Al Dente

Poor service along with cold food make this «Italian» restaurant a complete miss!
Lack of service for the money!

Ate dinner here on a Saturday night. Had 5:00 reservation, signed in at 4:30, but they would not seat us until 5:00 which is when they opened. Service was great. Got martinis, warm bread with olive oil, and a delicious flatbread to start. I had the chicken franchise which was great, but not the best I’ve had. Could’ve been more lemony. My boyfriend got the pasta bolognese which he enjoyed. For the 2 of us it was over $ 100. No dessert. Portions are not huge, but normal sized. We finished our meals and were full.

I read lots of the reviews about this restaurant and just didn’t find some of the bad ones warranted when we went. We went prior to a show and we were seated immediately. The host was pleasant chatting as he guided us to our seat. The tables are a little wide so we sat on the same side. Let me first say that they care about details. The glassware was polished and pristine. Bread was abundant and delicious, came with a small cruet of oil. We ordered the meat and cheese platter for an app. A decent portion with three types of cheese, sun dried tomatoes, olives, three types of meat, marinated eggplant, roasted red peppers. For entries we ordered the pasta al forno and the special with shrimp and scallops in vodka sauce over linguini. Both dishes were delicious. Mine had sweet sausage and eggplant with a vibrant red sauce and cheese. It was delicious. His was equally good. We really loved the food. I think Italian food is very personal, like I never order meatballs cause I’m always disappointed. This was a nice evening and we would definitely go back. Price was fair.

I am from this area and have been to Al Dente a couple of times, but I never have a fully decent experience. This is my most recent one:
New Years Day — 8:30pm — told there is an hour wait for David Burke, so I’m like, ok, fine. Al Dente.
Hostess lady was nice and sat us quickly, and that’s kind of where the good stuff ends. I sat at a table set up for 4 people, but it was only 2 of us, the other set ups weren’t cleared until I asked them to be. Then, we waited over 20 mins for someone to even come near our table so I could ask for water, our bussers seemed really new and apologized. It was more waiting before our waiter came by, older gentleman, was nice but really slow. We tried two martinis each and I have to say, the martini menu included drinks with Absolut. Ew. I asked for any other vodka, like grey goose was fine. Our bread came AFTER OUR MEAL CAME OUT! AND I ASKED FOR BREAD MUCH EARLIER. The bread wasn’t great, so it was not even worth waiting for. I had the special which was a half chicken on polenta. decent. My cousin had linguine and clams, also decent. Her tiramisu was not that good and my cheesecake came with cotton candy? nice try but the cotton candy was stale and overall not a good flavor or texture combo. All in all we had 6 martinis, our meals, and our desserts, which was more than tables around us, yet, the shift manager went over to almost all of the other tables and asked how everything was. My cousin and I were really nice the whole time, but I sincerely felt ignored $ 160 later.
If it was just up to the food, I would say 3 stars, because everything was okay. The service was really really poor, I felt ignored and uncared for and would have rather waited an hour to go to David Burke’s place.

God I wish I read the reviews before we decided to go here! We went shopping at Tanger Outlets on Sat, December 19, 2015… we were thirsty and hungry when our party of 6 arrived. I should of left when I realized there were not a lot of people there for a sat night! There was no one at the entrance to greet us for several minutes at 8:30pm.
After we sat (right near the front entrance) the waitress took about 10 minutes to even get to greet us. The 1^st thing I asked her for was water… Explaining that my 7 yr old daughter was very thirsty. She then took everyone’s drink order, then everyone’s food order… Still no water. Um hello… Maybe one of the guys walking around aimlessly can pour us some water… Please! I asked her for lemon… She never brought it. When the food came she had help dropping it off from a couple of people… Then she disappeared. She constantly disappeared from the dining room. We had to ask other waiters to please get us some Parmesan cheese, etc. Hello… My entrée alone was $ 45… Can I get some service? We sat there a lonnnnng time after finishing, waiting for coffee as we had a long ride home. So long that I asked another server to please find our waitress! It took her 7 minutes to get back in the room and to our table. She asked do you want to look at a dessert menu? Yes, we said. She then left, let the busers come clear every dish from our table and clean it up. 10 min later she gave us dessert menus and disappeared from the room again! For another 10 minutes! Hello, we neeeeed coffee! The kids know what they want for dessert because they had ample time to get up and look at the dessert cart several times!!!
Finally we just asked for the check and left! I still tipped her 20% because I’ve been in this business a long time. We left at 10:30pm with no coffee or dessert! 2 hours and you can’t get a cup of coffee? It was the most undeserved tip I’ve ever given!
12÷26÷15− I changed my review from 1 star to 3 stars after the manger put in a real effort to contact me. I do realize the entire restaurant can’t be judged on our experience from one server. Everyone loved the bread offering, the salads, and the sauces. Overall, the food was pretty good except for the one dish the waitress suggested changing around after my daughter ordered the sold out special, but that’s another story…

