Ricci’s Trattoria - Cary

My friend strongly recommended the restaurant. I visited there with two kids (2 yr old and 5 yr old) this evening. My kids were starving after swim lessons. But, my server did not take any orders from me for over 20 mins. Only 5-6 tables were occupied, not many people. Even she did not give us water. She took care of the other tables very well, except for me. Thus, we sat at the table for ~25 minutes and just got back home. I was so excited to have amazing foods there. But how can I eat the foods no one takes my order?

First let me open by saying the food here is delicious and the portions are plentiful! The three things which were lacking during our dinner was being rushed through the entire meal by our server, the fact that no bread was served at the table (never seen this especially in an Italian restaurant) and lastly a limited amount of choices for dessert. We plan to return and perhaps moreso for takeout instead but we are hopeful that some of the concerns we mentioned are addressed.

Just got up and walked out. Waitress was offended because after we were seated at a table we asked if we could switch to a booth. She informed us that if we switched to the booth we would have a waitress who is brand new and today is her very first day. She clearly didn’t want to lose out on a table and stressed a “brand new waitress” so we stayed put. From this point on, she intentionally ignored us. After sitting there for 15mins watching her wait on others around us while ignoring us and not taking our entree order, we got up and left. This is the first time we’ve walked out of a restaurant and we dine out several times a week. Should have listened to the others reviews.

Live near by Ricci 's, and have gone there fair amount of dining times and more often for pizza. I had my oldest son 's HS graduation dinner (June 2022) there; total of 10 folks, and it was a wonderful meal, fabulous service (she is no longer there)..I booked Ricci 's again, for party of 15; my younger son 's HS graduation June 15th '23 last week. People come down from NY, up from Florida, as it is a big deal in my family as we don 't get together often enough.It was the worst dining experiences I have ever had. I was internally distraught and embarrassed that people traveled so far for this inadequate, sub par, experience. More than HALF menu was not available. There were no clams, mussels, and NO CHICKEN whatsoever. Nobody, including Ricci, said a word about it until it was literally time to order. Last minute, I asked the one inexperienced server for our table of 15, for physical menus and 3 were handed out. ONE had black marker on it. I inquired and Server told me that everything with black marker was not available. When was she going to tell us? Everyone knew what they were ordering except for the few that asked for menus. They had two, yes two, employees working the entire restaurant, including take out. I was told 2 employees called out ......not a surprise. I suddenly elected myself (literally there was no other choice as I had to try and salvage what I could) as a helper, as I was behind the bar filling up water glasses, taking drink orders, however there was nobody to make drinks; cleaning off table, and cleaning stacked dirty dishes to make room. I asked myself: Why didn 't Ricci call and suggest I find other dining options when he knew he was in bad shape for Thursday night? Clearly, this wasn 't an all of a sudden crisis. Why didn 't Ricci go next door to Harris Teeter and buy Chicken for his party of 15 reserved 3 weeks in advance? Why was the men 's bathroom completely out of order with chairs stacked up and leaning against it. What an eyesore.The food was terrible. There was no redemption to be found. I was charged full prices, and Ricci was nowhere to be seen. Restaurant was practically empty the entire night. Yes, I called Ricci after I got home and shared my thoughts. Ricci was quick to defend himself I kept telling them to help you...they weren 't listening . Ricci, this is 100% on you Your servers did the very best they were capable of, giving their lack of experience and inadequate training. You are only as good as the people who work for you. Loyalty is earned.Used to be a great little spot. Sad.

We had a party of 13. Our server was very attentive to us. She did a wonderful job!Food was fabulous. Will dine here again.Suggestion: Have a pre-set large party menu option with a choice of 3 apps ,2 main courses and 3 desserts. That would help expedite the food coming out of the kitchen.