Toscana

Excellent service and wonderful Italian meal. Came here with my colleagues for dinner. They were extremely busy which was a great sign. We got one of each appetizer and were all delicious. I ended up ordering the halibut special with crab meat and pasta. Halibut was perfectly seared and cooked. Looking around at empty plates everyone else liked it as well. Dessert wise the canolli was my favorite. Flavorful but not too overtly sweet. Awesome little Italian gem here in Charlotte.

Yet another unfortunate experience at Toscana. Really unsure if I will return to what used to be one of my favorite spots for high-end Italian food and dining experiences in Charlotte. About 3+weeks ago, I went in person to make reservations for a special birthday celebration, asking that our reservation be for a table in the back room so it would be quieter. Upon arriving for dinner recently, we were taken to a table in the middle of the restaurant near the very noisy bar area. I mentioned that we had requested a table in the back room and the hostess indicated that a family with young children had come in for dinner and asked to be seated there so their children could run around and be noisy while the parents ate dinner. The hostess indicated that she would be happy to seat us in the back room, but upon walking back there, it was what the hostess indicated. Unbelievable that parents would do that at a high end restaurant like Toscana, but even more unbelievable that Toscana would allow that - including basically "closing" off the back room from other guests who could have enjoyed a nice evening in a less than noisy bar atmosphere. Service (waiter was Ryan) was solid, but the food (albeit the prices are on the higher end) the quality is in no way reflective of the price point. One last point, it felt as if we were being rushed throughout the dinner - as soon as you took the last bite of your food on your plate (and often while food was still on your plate), servers (who seemed to be hovering over our table) would ask (or simply do so without even asking) to remove your plate, thus giving the feeling of constantly being rushed through the meal. One of the things I truly enjoyed about dining in Italy, was the relaxing meals that would last several hours. So although Toscana is trying to give the feeling of dining in Italy, the experience of a relaxing meal, the quality of the Italian food and so much more is clearly missing the mark. Such a shame that Toscana has declined in its past status of a great Italian dining experience and that the Conte Group has let Toscana drop to this level.

The food we had was very good, but the service was awful!! The waiter introduced himself then barely paid any attention to our party of 3. We waited and waited then finally flagged down waitstaff that wasnt "our"waiter to get drinks and place our order. We sat with empty drink glasses and only got service when we flagged someone nearby. The food was very tasty but when you go to what is considered a "nicer" restaurant good service is part of the experience and expectation. The bill was almost $200. and although I am definately not cheap, if it been up to me our waiter wouldn't have gotten more than a $5. tip Not sure we will ever be back.

My family and I took our Father here for his 90th birthday - a very special birthday! When you walk in, it seems a very cozy, lovely space. There's also a very pretty patio area. Once we sat down, the first thing we noticed was how loud it was. It was very difficult to hold a conversation. There was also a step up and a step down that could be very dangerous especially if anyone had more than a few drinks. We expected excellent food and that is exactly what we got. For this level of restaurant, that's the minimum requirement. What we did not expect was the very unfriendly service. Even though we could barely talk to one another, each of us drew the same conclusion independently. Watching the wait staff in the whole restaurant, only one person smiled and that was the water server, a lovely young lady. The "punchable face" meme started popping up in my head regarding our waiter. He was curt to the point of rudeness. I would not recommend this place to anyone, because there are plenty of restaurants with excellent food where you're not made to feel like an inconvenience to the staff. Lucky for them gratuity is included in larger parties (we were only 6, so not that big). We would never have given him 20 percent - he didn't deserve it! Whereas, if the service had been good, he would have gotten a lot more on top of the 20%.

If you want really good Italian seafood, beyond spaghetti and meatballs, this is where you go. I had a fantastic Branzino dish here that normally I can only get when in Florida. Drinks are good here too. Staffs are attentive but I wouldn’t say they are friendly. The restaurant is located in the specialty shops behind Southpark mall.

Last night we tried Toscana for the first time. The restaurant is tucked in the Specialty Shops at SouthPark. There’s a beautiful patio, but it was so hot and humid last night that we couldn’t enjoy it. The restaurant is very small. The food was...ok. They bring bread and a bean salad to each table. I ordered a cup of the white bean and farro soup, which was the soup of the day. Out of everything I ordered, I enjoyed this soup most because of the development and depth of flavor. My husband ordered the meatballs-he liked them, but I wasn’t impressed. I had the tagliatelle with vegetables, and he had the carbonara. The tagliatelle is fresh made. Both pasta dishes were good. The service wasn’t what I would expect for the price for the meal. We had to wait 25 minutes for our dessert. Our server came over with the check and realized that we hadn’t received the dessert that we ordered. She said she would check on it. We still waited for quite a while after she said she would do that. Other tables ordered and had their dessert before we received ours. He tried the cannoli, which were very small, so there wasn’t much cannoli cream like he likes, and I had the torta di cioccolato. I can cook and bake, so if the service isn’t all that impressive, and the food isn’t all that memorable, I would rather just stay at home and make it myself or try another place.