bertucci’s: no, no, no
April 10, 2009
i am all about cheap lunch. cinco dolares for a huge fattening chipotle yum is worth the line-standing and mess-making.(it looks like they may roll out a smaller version and a bit cheaper.) five bucks and some change at boychiks for a pretty darn tasty veggie burger and fat french fries is a perfect lunch time treat for me. one chain eatery and one “that is not” serving some up to par lunch love.
when a buddy suggested bertucci’s, i was like “sure”. people rave about it. i have been to places around it jos.a.bank, daily grind, tweed etc. and it always looks really busy. must be good, right? errrr..not so much. actually, it is a sub-olive garden meal.
inside, it looks a bit like a little girl dressed up in her mother’s clothes- a wannabe italian restaurant – that whole tan and red, grape and olive oil bottle look. an average (read: AVERAGE) wine and beer list has blackstone wine offerings among others and over a few beer choices. however from the looks of the clientele during lunch hours and then being near the restaurant at dinner, it is not really a place where you would go to knock a few back.
reviewing the menu, we decided an appetizer would be a good jump-off and ordered the antipasto sampler. this was our first mistake. (followed by many others) the appetizer was absolutely horrific. as reference, there is nothing redeeming about a tuscan chicken wing. the mozzarell was tough, salty and soggy as was the tomato bruschetta. the polpette (a typically lovely little porkball) was unbelievably ill-textured leaving a grease-like coating on the tongue- the taste, unexplainable. the beginning of the meal such a complete failure, i was sincerely contemplating whether we should just stop there. the gods obviously did not want us to eat.
we forged on like complete morons.
i went with the four cheese lunch ravioli. i was thinking how horribly could a restaurant eff up ravioli. go to bertucci’s and see. it is a screw-up of epic proportions. had the ravioli been served hot or even warm, it would have only improved it by a small margin -chewy, gummy pasty pasta with chewy, gummy, pasty indistinguishable cheese. the tomato topping with basil is not even worth writing about.
my fellow morons had equally as disappointing lunch options. the rosemary chicken sandwich tasted burnt and microwaved. the chicken and ham calzone was a bit chilly in the inside and tasted so much like rosemary that my friend had to cease eating it. the insalata, a basic salad, proved to be the only palatable option and we all took turns nabbing green lettuce leaves.
the service does deserve to be commended. the perky female that was assigned to our table was efficient, unobtrusive and effective. my coffee was hot and refilled and each of my companions were treated similarly.
while our check was minimal, our meal was so below standard- it seemed pricey. the 8.50 paid for the pasta just made lunch even more abysmal. as lunch goes, this is not a go-to.
an aside, happy easter.
“we forged on like complete morons.”
The human condition, in a nutshell.
I must agree with you. I age at Bertucci’s a month or so ago. My companion and I got a pizza and some ravioli to split. It was cold, low on flavor and extremely disappointing. I wouldn’t even deem it worthy of the term marginal. With Maggiano’s across the street I have no idea how they stay in business.
I’m sorry that Bertucci’s was such a disappointment to you. I have been working for Bertucci’s for 3 years now and have always enjoyed the food there. However I must agree with you that it looks like a wannbe italian resturant. I know alot of people who rave about our food especially our pizza. I hope that if you ever decide to come again that your experiance will be 10 times better then the first.
you are a pretentious asshole. Its bertucci’s, not spago you cheap ass jew. I want to only spend a little money but get twelve course meal. Also if it was such a bismal meal why not stop eating, or are you and your fellow morons just fat fucks? I love the wine list comment too, it sounded like a mid day meal, why are you so concerned about the wine list? Are you just a fucking lush?
why yes, jim. my companions and i are fat and lushes. you pegged us perfectly. thank you for sharing.
(what is bismal?)
I eat at bertuccis all the time and I think you were being a little dramatic! You are probably a former employee who got fired and dont have anything else to do but write a nasty comment about one of my favorite places to dine…so grow up buddy! Bertuccis is the best!!!!!!
The Bertucci’s near me has generally been fine. Must be a regional problem. I’d eat in with coworkers every once in a while, in addition to just picking up a pizza maybe every other week. The pizzas are more designer stuff, so they’re more expensive than pizza chain tripe but the cost is basically on par with Capriccio’s so I can’t complain.
If you want a bad dining experience, though, be sure to try Houlihan’s. Even in terms of a sports bar the food and service are pretty bad. My coworkers have had entire bills comp’d a few times because either the food or bill was exceedingly late.
I love the pizza at Bertucci’s. It’s far and away the best available in my general area. Tasty and with the slightly burned bubbles that were the hallmark of good pizza in my New York City boyhood. I can’t speak for other menu items, except their salads are excellent. As far as ambiance, who cares? The place is always clean, the tables well spaced, and the staff is invariably friendly. A big thumbs up for Bertucci’s in my book.
My in-laws love the place so I got them a $50 gift card, and received a free $10 gift card with the purchase. I took my daughter there just to use it up, not really intending to get a big meal. So we got a salad and bruschetta to share, and I have to say it was pretty awful. The lettuce was actually rotten and slimy. The bruschetta was mushy, and the toasted bread it was served with was stale and rubbery, probably day old stuff they didn’t want to waste. I’m honestly not a complainer, but when the waitress asked how everything was, I told her, and she just shrugged her shoulders and ignored my comments. If I hadn’t had that $10 gift card, I would never had paid for that gross stuff. That was my first and last visit, sorry.
My husband and I eat at Bertucci’s in Westboro at least once a month. We aren’t fat lushes, either, but we absolutely LOVE the Westboro Bertucci’s. Their roasted Italian veggie appetizer plate is delicious, and so are those darned steaming hot rolls that they serve with an olive oil dipping sauce, and we have to FORCE ourselves to not eat too many. I really do think that it depends on the restaurant itself, as my husband ate at a Bertucci’s in Brookline (I think; near one of the big medical centers, anyway) and he said it was a huge disappointment. Same complaints as the rest of the posters – except that he didn’t care one way or the other about the wine list, but DID say that the music practically deafened him because they had the volume up so high. He asked them to turn it down, and they did – a little. But if you haven’t had the “Sporkey” pizza on Route 9 in Westboro, you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s the best!
Bertucci’s has always been great for me. You experience sounds very atypical. I used to work at the restaurant and I can assure you NOTHING is microwaved. There is an open kitchen and you can take a look for yourself that your order is being prepared by chefs and then, in the case of your sandwich, put in the brick-oven to bake. The wine and beer list isn’t that bad, but it’s a very kid-friendy place, so one wouldn’t expect an astounding list that could be found at the bar next door. However, I do have to agree with other commenters that you do sound a little bit pretentious. This is an above-average chain restaurant, not fine dining.