Do Not Go To EL Dente At Foxwoods!
It was horrible. We arrived about 600 and it was 7:15 and our entrée had not arrived. We asked for our check and explained why we were leaving giving example of customers who arrived after U.S. Had received their food and we were still waiting. Upon exiting the host offered us a free desert though we will never go back to ever receive. It was as we were exiting that the host explained there was a problem with the printer and the chef did not get our order. It would be no problem if someone kept us informed however they didn’t they kept us siting and sitting and sitting and we had an 8 o’clock show this was Saturday September 5. This site does not allow negative stars so I post with one but they deserve 0 seriously!

Ate here after a comedy show, we were hungry but it was a good gamble. The restaurant was slammed around 6, 7 o’clock. Everything was calm, and not as crowded at 10pm for our reservation. I enjoyed my meal
Good:
–Misto salad
–Bistecca e aragosta (Lobster tail, filet mignon, etc.)
–Mussels for appetizers
–Champagne
–Attentive Service
–A lot of good choices on the menu
–Register through Open Table for 100 points
Bad:
–A bit pricey but enjoyable

Just ok… Stopped here after a show on whim.
Best part of the meal had to be the martinis, delicious!
Calamari was good, nothing to complain about.
I ordered the penne with sausage and eggplant and it was tasty, but a lot of oil on the plate.
all in all it was a good meal

I paid $ 310 for dinner for four people, including a $ 51.09 tip, and the only alcohol that my party ordered were two bottles of beer at $ 6 each so my review is based off of the value that I think that I received for my money. The food was mediocre, AT BEST. My chicken parmigiana was bland; I didn’t even finish it. The risotto special of the day was described by one of the people in my party as «tasteless». I honestly think that Jack’s Brick Oven Pizzeria in Norwich or any Papa Gino’s are better values and, in my opinion, the food at those places taste better. Don’t go to Al Dente.

I got what I expected for a casino Italian restaurant.
My friend and I split and appetizer (homemade ricotta) which was excellent and I would recommend highly (unless you dislike black pepper). The bread was very good, but we were not offered additional bread (which is unusual for an Italian restaurant). Apparently we were both feeling ricotta cheese that night because we got the pizza bianca (AKA white pizza) which was decent. The crust was thin, crispy, and flavorful, and the contrast of the sharp provolone with the sweet homemade ricotta was pleasing.
My friend and I each got a drink– both of which were strong. I got a lemon-​drop (they have limencello-​infused vodka) which unfortunately tasted the way that I would assume that lemon cleanser such as Pledge would taste if imbibed. My friend’s peach bellini was good, so it may have just been my drink that was the issue.
Our waitress was good and kept our glasses filled with water, which I always appreciate. Our food was served quickly, and our waitress checked with us a few times to ensure all was well.
I went here as a splurge on vacation, so I expected the price-​tag, but if I went to Foxwoods often, I wouldn’t pay the price for the meal.

Awful. !
Frozen calamari that looked like the size of Cheerios and chewy like rubber. Really? To the chef or manager… Please try your calamari … Fix it or don’t serve it to your customers!
We ordered dinners that had to be sent back cause it was cold. Very disappointed
One good I can say was the Martinis were good –otherwise save your money and go to Olive Garden (same quality food)

*Update*
The manager has taken the time to reach out to me and ask me about my concerns. That is very important to me as a diner! Don’t pass up an opportunity to check them out. They have clearly made monitoring the feedback and taking positive steps part of their business plan.
*************************************************************************************
Not worth the price!
We had dinner here before a show and the food was comparable to that of a 99 Restaurant at best.
1. The salad I had was mired in dressing to the point that a portion of the lettuce was soggy. I did not order any other appetizers.
2. The steak with potatoes and asparagus was good to a point but not $ 47.00 worth.
I would strongly suggest avoiding this restaurant due to it’s prices not being supported by the quality of the food being served.

