Buono Mangia - Charlottetown

Visiting PEI for a few days - hankering for Italian foodMade reservation for 6 of usTiny place with only 6 tablesMon night saw few customers.

Do you ever go to a place with good online reviews? Then experience a complete letdown? Then not feel up to telling the staff or cook about your bad meal?

Best pasta in Charlottetown. Great service Have eaten there twice so far and will definitely be back.

Overall, for the 1.5 hours we spent at the restaurant I think a comparable meal would could have been delivered with better quality and substance. The Pricing is nearly double was the quality of experience and food was delivered (1 Couple, 95$ without tip 1 glass of wine, water two entrees and an app) I would strongly encourage that if you are planning a trip to Charlottetown or PEI that this restaurant not be on your culinary list.Initially from all the good reviews on TripAdvisor, and perusing their website I believed I was taking our group of friends to a higher end Italian establishment but that is truly where the high Points ended. When we walked in we were seated quite rapidly, we had made a reservation the day earlier. Over the Course of about 15 minutes we were treated to an interesting scene of the Waitress, either through her actions or in action, turn away two groups of dinners totaling 9. The first Group, the Waitress was quite rude, abrupt and short with the incoming guests which after they were seated for about 5 minutes got up and left. The second larger group of 5, instead of being encouraged to dine at the restaurant the waitress seemed to make the group feel un-welcomed and they also decided to dine at another establishment.The atmosphere initially was quite pleasant they have turned a small store front into a seating capacity of 20. It is newly renovated. The chairs we found comfortable and the menu was well laid out and short. Foreshadowing to the fact they specialized in a few great meals. However, after been sat and perusing the menu we started to notice the irregularities of the Establishment. The music was too loud and did not match the theme of the restaurant - anything from Country pop to Hard Rock. The Waitress was not polished in terms of approach, the treatment of the other potential diners, and uniform. While usually this is not anything to write about, I think it is worth mentioning oweing to the final item, Cost of the meals. With an average of $30-40 per guest(without drink) there is a sort of decorum that is expected. Italian Music, Wait staff that is inviting with the menu and the restaurant. A level of uniform that would indicate, the restaurant is trying to differentiate itself allowing it to charge more per cover. Finally, the food. I think ultimately the food for me really drowned any hope I had for this experience being anything but a disappointment. For the 6 people at our table we ordered, 2 appetizers: Bruschetta and Spinach and Artichoke dip. When they arrived they were less then appetizing. Both Portion sizes would indicate rather then a dish that is able to be shared with a table it is meant to be consumed individually. The Bruschetta was served warm, on 4 melba toast sized baguettes. They flavour was missing salt and maybe a balsamic reduction. The Dip was served warm but again 4 melba toast baguettes were provided. Sharing the app's was difficult and a bit impractical as one portion had to be split so it could be shared.The Mains were equally underwhelming. The Homemade pasta was created with cost saving in mind over mouth feel and texture. The noodles, on all dishes, we very thin without bite or texture. The Sauces were un-inspired and under(if at all) seasoned. Among the 6 of us we had Lasagna with Caesar salad, Chicken Parm with noodles, Chicken Carbonara. The salads were using store bought ingredients (dressing, croutons,) the Chicken Parm was advertised as Local PEI meat but was dressed with low quality cheese making the texture quite rubbery. Lasagna was a similar experience without and fork pressure the layers dissolved, with out hints of flavour or ricotta/cottage cheeses. The Mozzarella was very rubbery as well.

Not reopened yet as of July 14. About 1 km from the old location. Pas encore réouvert en date du 14 juillet. Environ 1 km de l'ancienne adresse.