Martino's Restaurant Bar - Ashland

This is our favorite restaurant in Ashland, and we've been coming here for over 15 years. However, during this visit, it was clear that there was a staffing shortage. Our beloved long-time server was attending to almost every table in the restaurant. Meanwhile, two other staff members appeared to be underutilized; they mainly filled water glasses and handled credit card transactions, which made the service noticeably slower compared to our previous visits.

First, the positives: my dish was delicious. Unfortunately, I ordered cavatappi but was given spaghetti instead. Additionally, our entrees took so long to arrive that we had to forgo dessert to make it to our show on time. I cannot recommend this restaurant.

The food here was outstanding. I ordered the eggplant parmesan, and it was cooked and seasoned to perfection. The accompanying pasta was a delightful, light linguine that complemented the eggplant dish beautifully.

Rich delicious food in a wonderful setting. The patio is beautiful, but if you prefer to sit inside, the atmosphere is great as well. Generous portions and we left fat and happy. The lasagna is spectacular as is the mac and cheese. Very impressed with the staff as well, our server was knowledgeable, friendly, and most importantly attentive.

The music: 5 stars! The atmosphere: 5 stars! The drinks: 5 stars! The food: 3 stars This place was incredible and I would definitely go back again. I do however think the food was a little lackluster. We ordered very simple Italian food, spaghetti meatballs the chicken fettuccini Alfredo. The meatballs were delicious but the marinara sauce was waaaay too acidic, under seasoned and just generally didn’t taste flavorful or homemade. Kind of tasted like tomato paste? I don’t feel like it’s difficult to nail a simple, flavorful tomato sauce therefore was disappointed with that. The jazz performers were fantastic. It was a beautiful snowy evening and made for a truly magical experience listening to experienced, passionate performers while watching the snow fall out the window. If the food was as good as everything else, our night would have been EPIC!