Puntino-Dal Toro Bistro

Food was just OK…
I had the fettuccine Alfredo with three shrimp… Have prepared better meals at home.
Service was ok… waiter minimally attentive… Had to be reminded to bring checks 2x
Overall, I give it a C–
I suggest trying your luck elsewhere…

If you are looking for the worse Italian restaurant on Lincoln Rd you need to check this place. I had dinner there with a couple of friends. First you get harassed by the hostess as you walk by. The good ones don’t need to use this technique to get customers. This place is used to dealing with tourists that would eat there once but never come back. We ordered the linguini with seafood. It was a joke. The pasta was of very bad quality with an awful taste. The seafood almost nonexistent. It was just terrible. And the hostess at the door was telling my friend «I AM ITALIAN SO I KNOW ABOUT PASTA!!!»
My friends, don’t ever go to a restaurant that needs to have somebody at the door to grab customers in.
This is by far the worst restaurant i have ever eaten in.

The hostess and the bussers are the only ones who seem to be busting their butts. They were working so hard that I think you should switch them to servers. The table and location was great so you get one star for that. I am a bartender and I have worked in tourist destinations, you make great money. That’s why I was disappointed when my server didn’t give any effort to waiting on my friend and I last night. For a $ 62 check for two people I expect to not have to ask for a refill on my water when half the tables were empty. Also while I waited for my waiter to even notice our drinks were empty, he stood at the host stand talking with the hostess while the BUSSERS where running around doing their best to reset the tables. As a bartender and former server I always prebussed my tables and I always check on my customer. The bruschetta was good, tasted fresh and came out quick so I had high hopes! Then our meals came at different times… basic no-​no. I had the 3 meat + 1 cheese, can’t really mess it up, it was good for what it was. For $ 22 it could have come with better accoutrements (sp) instead of basic arugula, grape tomatoes. The olives were delicious though. My friends lasagna was unappetizing. It didn’t have enough sauce. Had a weird flavor. Our waiter of course doesn’t know any of this and won’t care. He was older gentlemen with salt and pepper hair. The majority of your food is legit, I think you just need to actually improve the service. I looked at a ton of your reviews and they all say service was the major issue. If you are understaffed, why was the hostess still flagging people down to come sit when your kitchen was in the weeds? The other servers seemed to be trying. But they were brought down by this one lazy dude. At ceviche 105 we tipped $ 30 on a $ 45−66%. Here I left $ 11 on $ 62−17%. It defiantly wasn’t me being a picky or tough customer. It seems like the management isn’t taking responsibility for making changes or stepping up as the bad reviews on service stretch back years…

To make a very long review short, do NOT eat here. There are less expensive, better alternatives to this restaurant.
The absolute worst service I have experienced in this city. They deserve ZERO STARS. From the billing, to the customer service, all the way to food quality, this resturant does not deserve to be thriving as well as it is.
On billing, this company placed a 12 member party on one check, without first conferring with the members, and was completely unwilling to split the check. Forced gratituity is alive and well here, at 18%!
On customer service, no tip was earned. The restaurant was just coming out of the lunch rush time, so there was a majority of the seating open, with many employees around. Even with this abundance of service around, over half of our 12 member party had empty water glasses for most of the meal. In addition to this, 2 of those orders were forgotten, and were brought out nearly 20 minutes after all the other orders, without any explanation or reasoning, and they were charged full price. And then there was the whole billing fiasco that was mentioned earlier, so I won’t bring it up again.
The only possible redeeming quality was the food. The Fettuccine Alfredo was nothing special, but the rest of the food was fairly high quality.
So once again, do not eat at this restaurant.

Very Over priced, despicable food, horrendous service which we got charged for big time. On top of that got shouted at in Spanish for asking for a bill

Decided to stop by here since they had some decent specials of 20% off each entry and 2 for 1 selected cocktails and beer. Although when I asked for my Unilocal Check-​in Free glass of Prosecco, the waiter didn’t know what I was talking about. He took my phone to the bartender and came back with a glass unsure.
I ordered the organic quinoa pasta with pesto sauce. In my opinion, the food was average, overpriced for what it was. Everyone else at my table also mentioned their plates tasted okay.
The outdoor ambiance is very nice though and the service was pretty good.
They do not separate checks unless you let them know in the beginning. They only let us split the check two ways. 18% service charge is included regardless of the size of your party.

