems a little strange that there were empty tables, especially outside but perhaps this was a matter of staffing. The meal was enjoyable. We shared the little gems lettuce salad which was lovely. We both ordered the fish selection of the evening which was snapper (as I recall). It was a perfect summer dish. Very light. Dessert was a massive piece of dense dark chocolate gluten free cake. My friend took most of it home. Impressive mocktail menu and adequate wine list. I recommend. Bathrooms are outside entrance to restaurant off lobby. Parking was free on the town square. It was a busy evening so we lucked out in that regard. read more

See all

Overwhelmed with hospitality is how I would describe it. My daughter who I see about once a year from outside the US was visiting and it was out last night together. Her and I were walking downtown appetizer hopping different places and we just stuck our heads into Sestina to see the vibe, she wanted to stay after looking at the drink and dinner menu. We were sat shortly as we didn't have a reservation, it was around 6:30. We ordered cocktails and appetizers; she loved both and the presentation was cool. The service set the bar. I'm 54, I don't travel a lot for relaxation, but I've been a lot of places outside the country and in the US entertaining people for work, so we eat some pretty nice places. I mention that to say that I've not experienced service and hospitality like I did last night. My daughter and I couldn't stop talking about it. The manager stopped by and asked how things were and what brought us in and my daughter mentioned she was visiting from Lithuania but moving to Scotland when she returns back. After we enjoyed desert, a peach creme brule (which was awesome), the manager showed back up at the table with a hand made card with an image of Scotland on the front and inside a card wishing her a safe journey and other kind words for her next step in life, signed from the staff at Sestina. Wow! How cool was that extra step that cost them a sheet of paper and a few minutes of their time...during their dinner hour nonetheless! I'm writing this the next day reflecting on the thoughtfulness of their service and efforts to make her last night special. Thank you Sestina! read more

Sestina - Italian Near Me - Bentonville, Arkansas

New option in the Compton hotel in Downtown BV with a nice range of Italian options and a beautiful ambiance. The food is very solid and offers options for almost every dietary preference. I would highly recommend the burrata to start with the spaghetti Nero (if you like seafood) or the creamy malfadine with truffles. They also have a good selection of steaks and meats. My half roasted chicken was tender and flavorful - and the portion was vast! Be sure to grab the broccolini and Campanella sides as well. Worth a visit! read more

Sestina - Italian Near Me - Bentonville, Arkansas

See all

We just finished our meal and couldn't be happier! Our waitress Kelly was so kind, knowledgeable and prompt. The entire staff went out of their way to make our meal a special memory for us. Everything we tried was delicious and the service was excellent. If you come here you will be absolutely amazed by the food as well as the ambience! read more

See all

Great food, great service, great atmosphere! Offered valet parking. We celebrated our 20th Anniversary and our server made sure our evening perfect. read more

Sestina - Dessert for special night - Italian Near Me - Bentonville, Arkansas

See all

My first impression of the brand-new Sestina was great. Overall, the service was a very strong experience with some simple, strong dishes, but not all are stars. Menu Beef Carpaccio - I liked that the dish focused on the beef as the main component, and didn't overdo the arugula as other places do. However, the vinegar slightly overpowered the beef flavor. Gem Lettuce Salad - This was a surprise. A flavor-bomb, well-composed dish with pork belly acting as a crouton and a great blue cheese underlay puree that the salad was resting on. Bistecca alla Fiorentina - I had to try it, the 42 oz bone-in porterhouse, served pre-cut in the Florentine style. This meat was well-aged and so tender and flavorful. Definitely something unique to the area and simply executed with great seasoning and cooking style. Comes with three of their steak sauces, which it did,'t need but would be nice with other cuts. Sides: sauteed mushrooms, sweet potato hasselback, and fried artichokes. The sweet potato was the best of the three, and wth it being pre-sliced in the Hasselback style, the buttery, brown sugar flavor was deeply marinated into the sweet potato. Definitely a must get. The mushrooms and artichokes were great, but don't break new ground. Dessert - Lemoncello creme brulee - great texture to this classic styled dish. The flavor of lemon was nice, but not consistent throughout the mix, so the center tasted more like standard egg custard. Service - We had several helping us throughout the night, but Reuben had excellent knowledge of the menu and made some great suggestions on the items to get and how many dishes. The service was attentive and friendly without being overbearing. The atmosphere was nice and warm, with great views of the streetside. While you wait, check out the art in the lobby of the hotel too. It's helpful that Sestina is also on OpenTable. I can't wait to go back and try the pastas and some of the other steak cuts. read more

See all

I was excited to try this newer establishment for my birthday this year and very much enjoyed it. Located inside The Compton hotel, I liked the atmosphere (though can get a bit noisy when busy. Not in a debilitating way but it was a little difficult to hear my party at times). The staff provided a card for my birthday which was a nice touch and I found the food tasty. For my entree I went with the Mafaldine. I found the flavor a little muted but it was very well cooked and overall a fine dish. I was able to sample some of my family's dishes and enjoyed some bold flavors there. Overall very nice experience. I'm looking forward to returning to try more! read more

Let me start with the positives: the service was fantastic, attentive and frequently visited our table. We said it was our first time and they brought us a complimentary appetizer, which was nice. You also have to pay for the bread service however. The bad, unfortunately was the food, I got the lobster ravioli and the portion size was very, VERY tiny for the price, picture included. I finished my meal in about 15 seconds. It also had a cherry tasting drizzle on top of it, like you would find on cheesecake, which was a very odd combination. I finished my wife's radiatori, cause I was still hungry, and it reminded me of hamburger helper. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but lacked seasoning and was a tad underwhelming for the price. I had asked the waiter what their specialty was, he said all their pastas are made in house, but their steaks are their specialty. Maybe we will return, haven't decided but overall, it was underwhelming for the price. read more

