Grotto Downtown

The hostess was not very pleasant. We had a reservation and were told that we had to wait for the table to be cleaned. We had to wait about 30 minutes to finally be seated. There was an empty table for four poodle empty and ready the entire time we waited.

Shared the charcuterie board, focaccia bread, capra pasta (nice spice level) and straw and hay! The food was good but the ambience and staff really made the whole experience lovely. We had a delicious dinner and hope to dine there again!!

We frequent the Grotto Downtown before Astros games. The service is typically fine, nothing to write home about... But the service yesterday was an absolute nightmare. Our server was nowhere to be found for most of the experience. We had to ask several other servers to help us with a variety of things. The manager was also no help at all, as he walked by multiple times without offering any assistance. When we asked bartender to get our server to bring us our check, our server came out from the back chewing food, and could not have been ruder to us. I was dining with my mother, sister and brother which should have been a great experience, however, your server made it all about her. I will return because I am a fan of the restaurant and have been eating at the Grotto since the Vallone's days, but the service needs to be addressed.

Great service, nice ambiance
Food was a 7!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Fritto Misto, Grotto Salad, Calamari

Went on Wednesday evening. The restaurant was very loud. The nose is generally not a problem for us, but after a quick meal, we just wanted to get out of there. I like to get couple of glasses of wine, get some dessert later, then some digesif. Couldn't do it here, sadly. If you like loud places you will enjoy it. The food was hot and miss. Arancini ok, not the best, but at least they have this dish. Beef rib gnocchi were awesome, that's why I am giving 4 stars for food, instead of 3. Lobster bisque was ok, pepperoni pizza pretty mediocre. Don't recommend. Will not go back.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

Italian restaurant close todowntown Houston.
Came to have spaghetti carbonara, but unfortunately, it was not on the menu. So, I tried their tomato soup, which was delicious. But the pasta was just very average.
The inside of the restaurant looks very nice, but outside is not very cosy.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

We dined here Valentines. Our waitress was Laila. She was absolutely RUDE and Horrible. We had to request a new waitress. She told us she had 8 tables and was too busy to wait on us. I hate to assume that race played a part in this but it felt like it considering we were the only minority in the restaurant and she didn’t want to serve us. Either way, we had a horrible experience from the time we walked through the door. We will NEVER dine here again and I hope Laila finds another job with the nasty attitude she had. She definitely does not need to be working as a waitress with her tone and attitude.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 1

Recommended dishes: Short Rib Gnocchi

If you are traveling from an area with great to good Italian restaurants this one won’t satisfy your palate, service was about as good as the food, stick with TexMex and steakhouses or simpler pub food.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 2

This is a chain but it's very very good. Pastas were very well done. Cocktails nice. Wine selections available in various sizes and varietals. Convenient to Daikin Park. Get the petite dessert trio for $10. It's a bargain and tasty. Service good.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

I have visited this location many times. I have also tried various different entrees. I have not had anything that I did not enjoy. Everything has been delicious, and the staff has always been very courteous and attentive. I always appreciate my visits here.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Atmosphere can be loud, the waitress was really nice and pending all our needs. You will need to said this is usa-Italian restaurant, the best was the bruschetta , warm and crispy. The plates that suppose to have the prosciutto, used something else, we could not find the taste. The linguini pescatore was too spicy, that was difficult to to taste .

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 5

We were there for New Year's Eve dinner. I went with my Mexican friend, but he stated that the flavors were not real Mexican flavors. But everything was different and beautiful for me.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 4

Just went for a drink while waiting on uber... female Manager looked at me like I was about to rob restaurant... I had a large bag since I am working at GRB with Methodist Marathon...Drink was Tooooooo Pricey!!!! Not going there again....

Service: 1

I had a reservation for my birthday dinner for 15 people. I come here often, and this was by far the worst dining experience I have ever had. Waited 30 minutes at the bar for a drink while waiting for our reservation and no one took our order, staff was arguing with each other and walked past us multiple times as we tried to get their attention. (Mind you, this is a Monday night). Service was poor but we could tell they were busy at this point so gave grace. Once seated, drinks were a 30 min wait minimum, and I never received my food. I sat, on my birthday, while everyone ate. I asked to speak to a different manager, as the one we originally spoke with was rude and not at all helpful. I believe the second managers name was Megan—she was great, and apologetic of the situation and comped my meal. I hate to say that this did ruin my birthday, and I was greatly embarrassed with everything we experienced at Grotto this night because of my high recommendations to the 15 people I invited. While I went to complain, there was another woman complaining as well about the service she received. At the end of the day the food was good, but I will not be returning.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 2

Recommended dishes: Gnocchi

Not bad at all

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5