10/15/09

Did NOT live up to the hype!!!

by glammarama

Maybe they were having an off night when I dined there, but my experience at Melograno was disappointing. I was so looking forward to eating here after so many people I know had raved about the place. It wasn't horrible but my server seemed out of it and then, when I got my food it was cold! I hate that! And my server was didn't come back to check on us for at least 20 mins. At that point I was over the whole experience. Disappointing!

• Pros: cute atmosphere
• Cons: bad service, food was cold, portions inconsistent

05/27/09

Worst.Service.Ever.

by Jolin

In this bad economy, don't waste your time patronizing this establishment. The service is so awful that the food did not make up for any of the experience. There are PLENTY of other restaurants who are more deserving and will feed you equally well if not better,

I organized a dinner for a group of friends there last week and the hostess was haughty and curt from the begining. Granted my group was large but she insisted that I cut down my number from 13 to 12 in order to not be forced to order from a limited prix fixe menu. I did not see the difference in one extra person and even offered to pay the prix fixe price just to be able to sample their full menu. She would not budge one bit so I was forced to uninvite one person from my group. The kicker here is that she ended up splitting our dining group into two tables anyway so the ordering was separate as was the check. In this light I don not see WHY she felt so high handed to limit our group since we were for all intents and purposes two separate tables.

From the moment our party arrived she reminded us over and over again that we wre not allowed to stay past 8pm. Who DOES that? There are many polite ways to say it and perhaps ONCE is enough. Nevertheless we got the message when they rushed us through dinner. It was as if we were part of some marathon that we weren't aware of. Our waitress did not smile once during the meal and stood glaring while we looked over the menus. The server was rude too and yelled at a girl in our party when he couldn't remember who had what dish. When she tried to help clear some space on the table he even got tiffed.

15 minutes to 8pm, as we were finishing up our dessert the waitress flung our check on our table without even asking if there was anything else we needed or if we were ready. We would have gladly vacated knowing that there was another seating but the fact that there was no courtesy shown whatsoever throughout our entire ordeal there, needless to say we were all incredibly disappointed and by our experience.

I believe that Melograno has gotten too caught up in the hype that it is such a hot spot that they forget that it's their CUSTOMERS who keep them that way. They are arrogant and rude so be warned if you choose to try your luck there. You can be sure that none of our party of 12 will ever go back there again.

• Pros: decent food
• Cons: Awful service. Arrogant hostess. Rude staff.

03/20/09

Disappointing

by lindas

I went one Sat. at 5:30 with my 3 teenage daughters. I had been there several times recently with my husband and friends. We were treated very well then. But, with my daughters - we were treated very differently from any other time we had been there - and any other table our server was serving. Not once did our server ask how the dinner was - or if we needed anything. He was re-visiting the tables around us multiple times. We even tried to catch his attention, only to be ignored. I don't care how good the food is - when all customers aren't valued equally - there are plenty of other good BYO's in town. Right down the street - Porcini - everyone is treated like a valued customer and friend!

• Pros: great food
• Cons: service

02/16/09

Exceptional Italian BYOB

by sidewinder72

Melograno is definitely one of the shining stars of the Philadelphia BYOB scene. I'm not sure what the problem is with people who have complaining about the hostess and the service there. I've been there on multiple occasions (at both the old and now the new location) and never had any problems. Perhaps people just aren't used to what to expect at a BYOB? All such establishments live or die on a good table turnover so it's never going to be a place where you linger for hours over a couple cups of coffee. And it's pretty much standard that BYOBs (as well as other restaurants in Philly from bars to upscale) won't seat you until your party is complete. Show up early, show up with your party complete, and if you want to linger go somewhere else afterwards. End of the issue.

Anyway, on to the food as that's the main reason to go here. I've never had a bad meal or dish. One of my favorite appetizers is the wonderful artichoke with seared scallops, though recently I got to enjoy a special of grilled langoustine which was comparable in quality to a similar dish I enjoyed in Venice. The stuffed quail is AMAZING and I am not normally a huge fan of "little birds". The sweet stuffing is an excellent counterpoint to the meat, and it's deboned perfectly for easy enjoyment. And while the Bisteak Florentine isn't quite what you'll get in the city of its namesake (a thinner cut and not Chianina Beef), it's as close as you're going to get in America, and they'll cook it true Florence-style (ie, truly rare) if you ask for it. The bread is excellent and warm from the oven; portions are perfect if you plan on ordering a starter and a main, and maybe a dessert to share.

I'll never pass up an opportunity to eat here, though I'll always try to show up EARLY to avoid the wait!

• Pros: excellent food, byob
• Cons: crowded, busy

02/07/09

Horrible Experience! Very Rude Hostess ...

by margo1234

Wow, this has to be the rudest people at a restaurant I've ever dealt with. I've dined all over the world, and this by far, was the rudest hostess, and waitress I've ever encountered. Snobby, and rude. I agree with phillygirl20 who said the hostess was rude. She did the same thing to our party of 5. Wouldn't seat us unless the entire party was there, waiting...told us we had to be out at a certain time, and hawked us during our meal. She clearly talked about us to the waitress, who kept peering at us from afar, had another male waiter walk over and stare us down etc. Then had the audacity to ask us to leave because "another party was waiting for the table". We weren't paying customers I guess. That lady needs a lesson in grace and manners, not to mention how to be a human being and treat customers and if it weren't for customers, there would be no melograno.

