Hi mahokid

I am enjoying your restaurant reviews. It appears that we have very similar tastes.

I don't normally dis restaurants - anyone can have a bad night. However, in the case of Sale e Pepe, bad isn't a strong enough word to describe our experience.

It started upon our arrival, for a 7:30 reservation.There were 20+ people milling around in the bar area and out front. We were all similarly being completely ignored, and through conversation with these folks, I learned that we all had reservations. All the tables at the front of the restaurant were vacant, but none had been cleared and re-set. I have spent lots of time (and money!) in fine restaurants, and so has my family. I turned to one of my daughters, who has worked in fine dining establishments for years, and said to her "this restaurant is completely out of control".
She responded with a simple "Yep".

We were seated after 45 minutes, which vastly exceded my usual patience threshold, and only after I walked around the entire restaurant searching for someone/anyone who might be able to assist us. We then waited for another 15 minutes before anyone arrived at our table to greet us, another 15 - 20 minutes before someone brought the bottle of wine we had ordered, then another 1/2 hour until an obviously inexperienced server took our order. Meanwhile, we had all known for well over an hour what we WANTED to order.

We skipped apps, which we never do,mainly because I pointed out to my family that I was concerned about living long enough to order and receive apps and mains. When our dinners arrived, 2 of the 4 dinners were not what was ordered at all, and my wife didn't receive her dinner at all. The server's answer to being questioned about where her dinner was, said "Oh, we don't have that tonight". You are telling her that NOW????

All 4 of us eventually received "something" to eat, with the only reason we stayed being that it was now too late to go anywhere else.

So, my review? This is not a restaurant. It is an expensive lesson in exactly how to run a terrible dining establishment. Fine menu, great venue, but no earthly idea how to run a dining room.

We will try this place again some day, only because a lot of experienced fellow travellers seem to think it's great, and I can't imagine that it could be this awful again. We shall see!