Rhode Island Food Culture: Dining, Drinking & Food Stuff
Merry Catastrophe at Siena on Federal Hill [New Addendum to Post]
Several of you may remember my post asking for suggestions on where to take a group for a holiday meal. I thank those who took the time to make recommendations. I'll try to get to your recommended restaurants in the future, but for this meal I took the advice of a local chef for whom I have the greatest respect.
It's not my style to write poor reviews of a restaurant; I'd prefer to ignore bad experiences and only spend time congratulating those who make things great. I also recognize that it's a bit unfair to judge an entire restaurant by only one meal. Because of my experience last night, I've decided to make an exception. This is the first negative post I've ever made about a restaurant.
Our group of five arrived at the bustling Siena five minutes before our reservation at 8:30pm. I made our reservations at Siena about two weeks ago and asked to sit at one of the round tables so that my group could more easily converse. In my opinion there are few activities better for bonding than breaking bread over a delicious meal. My group was told that we'll need to wait a few minutes as our table was not ready. Although I wasn't thrilled about having to wait when I had a reservation, I'm understanding that things can get backed up on a Friday particularly when we wanted a specific table.
After a 1/2 hour our group standing awkwardly between the packed bar and patrons' tables, dodging the whirling wait staff, my patience was wearing thin. One of the waitresses was friends with a member of our group and told us the wait was due to walk-ins that sat down and were taking their time finishing their meals. We were finally informed our table was ready when, to my further disappointment, the waitress brought us to a square table in the front of what was one of the loudest restaurants I've been in for quite some time.
"So we waited 40 minutes for a table we didn't request in one of the noisiest areas of the restaurant when we made a reservation weeks ago?" I asked red-faced. The timid hostess and waitress said nothing. We sat down.
An older woman approached us to apologize for the wait and gave us a bowl of calamari which she said was on the house. I informed her that we had reservations for a round table to which she replied that the person taking our reservation should not have committed to any particular table. Had I not been able to obtain a reservation for a round table, I would not have chosen Siena for this meal; it was important to me that we could all talk to one another easily.
With nearly zero sympathy from the apparent person in charge I quickly weighed the difficulties we'd likely experience should we walk out of the restaurant to find another on a Friday night without reservations elsewhere. Despite my reactionary compulsion to leave I thought it best to stay. The woman said "sorry" and I asked what her feelings of sorry was going to do to solve the situation. She walked away with no response.
Even though the seating arrangement was tough due to the rectangular table combined with the incredibly loud intrusive bad 80's club-type music (isn't this a nice restaurant?) and the elevated customer voices from the bar to match, we still very much enjoyed each others company. For the most part, people liked the appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Three out of five mentioned that their cuts of meat were tough: 2 veal chops and a sirloin. Overall the food was good, but for $350 I would have preferred better service and much better ambiance.
With so many better restaurants in Providence I won't ever recommend Siena and it's highly unlikely I'll ever return.
[Edits]
I emailed this review to Siena through their website address and received a concerned response from the owner, Chris Tarro, almost immediately. He said he received a phone call from the manager at midnight telling him of our displeasure. I find it very impressive that the owner is informed on the spot of complaints such as these; it's too bad that level of customer service and concern didn't find its way to our table while we were dining.
A quote from Chris: "The front dining room is requested by 75% of our guests. We are a city restaurant with a lot of energy. In fact, our tagline includes "lively atmosphere" and we have played the same contemporary Italian music since opening. While it might not be the atmosphere for you and your guests, most people enjoy it."
Who can argue with this? The restaurant is packed and I witnessed many who seemed to be regulars. I'll chalk this up to the restaurant just not being for my taste.
It's not my style to write poor reviews of a restaurant; I'd prefer to ignore bad experiences and only spend time congratulating those who make things great. I also recognize that it's a bit unfair to judge an entire restaurant by only one meal. Because of my experience last night, I've decided to make an exception. This is the first negative post I've ever made about a restaurant.
