It was a family lunch with my adult daughter after she had just come back from an overseas vacation. She had lots of stories to tell me so to have a nice time with her, I wanted the place to be more than casual. Solid 4 star reviews of Gattara appeared promising when I looked it up on Yelp as the photos to show its ambience looked good. Maybe my anticipation was too high (I should have shown up without any??) but 4-star is simply an overstatement. It's like a rock band that everyone raves about but the fact is, it's so pretentious. Hence, my honest rating of this restaurant is 2.5 star (but I'm giving it 3 to be generous.)Service: it was a little after 11am. The restaurant had barely people in it but service was slow and barely basic. There was a single gentleman (appeared to be a hotel guest; this really is in Warwick Hotel) who appeared to have waited for a GOOD amount of time before he got his food. He even stood up to grab an attention of some worker to ask where his food was before he finally got his food. It didn't take too long to finish his food but once he was done with it, he asked for a check which he had to wait for. He actually had to leave the premises to go back to his car (for his meter??) so he could come back to his table to pay for his tab was the improvement I got. This slowness of service was (unfortunately) extended to me/us. After a female worker (she was the only person in the restaurant who was attentive and nice) filled our glasses with water while I was awaiting my daughter to arrive, she said, "Your server will be right with you." There was at least ten (plus) minutes before our waiter finally came to our table. As my daughter hadn't arrived yet at that point, I asked for a cup of some coffee product (he then told me the only thing the restaurant could make was Americano. Wait, this Italian restaurant can only serve Americano but they can't make cortado or cappuccino or latte??? Very strange..) I had no choice but to order Americano. Well, turns out, this Americano exceeded my expectations. This was the only thing though that was more than decent. Our waiter only came to us to take our orders. He didn't come to ask us how everything tasted or if we wanted a dessert after our meal, you know, those basic things a typical waitestaff asks. He absolutely had no smile on his face; he was just doing absolutely minimal/minimum to get by.)Food: I've already mentioned about Americano that was more than decent. Two plates we ordered (once my daughter arrived) were Dilicata Salad with salmon add-on ($27) and Meatballs ($13). The arugula in the center had more than necessary amount of salt in it. The restaurant should go a bit easier on the salt. Overall though, this dish doesn't simply live up to what's described on the menu. Again, this is a pretentious rock band that is simply overrated for the kind of price for lunch. The meatballs, however, were decent. Although one thing about them was the fact that it may have sat at the kitchen counter for at least 5 to 10 minutes before it reached our table as the meatballs were barely warm. My daughter's mocktail was nothing but sour; its appearance disguised as a quality concoction. I wasn't impressed...Ambience: Despite what I had to say above, I'm happy to say that this place gets a decent score in this category. Spacious and clean is what many will notice. Cat-themed artworks and decors are seen throughout; I find this cute. They also have a spacious patio space. The bar area also appeared nice. Definitely a good place to sit and grab a drink solo or with someone. I wouldn't bother coming back to Gattara driving from my DTC neighborhood just to dine for a simple lunch or dinner. I can simply find something equivalent or even better in my direct neighborhood saving time and gas.
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"Checking the neighborhood and found a delicious lunch at Randi's! Staff were pleasant and efficient. The 8" lunches special is a great deal. I noticed the place is full of regular clients greeted by name. Restaurant is clean and comfy!"
"It was GREAT, very comfortable atomsphere. Never felt rushed even after arriving late. Food was amazing. Will definitely be returning."
