Cieli Blu

The owner doesn't pay his staff. Which is why it is always changing. He owes me over $200. While working there I was informed about this issue by former and current staff. Also while working there I was witness to unsanitary violations. I witnessed a customer who complained about a hair in their food which was probably the owner/chef's. He blamed it on the customer. Do not trust Al or his wife. If you are looking for a job look else where, because it will be difficult getting paid. If you are looking at hosting an event, consider hosting your event at a worthwhile and honest establishment.

Had seen a notice of this place recently reopening (new name, newly renovated, now with restaurant) and thought to go there for Father's Day dinner. On Sunday they only serve traditional Italian, prix fixe family-style (order a defined number of dishes that are shared by everyone at the table). We parked in their spacious parking lot which is right near the garden. The gate to the garden was open and we walked in. The garden is really beautiful, the pictures don't do it justice. If you have 10 people I highly recommend reserving the table by the waterfall if the weather is anywhere decent (it's shaded). Unfortunately, we didn't have 10, and the midday sun was beating down on all the other tables. So we went inside, past the bar, to the sunroom restaurant area. Decor was nice, we felt very comfortable, with one very minor exception: I'm sensitive to the smell of paint/varnish and caught a whiff even though the renovations were done months ago, but I got used to it.

We were the first customers of the day, arriving right after they opened. Looked through the menu, ordered...and then began the wait. It took them 45 minutes to bring out the appetizers. Fortunately the TV at the bar was showing the World Cup and the curtain separating that area from the restaurant was open, so we could distract ourselves. We also had their homemade focaccia which was tasty but excessively salty. They didn't have any kids' cups, just glasses with straws. We had the meatballs (on the spicy side but tasty, though not as good as Mom's), roasted peppers (inspired, I was happy to eat everything in there), and garden salad (I think they make their own dressing -- it was good and the greens held up well under it).

Over an hour after we ordered, the main courses finally arrived. The food was substantially better than I'd expect a catering hall to serve, very enjoyable, but not stupendous. We had the gnocchi tomato sauce, rigatoni broccoli, and breaded pork chops, and all were tasty. (One chop was overcooked and dry, but the rest were fine.)

On Sundays, the meal is family style, with a limited number of dishes shared by the whole table. You have to choose the "Uno", "Dos", or "Tres" package which determines which lists you can order from. "Uno" only lets you order 3 appetizers/salads and 2 pastas. "Dos" lets you 3 appetizers/salads and 4 pastas/meats, but not seafood. To get seafood you have to spring for "Tres", $10 more a person. The dishes you choose are shared among everyone at the table. There make sure there's enough food for everyone to have some, but it's not unlimited.

The desserts were a mixed bag. The chocolate mousse was heavenly, one of the best I've ever had. The cheesecakes were completely unappetizing, tasting like medicine with the bitter aftertaste of a cheap artificial sweetener. Hopefully that was just a bad batch. (We had to leave in a hurry due to the slow service so we weren't able to complain about it)

So the final verdict: it was worth it for a Father's Day dinner, but kind of pricey for a regular Sunday. It's right on the border between "Moderate" and "Spendy", and I expected to be more wowed. I'd definitely consider having an event there.