Sestina - Appetizers - Italian Near Me - Bentonville, Arkansas

See all

Ahead of dinner, I made a reservation online. It was really easy to make a reservation online. When we got there (at 5:45pm), we checked in and although the restaurant looked empty, but we still waited like 10 minutes to be sat? Whatever their ticket system is to getting guest sat felt like it was delaying guests to sit? When we did get seated, we no joke were seated in the further table all the way in back by the door to the kitchen. It felt like they didn't want to see us that's how far in the back we were. Our server was soo kind though. He helped us through the menu and the drink menu as well. my mom and i both got the eclipse to drink. it was really tasty. we ordered a bread to start which was delicious. My mom got the roasted chicken and I got a pasta dish that our server has recommended. The food was really really yummy. We even ordered the chocolate mousse for dessert. It was sooo good and they toasted the outside of the dessert table side. The restaurant is really pretty and classy inside. My little corner was bland but the middle of the restaurant was nice and welcoming. read more

See all

Bradley was a great and knowledgeable server! Thanks for the Sangiovese. We had a great experience and really enjoyed the carpaccio, meatballs, crudo, and entrees. Will definitely be back! read more

Promising Concept, Needs Time to Improve Visited Sestina at The Compton during opening week with a party of six. Our reservation was for 7:15 PM, but we weren't seated until 8:10 PM. The host seemed overwhelmed, and better communication would have helped--such as letting guests know about delays and offering a drink at The Eddy upstairs while waiting. Once seated, service was slow. Our server was polite and apologetic, explaining the kitchen was working through challenges. We ordered only appetizers, but dishes arrived sporadically, and two guests never received their food. The manager did stop by to apologize, which we appreciated, but the table was never cleared during the two-hour experience. To their credit, they comped drinks and desserts, which ended the evening on a positive note. The concept and atmosphere are promising, but operational issues need attention. Pros * Beautiful atmosphere and concept * Friendly, apologetic staff * Complimentary drinks and desserts were a nice gesture Cons * Seated nearly an hour late * Slow service and inconsistent food delivery * Poor communication during delays * Table maintenance overlooked Bottom Line: Sestina has potential, but I'd recommend waiting a few months for them to work out the kinks. read more

The food was ok. Ambiance was great. The dessert is why I'll be back. Service was good too.

Overall: 4 Service/ experience/ ambiance: 5 Excellent all around- from host stand, server, and bussers. Pacing is a little off, but we will chalk that up to growing pains. It was also pretty busy for a Thursday night and they were able to seat us after a very brief wait. Really like the vibe of the restaurant. Gem Lettuce: 5 Really good flavors and enjoyable to eat Burrata: not rated They ran out of the bread that usually accompanies it but it was still really good. Could have used more salt but maybe the bread would have provided that. No way to know so won't rate it. They provided the burrata complimentary and I really enjoyed it! PEI mussels: 5 Good flavor. Presentation on bed of salt resulted in some mussels getting very salty. Note you only get 10 mussels. Radiatore Pasta: 4 Good al dente pasta and flavor. I got one piece that felt a little under. Salt Baked Snapper: 2 The flavors were confusing for us. The sauce, vegetables, and fish all seemed to fight. The most puzzling piece was it was a salt baked whole snapper... but it tasted under salted. Apple crostata: 4 Really great presentation and flavors. Minus points: way too sweet and could use more gelato. You wind up with no more gelato halfway through. Value: 4.5 The pricing seemed off for some of the dishes. $17 for 10 prices of mussels was surprising. I expected it would come out in a large bowl with a small discard bowl for empty shells. Instead it came out on a plate of salt. read more

I desperately wanted to like this place, but it was wildly underwhelming and overpriced. We had reservations and didn't get sat until 45m+ after our reserved time. The bartenders were rude while we waited and the one chair barstool we were able to snag was taken from us by a waiter for another couple. Our waiter was fine, but outside of that, nothing lived up to the hype. We won't be going again. read more

I love this new addition to downtown Bentonville! What a treat. First of all, the restaurant and the hotel are absolutely GORGEOUS! Fantastic location overlooking the square. The food was incredible and the service was superb. So excited to see this type of elevated dining experience coming to Northwest Arkansas. I will be back for sure. Highly recommended. read more

Overpriced meal that was barely warm. I expected more from bougie Bentonville. Service was good but for almost $100 for one person, I would have expected better food. read more

Sestina - Italian Near Me - Bentonville, Arkansas

Where to start the ambience was beautiful, Sestina exceeded our expectations! Every thing we ordered was flavorful and cooked to perfection. To start we had the Burrata, Foie Gras, Bread Service, and little gem lettuces what a great start this was all delicious. Next we all had the two course meals with beautifully cooked filets and a ribeye, the mashed potatoes were so buttery and creamy,, the broccolini was perfect and the horseradish sauce was also delicious, the roasted garlic was a nice touch. Desert we had the Tiramisu, Mousse Al Cioccolato, Pear Sorbet and all oh so good my favorite was the mousse! Also the Old Fashions were quite nice too! There were 4 of us and my husband and myself were celebrating our birthdays and Ruben truly made the experience special, he asked us our names and the whole night he treated us as though he knew us very personable and friendly. Ruben was very knowledgeable about the menu and answered all of our questions. We will be back and highly recommend this place to all of our friends. Great food excellent service! Thank you Ruben five star!!! Another nice touch the whole staff gave us a signed birthday card very nice. read more