Would never go back, and would never recommend it. There are FAR better restaurants in the city to eat at - try Mercato. Excellent service. Excellent food!

12/18/08

Hostess is rude, pushy, & ruined our experience!

by phillygirl20

Short vers...the hostess was first refusing to seat our party of 8, then when the restaurant cleared unexpectedly, she changed her mind and called us in on short notice, hawked us until the rest of our party arrived, threatened to give our table away and then also gave us a time limit for when we had to leave-and came back to remind us about it!!

Long vers..

We arrive with a group of 8 and the hostess proceeds to tell us that it's not going to work for us because they could only seat us in 2 groups of 4 with one group sitting in 30 mins and the other in 60 mins. I said that's ok, but she kept persisting that we couldn't be seated at the same time so it wasn't going to work- and I reinterated that it was fine & to put my name down. So we waited and MIRACULOUSLY we get a call 10 minutes later saying they could seat all 8 of us at the same time, but we had to agree to leave by 9:30 (this was 2 hrs after seating and we wanted to go out anyway so we thought well it's bizarre to be given a time limit for when you need to be out, but we decided to sit). Since we were given a wait time of 30 mins initially we told the others in the party not to hurry over and a few people ran to get more wine. When we came in to get seated, we were STERNLY told that they would give us 5 mins and they would only seat 4 of the 6 of us at one table and the other 2 were to wait.... weird and rude again so we just ignored and sat 3 at each table. We got dirty looks of course and the hostess kept her eye on us hawking to see when/if our other guests arrived. Then once it got closer to 9, we were wrapping up dinner and the hostess approached and said she had someone waiting for the table and kept reminding us that she had asked us to be out at 9. I said no, 9:30 is what you said. Who is really going to be rude enough to actually ask you that? Yes- they are! She kept bugging us- and it was my birthday to top it off- why do I want to deal with this lady? I certainly won't be returning!

• Pros: food is decent
• Cons: hostess is rude, not good for large group, ambiance is loud, long wait, no reservations, you feel rushed out

12/15/08

Great food, service could be improves

by carla33

The new location is fabulous with hardly a wait for a party of 4. The food is wonderful- the scallops and artichoke is such a great appetizer. The food is always fresh and hot. The service could use some improvement- We're convinced that there's only one friendly and diligent waitress on the staff.

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Service

12/06/08

Rude Hostess Taints the Food

by aprilms

I was very happy and excited when I walked into Melograno with a friend. I knew they did not take reservations, so I had no problem waiting. However, the hostess underestimated the time to the table by 45 minutes. When I politely inquired, she was incredibly rude and nasty. I would NEVER speak to someone the way she spoke to me. It caught me so off-guard I said nothing and kept waiting. However, in retrospect, I should have left. The food ended up being good, but it didn't matter - that horrible woman ruined the experience.

I will NEVER return to Melograno. When the hostess treats the customers like dirt, it's obvious the business is in serious disarray. The woman of whom I'm speaking is the younger Asian woman. They need to get rid of her asap. Then (maybe) the food will be worth the wait.

• Pros: Location
• Cons: SERVICE

11/28/08

Great food, terrible service

by Rittenhousese

After moving to the new location, the quality of food remains the same, however the quality of service cannot be worse.

I always wonder why the owner does not have his sister-in-law step out from the restaurant. She ruins all the virtue of this restaurant by her rudeness (e.g. never let the clients get seated if anyone is missing, even there are plenty of seats, drinking in front of the customers, throwing the menus to the guests). Other staffs are cheerful and nice, however this Asian lady really spoils the whole impression. If you are going to this restaurant with an important client or significant others, I will highly recommend you to pick a date when she is not around.

After moving to their new place, their dessert menu had a great improvement. I know it is hard to save your appetite with all the wonderful appetizers and entrees (especially their quail), but their warm chocolate cake is worth a try.

• Pros: Great food, more room after moving
• Cons: Horrible service

11/12/08

Good ambience, average food

by Eviemed

My boyfriend and I went to Melograno on a Tuesday night with reservations for 7:30. Even though it was a weeknight the place was packed and I was happy that we had a reservation in place since there were about 3 parties waiting for tables. Our waitress was "ecclectic" to be nice...since we were spending a good amount of money for our meal I expected her to look and act more professional. She had crazy makeup, and was wearing grungy jeans and beat up black sneakers! She didnt seem to care that our bread was delivered late and we never received olive oil at all. The older man that was filling our water glasses was a million times more pleasant than our waitress. On to the food...Our appetizer WAS delicious...we shared the portobello with goat cheese and it was rich and full of flavor. My meal (pan fried chicken w/ proscuttio and mozzarella) was severely overdone, dry and completely flavorless! My boyfriend had the pasta with shrimp and scallop, and it was JUST OK. WE heard great things about this restaurant but both of us left agreeing that we will be frequenting other BYOBs instead of returning. It didnt live up to the hype and it wasnt worth the money.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Food, Service