"After passing by Ciao Baby for quite some time on Sunrise Highway we decided to entertain out of state guest there since it looks unique from the outside. Well is certainly was unique. First we waited until the hostess was done chatting on the phone with a personal call until she acknowledged us to seat us in the middle of a cramped and broken folded table. We had a minor with us (12 years) and the poor girl had to sit at the broken end where the table was supposed to clip, so one of the adults ended up switching seats. The waiter that served us was obnoxious and used childish language when explaining the specials such as ;rad ; and such. It took 20 minutes for the red wine we ordered to come out and another 30 for the appetizers of calamari and beef wrapped asparagus. The calamari was the worst I have ever tasted in Long Island. Not only was it rubbery and hardly fried, the sauce was pasty and lacked any flavor. Then we proceeded to wait for over an hour for our entrees to come and the waiter seemed to be hiding from us never approaching the table once during that time. Finally we caught the drink waiter and ordered another two glasses of wine. Which took him 30 minutes to bring back to our table. He apologized and said he ;spaced out ; when he finally did come. When the waiter came back with one plate of dinner I asked him what took so long and he stumbled over his words and said every dish was ;made to order ;, which left me wondering what that REALLY meant. So I let it go and the rest of our entrees came out. I ordered the special and realized that the asparagus was ice cold! Some ;made to order ; restaurant! One guest bit into his stuffed rigatoni and said it was completely water logged, the minor said her bread was stale and the shrimp was rubbery. It seemed like we couldn’t win one step of the way. As we began to eat the ;manager ; came up behind me and in a threatening manner said to me ;yeah you complained about the wait? I said yes, that we had been here over an hour and a half and that the restaurant was full when we came in and now it’s almost completely empty and also the problems with our food. He argued with me saying that because they cook their food a certain way that it is normal waiting time. He ARGUED WITH ME, even after I explained that the food tasted awful and wasn’t even warm! I asked him who exactly he might be since I thought maybe he was the owner since he was dressed in a much wrinkled white polo shirt. Most managers dress in a suit or nice dress shirt on a weekend night shift and I was completely taken aback. So he talked over me and refused to listen to what I had to say ending the conversation with ;well that’s unfortunate for you, too bad ;. This manager should not be in customer service if he cannot handle dealing with the public. I was not only embarrassed for myself but for my out of town guest whose first time it was in NY. I felt like his intentions were to make me feel as if I had no right to complain and essentially shut up and eat the food no matter how long we waited and how lousy it tasted. I have never encountered such an uneducated manager or staff in a restaurant that is supposed to be ;family style ; dining cuisine. When the bill came, the overpriced food came to $150.00, and not a cent was taken off our bill nor dessert offered, or and apology for our uncomfortable experience. My fiance approached the manager and asked him if he really thought this bill was justified since no one really touched their plate from the trauma of the service and his attitude. He just shrugged his shoulders and said he didn’t care what he thought and he could write a letter or complain to whomever that it wouldn’t matter because they are ;independently owned ;. Outrageous! These people really need to be re-trained in the area of customer service and management if the expect to have a lasting business. The behavior and indifferent attitude should never be allowed in any restaurant 5 star to fast food, and I am still in shock over our treatment. I asked for the manager’s name before I left so I could warn as many people as possible of this shameful establishment. We did the only thing we could do as consumers and left no tip. Paid in cash the exact amount and departed rather quickly. You should be ashamed Ciao Baby."
