Comments on: Toscana Italian Grill and Bar

By: Natalie

Natalie — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:15:11 +0000

The food was decent. The only problem was our waiter, we think his name was Rick, seemed indifferent and hardly paid any attention to us. He verged on being downright rude. Why would a place as nice as this hire a person like that to serve? Pitiful.

Natalie and Shane

By: John

John — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:14:25 +0000

I will never go back to that place! I had a group of 4 and we were treated like they did not want us in the restaurant. The food was far from good, my wife got sick from her shrimp and pasta dish, and the other couple made comments the next day about how bad their stomachs hurt. We will not go back again. Where are all of the fresh ingredients that you speak about in all of your ads?

We all knew that Sarge Oak needed to go away, but when you replace it with a place like this, the only thing that you have done is made a bad restaurant worse with a new name.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:57:27 +0000

My wife and I decided to try Toscana for the first time a few nights ago and boy were we disappointed. Our excitment over checking out a new place turned to suspicion when we showed up to an empty restaurant on a Saturday night.

Our waitress seemed friendly and attentive, and the dining room looked nice, but that’s about the only good thing I can say about the place. The bread was a complete disaster. You can purchase much better bread at the grocery store. This was the plainest, most tasteless bread I have ever tried. Jimmy John’s and Subway can handle making good bread, so I knew we were in trouble from the get-go.

A quick glance at the menu quickly nullified Toscana’s claimed “commitment to sustainable and local food sources” trumped on their website. Since when did calamari and oysters appear in the Wabash? Why is there not a single creative pork or corn dish on the menu? I don’t really care all that much if a restaurant uses sustainable and local sources, but don’t insult your customers intelligence with obviously brought-in food.

We ordered a the lasagna and shrimp linguine (who knew shrimp were local to Lafayette?). They came with salads that were plain Jane to say the least. We were asked what kind of dressing we wanted and when we asked what the house dressing was it didn’t seem there was one. I would bet thats because they all came from a bottle.

The lasagna was disgusting. Not even edible. Stouffers does a much finer job of making lasagna. I would have sent it back back, but the shrimp linguine was also fairly miserable, so at this point we were just ready to leave.

We promptly recieved our check and paid a shade over $70 dollars for what, in my opinion, amounted to a half a loaf of the cheapest french bread, shrimp linguine I could have made, lasagna that is beat by most TV dinners and a bottle of cheap, blended screw top wine.

Having been in Lafayette for only a few years I can say this is the worse dining experience I have had in the city.

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:20:51 +0000

Don’t even bother going. My husband and I stayed in the hotel overnight and went to Toscana for breakfast the next morning. The buffet is not bad but the juice is expensive- $3 for around 8 oz! The hostess made us feel unwelcome and was rather snobby. We will not be going back.

By: marcia

marcia — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:03:11 +0000

We took our out-of-town friends, my mother, and our daughter out to eat last Sunday. The meal was poor, waitstaff inattentive, and service slow. At most there were 3 or 4 tables in the entire place, drinks were served slowly and not the waitress was so busy flirting with 2 men at another table, that she failed to offer a second glass of wine or cocktail. Five of 6 dinners were served and everyone had to wait for the 6th meal to arrive. We won’t be back, and it is too bad, as it is a great location with such potential.

By: Ann

Ann — Mon, 11 May 2009 03:51:46 +0000

Our “Mothers Day” experience at Toscana was not pleasant. My husband booked the reservation in advance and was required to provide a $50.oo deposit to hold. When we arrived we discovered it was the buffet…not something I enjoy… but did not want to lose the $50.oo deposit. We should of… the service was not great our water glasses were left unfilled or the servers would pour water on the floor as they filled the glasses (more than once) gross.
The food was not terrible but only mediocre at best not worth the $65 we were charged for a family of 4 with “Mom’s” meal half price. We were also surpried by a mandadtory 18% gratuity.
We won’t go back…

By: amy

amy — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:42:52 +0000

I’ve only been for lunch, but the food was mediocre for the price and service was slow.

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 06:10:04 +0000

I booked internet reservations for this restaurant. When we got there, they had no record of us doing so. That should have been the sign to leave. The bread was cold and my wife’s shrimp was like rubber. THe portions were tiny. They took her meal back after she had three bites and charged us for 1/2. My chicken parmasean was bland and had no flavor. I’d put it equal to Fazoli’s with a $40.00 pricetag. Go to LaScala downtown, it’s on a different plateau and around the same price.

By: Jan

Jan — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:23:30 +0000

We have eaten at Toscana 4or 5 times and love it. Not your run of the mill Italian restaurant but more like dishes found in Italy. The meatball sliders, artichoke appetizer and bruschetta are very tasty and I’d go there just for the Berry Tiramasu and Lemon Cake. Very light and refreshing. The restuarant and new bar area are a vast improvement over the old Sarge Oak and the bar and lounge area is a really cool place to have a beer and watch TV.
I’ve had many of the dishes including lasagna which I thought was great and the steak which tasted as good and was cooked right. My husband loves the all maet pizza with the thin crust (can’t think of the name). I’ve taken my 80 year old parents there (who go out to eat 5 nights a week and are very, very picky) and met my high school girlfriends there and we didn’t have any issues or problems.
I’ve been there when it was packed and when it wasn’t but always enjoyed it. When we first went, about a week after it opened, the staff seemed inexperienced but eager but I don’t think that now.
I really like this place and don’t understand the comment about the bread. I’d be happy just eating the bread right out of the oven.

By: David

David — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:49:14 +0000

My wife and I have been there for dinner 4-5 times over the last six months or so and really enjoy it. Last week we were there on a Friday night and the place was packed. It was the first time we have seen it full and the first time we had to wait for a table, but it was only about 5 minutes. The appetizer came out very fast and was excellent as always. The waitress seemed a little inattentive and was the only negative because my water glass got empty a couple times. But the food was very good and the portions are ample. Often there is enough food left for lunch the next day. The lasagna is about the size of two fists. It is comparable to La Scala and quieter, even when full, than Olive Garden. It is a vast improvement over Sarge Oak.