Dinner was great. We had the stuffed eggplant appetizer and focaccia bread paired with a quality olive oil. I got scallops. Really good. Light portion though. My wife got spaghetti and meatballs which was almost as good as mine;) cheese cake and millionaires coffee finished off a great meal with my wife.

Meh– whatevs. It’s a casino restaurant, decent Italian food but not the best I have ever had. They had a good deal with wine (Half off per bottle for every two entrees) ricotta pie was excellent though

First time here, downstairs at Foxwoods.
Nice staff, but slacking on the drink refills. Good bread. Ordered the mussels for an app, tastes good, but nothing special. Also ordered the bolognese and it was very good. The sauce seemed like it was a mix between vodka sauce and a ragu. Would order it again. Tasted the salmon dish and the salmon was cooked very nicely, but the spinach and gnocchi weren’t so good.
Clean bathroom means clean kitchen.
3 Swords.

Spending New Years at Foxwoods this year, dining at Al Dente, so far I’m not impressed. Showed up promptly for our 7:45 resi, we were seated quickly, but it took 10 min before anyone stopped by the table. The Muzak is a bit disconcerting, Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas song ??? Anyone paying attention? I was relieved on Dec 26 to have the Xmas theme music done for another year.
We had veal saltimbocca and shrimp risotto, I would give it a 3 out of 5. Shrimp was a little overcooked, veal was good.
Not sticking around for dessert, it’s New Years !!

Let’s start with the positives.
Our waitress was very friendly and knowledgable. The restaurant can accommodate large parties. The seating is comfortable and the restaurant was clean. There’s an extensive drink list. We made reservations and were sat right away. That’s what made me bump my rating up from one star to two.
I’m not picky and tend to not complain. I get that this restaurant is in a casino and is geared towards tourists, not foodies who love an authentic or eclectic dinning experience. However, those aren’t reasons to to serve food that lacks taste and quality.
The appetizers:
The antipasto cost about 15.00 dollars, however it contained a couple olives, a tiny cup of diced eggplant, two thin slices of supermarket quality prosciutto, two slices of bitter and dry tasting buffalo mozzarella and couple of slices of cheese which looked and tasted similar to Kraft’s string cheese snacks. Calamari was just eh, — what you would expect from precooked frozen calamari.
As for the main course, most of our part ordered pasta dishes and thought they were okay– Except for linguine Vongole dish, which contained large amounts of sand. Each clam, had tons of grimy crunchy morsels of sand in every bite! There’s no way these things were soaked and rinsed during preparation. That worries me!
Surf and Turf was again blah — and the kitchen made the error of cooking it med/​well, rather than rare. At least, the kitchen addressed that issue and corrected it, when we complained.
Lastly, the Sea Bass I ordered tasted good. Yet, the rice pilaf served with it was hard ir stale and had a musky taste. I think it’s really hard to make rice inedible, but Al Dente achieved this!
So, let’s just say, after tasting my rice pilaf I thought it was better for me to stop eating the Sea bass, just in case it wasn’t prepped or stored properly.
If I were you avoid this place and try the other Italian restaurant located within the casino. OR skip dinner all together and throw your money into the slot machines Even if you loose– leaving empty pockets is far better than leaving with a a bad taste in your mouth! ;)

When you make a reservation and don’t get seated 20 minutes after that’s a bad sign. This place needs to figure that out to start. One star for that.
BUT that aside, the food was excellent. Our waitress was attentive and would come back. But hopefully we will get seated faster.

The atmosphere was awesome. I was at Foxwoods for my 21^st and there were four of us going out to eat and we were up at the time and wanted to spend cash. My buddy got a $ 42 dollar special and the steak was well done and not medium as he ordered and when he got a new one it was way under cooked. The bread was the best part of the meal was the bread. It was delicious and the $ 18 glasses of wine were great.

Garlic infused olive oil!
(3−4 large oven roasted garlic ready to be smashed, smothered & seduced into their delicious breads)
… is what I can remember.