Haven't Decided if We Will Go Back
My wife and I headed down on a Friday night, only because the wait at Dino's was an hour.

I was very impressed with the building renovation at Via. The interior was very nice, although a bit noisy. In my estimation, it has arguably the nicest outdoor seating in Worcester. The view is nothing special, but it is quiet.

Our service from then on was poor at best. Drink orders were taken and forgotten. We ordered 2 appetizers, one of which came. We finished our fried olives and waited a solid 15 minutes before anyone came by to take our dinner order. We ordered Osso Buco (it was ok, not the best, not the worst), and a shortrib pasta dish (shortribs were good, pasta and sauce were very good). We also ordered a bottle of wine. p.s. We talked to the bartender and waiter about wine choices...neither were informed or could say much about what they had. We got very cookie cutter responses.

The dinners took about 15 minutes and were brought by the kitchen staff who dropped them and left. No bottle of wine yet. We waited for our waiter, even the maitre d' saw us waiting and said nothing. I finally grabbed a bus boy and asked about the wine.

Our waiter then brings the wine out and proceeds to serve it to the table next to us.

I will chalk this service up to being a new place, and having inexperienced waitstaff.

I don't think we will be going back anytime soon.    [07 Jun 2007 12:38:04]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: shortribs and pasta

     ­Anonymous   

Not Authentic Italian as Advertised
When I saw the ad for this place they advertised authentic Italian food. It was maybe authentic Italian-American food. This is what they should advertise. The portions were way too big. I could have fed my family of five on the lasagna they served me!

I should have known when I looked at the menu that I should get up and leave. It was not impressive. There were way too many beef dishes in my opinion. Additionally, it was not food that I would call authentic Italian.

On to what we ordered. As I said I ordered the cheese lasagna. Mainly because this is one of the only things on the menu I would eat other than the sides or the salads. I should have ordered a salad! The lasagna was unseasoned and boring. It tasted like something that anyone could throw in a pan at home and cook in the oven. It would have been the same result. My husband ordered mushroom risotto with braised duck. Again, the duck was unseasoned with no flavor. The duck was also way overcooked or something. It had the texture of an overcooked chicken breast. The risotto was completely wrong. It was not creamy and there were way too many mushrooms and peas. Risotto is supposed to be creamy. If you cannot cook risotto correctly then you should not be calling yourself an Italian restaurant. I was obviously very disappointed.

On the upside: the ambiance, the service, and the drinks were very good. My husband said his wine was exceptional and the server was very friendly and courteous. The valet was courteous as well. Although, I still don't understand the valet with the food at such a low level. Maybe they should hire a new chef.

Sorry but I would only recommend this place to people who like oversized portions and unseasoned food.    [06 Jul 2007 06:58:01]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Chianti, the drink called the canoli

     ­Anonymous