Our group of five arrived at the bustling Siena five minutes before our reservation at 8:30pm. I made our reservations at Siena about two weeks ago and asked to sit at one of the round tables so that my group could more easily converse. In my opinion there are few activities better for bonding than breaking bread over a delicious meal. My group was told that we'll need to wait a few minutes as our table was not ready. Although I wasn't thrilled about having to wait when I had a reservation, I'm understanding that things can get backed up on a Friday particularly when we wanted a specific table.
After a 1/2 hour our group standing awkwardly between the packed bar and patrons' tables, dodging the whirling wait staff, my patience was wearing thin. One of the waitresses was friends with a member of our group and told us the wait was due to walk-ins that sat down and were taking their time finishing their meals. We were finally informed our table was ready when, to my further disappointment, the waitress brought us to a square table in the front of what was one of the loudest restaurants I've been in for quite some time.
"So we waited 40 minutes for a table we didn't request in one of the noisiest areas of the restaurant when we made a reservation weeks ago?" I asked red-faced. The timid hostess and waitress said nothing. We sat down.
An older woman approached us to apologize for the wait and gave us a bowl of calamari which she said was on the house. I informed her that we had reservations for a round table to which she replied that the person taking our reservation should not have committed to any particular table. Had I not been able to obtain a reservation for a round table, I would not have chosen Siena for this meal; it was important to me that we could all talk to one another easily.
With nearly zero sympathy from the apparent person in charge I quickly weighed the difficulties we'd likely experience should we walk out of the restaurant to find another on a Friday night without reservations elsewhere. Despite my reactionary compulsion to leave I thought it best to stay. The woman said "sorry" and I asked what her feelings of sorry was going to do to solve the situation. She walked away with no response.
Even though the seating arrangement was tough due to the rectangular table combined with the incredibly loud intrusive bad 80's club-type music (isn't this a nice restaurant?) and the elevated customer voices from the bar to match, we still very much enjoyed each others company. For the most part, people liked the appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Three out of five mentioned that their cuts of meat were tough: 2 veal chops and a sirloin. Overall the food was good, but for $350 I would have preferred better service and much better ambiance.
With so many better restaurants in Providence I won't ever recommend Siena and it's highly unlikely I'll ever return.
[Edits]
I emailed this review to Siena through their website address and received a concerned response from the owner, Chris Tarro, almost immediately. He said he received a phone call from the manager at midnight telling him of our displeasure. I find it very impressive that the owner is informed on the spot of complaints such as these; it's too bad that level of customer service and concern didn't find its way to our table while we were dining.
A quote from Chris: "The front dining room is requested by 75% of our guests. We are a city restaurant with a lot of energy. In fact, our tagline includes "lively atmosphere" and we have played the same contemporary Italian music since opening. While it might not be the atmosphere for you and your guests, most people enjoy it."
Who can argue with this? The restaurant is packed and I witnessed many who seemed to be regulars. I'll chalk this up to the restaurant just not being for my taste.
Tags: bad, crowded, customer, experience, federal, hill, http://www.sienari.com/, italian, loud, providence
Comment
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Comment by Serena on December 30, 2008 at 12:00pm - Well, as far as my experience goes at Siena, never been anywhere as good as Siena. Their food, staff, music, over ambiance, is incredible. Mr. Ritz, obviously you don't dine in Providence very often. If you had researched Siena maybe you'd have learned that Siena has been voted the #1 restaurant in RI several times. When you say they were playing 80's club music, thats not true. I was there 2 times that week and it was a holiday CD. If you want to go somehere quiet with circular tables, try Costantinos. But go there knowing their food and staff is not nearly as friendly nor professonal. Before you point the finger at a highly recognized restaurant why dont you step back and acknowledge that it was poor planning on your part to think that this energetic italian restaurant-bistro would be suitable for your 'quiet' meal.
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Comment by Mr. Ritz on December 13, 2008 at 1:22pm - And another...http://www.fishyfoodie.com/2008/10/siena-34.html
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Comment by Mr. Ritz on December 13, 2008 at 1:20pm
- I guess I should have done more research on Siena. Here's another person's write-up who articulates better than I: http://www.a-clean-plate.com/?p=8
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