Comments on: Alto Cucina

By: Lori Loper

Lori Loper — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 16:54:13 +0000

My sister from Calif and I and our niece and nephew also dined there on 6/15. We almost walked out. our waiter, eric was rude and the service was awful we waited 20-25 minuted between courses, the food was ok not great but the service made the whole experience just plain bad. i doubt i will go back as this is the 2nd time i have had the same waiter and he was just as bad the first time. embarassed that I brought my sis from out of town and had such a bad time.
spent 140.00 for an okay meal and lousy service.

By: Russ

Russ — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 15:14:04 +0000

Had dinner at Alto Cucino last night (and several times in the past) and I was really disappointed. The food was ok, not great. The service was abysmal. Waited 5 minutes standing in at the hostess station waiting to be seated. There was no hostess so I am not sure who they are trying to fool here. Instead we were greeted with a one word, “why are you nothering me” attitude from the male wait staff. Finally seated and it took 5 minutes for wait staff to arrive and then shockingly, almost 20 minutes for the bottle of wine to arrive. I asked our waitress if this was the kind of experience we could expect the rest of the evening? Her response: “well, we’re busy!”

When ordering entrees we asked “Do you make your own pasta?” She replied No we don’t. Ok so I am being asked to pay 19 to 28 dollars for a plate of pasta that came from a food service – you’re joking … right?

If this place were anywhere else but Erie, PA it would have died a quick death, but not surprisingly Erie thinks this is a good restaurant. My advice – try Tarsitanos in Conneaut, OH. It blows this overpriced, bad service place out of the water. Ditto on Bertrand’s = they are miles ahead of Alto Cucino in every regard.

My advice to the owners? Clean up the bad attitude (which is probably caused by over-worked staff)! Hire a hostess, hire more wait staff and prepare fresh home made pasta and then maybe things would improve. I will not be back until they improve, if they improve!

I have traveled extensively in my life and eaten at some of the finest restaurants in the world… and to be fair…I am not looking for that. I am looking for professionalism, good food and excellent service. The food doesn’t have to be 5 star, but the service should be!

By: jeanty

jeanty — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:08:24 +0000

Interesting blog…I enjoyed reading it. Alto Cucina serves up pretty decent food as far as Erie is concerned. We ate there about a month ago and to be honest, my main complaint was more about the decor of the restaurant. I simply cannot understand why none of the restaurants in this area aren’t more progressive with their interiors! I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. I really think that the prices are fair…surprisingly large portions, almost too large! I do get sick and tired of all of the references to Bertrand’s…people in Erie truly believe that it is some stellar upscale dining experience, which it is not. The food is average at best.

By: andrew

andrew — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:04:37 +0000

Yes, I have indeed heard of Bertrand’s Bistro and thoroughly enjoy eating there. The restaurants I review are all picked by my readers. I put Bertrand’s as a choice for readers to vote for twice, and both times, it came in with the second fewest and fewest number of votes respectively. I try to leave it up to readers to vote on my review location so that I do not show a bias. If the opportunity presents itself again, I would love to review the food at Bertrand’s. If you are available, you are more than welcome to join me.

Andrew

By: unknown

unknown — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:23:37 +0000

The fact that you dont have a single steak on here from Bertrands forces me to take this review with a grain of salt…..have you ever heard of Bertrands?

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:36:23 +0000

After reading the review I am a little surprised. I hear so many people talk so highly of Alto Cucino and how “upscale” their food is. Therefore, I thought it would have been better for the prices they charge (remember, The Beard’s expense of $60.00 included the use of the Erie Fine Dinning Card). I have been there twice (never for steak) and had good experiences both times. Finally, why would any restaurant have the bread sitting on the table getting cold and possible a little stale before you arrive? What’s up with that? Makes no sense whatsoever.