Had an overall bad experience here, mostly due to the service.
My friend and I were wandering around on Lincoln Road and saw this establishments large sign for «2 for 1 Drinks» and «20% Entire Menu». After a brief glance at the menu, we decided to eat here.
From the moment we sat down there were at least two waiters who tried to serve us and it caused a bunch of confusion.
We said regular water was fine and soon received this. A few minutes later the other waiter appeared and said «you ordered sparkling water» and opened a bottle of San Pellegrino. I decided to let it slide as it’s not the most expensive thing in the world and have no objections to sparkling water.
The bread was decent with the provided olive oil, and my pasta dish was acceptable as well.
The disappointing annoyance came at bill time, when the specials weren’t applied. We had each consumed two beers but had been charged for three each instead of one. Additionally the entrees were listed at full price.
When consulting a waiter, we were told the specials are «or» instead of «and». There was no «or» on their menu sign and it’s standard that when you have a list of specials that all apply.
But the kicker was that the waiter claimed that we had ordered three beers, when in fact we had two. He tried to argue this point with us but quickly backed down and adjusted the bill to one each. I let the «or vs. and» special situation slide, as I wasn’t in the mood for further argument over a few dollars.
Overall we felt very scammed by the entire experience. Service-​wise this restaurant is an absolute mess.

I loved the ambiance and the décor, aswell as the service. However, I ordered the insalata puntino and the chicken wasn’t as good as I would have liked it. I felt like the taste was a little off, I couldn’t tell exactly what I didn’t like about it, I think it was burnt or maybe I didn’t like the seasoning. But whatever it was, I wasn’t able to eat the chicken.

The food was excellent. The service wasn’t. The waiter never brought bread. Never came back to see if we were satisfied and never offered to put parmigiana on the pasta.

Not sure there was crab in the barely warm crab cakes, or alcohol in the drinks, or vegetables in the salad

The bistecca that I ordered tonight for $ 37 was bad. Bad quality of meat, with fat, tasteless. The waiter Oscar tried to do a good job. Pretty disappointing
The mojito was good

We were searching for a place to grab a bite and wow did we hit the jackpot. The steak is fantastic, juicy, tender and better than expected. If you come you have to try it, you’ll know what I mean the moment that succulent piece of beef hits your tongue and ignites your senses.
The staff and management are pleasant and upbeat which always enhances the dinning experience when you are welcomed in this way.
We opted to sit outside on this hot late afternoon and were given a table right by the water fountain which really enhances the overall experience and it didn’t hurt that it cooled off the heat. We also tried the bruschetta which is crisp on the outside with a mouthwatering center of tomatoes and olive oil.
For drinks it was happy hour and that means 2 for 1, I myself had a Mojito and my guest a Piña Coloda. Both were equally charming and should we be asked what establishment we d recommend for lunch in this area, without a doubt it would be Puntino. Best~Robert

I’m finding it difficult to choose an adjective that best describes the service at Puntino-​Dal Toro as there are great number that are applicable.
Here are just a few: appalling, dreadful, terrible, miserable, rotten, lousy, godawful and the old standby, horrible.
The only factors that could possibly counterbalance such poor quality of service would be if the food was fantastic and free of charge; neither of which is the case.

Won’t be back. Was lured in by the lunch special — salad made with mixed greens topped with grilled salmon. Not impressed — salmon was dry and overall the salad was flavorless. And the portion size (big salad, very small piece of salmon) is off. Partner got the Caesar salad. Drenched in dressing and topped with three small over-​cooked chicken breast cutlets. Same portion problem. Bread was ok? Service is not very good. Polite but mostly absent. In general — way overpriced. Lots of places to eat in the area — make another selection!

The place is ok. Too expensive for the food and premises. If you have a group and EXPLICITLY ask for separate slit checks, the act like idiots and pretent you never mentioned.
NEVER AGAIN FOR ME. Not to mention the mediocte food.

Don’t waste your money or time. Ordered foccacia and hummus and received flat bread and marinara. Server was not good. I have a catering business. If my service and food was like this, I would close down.

Wow what a ride. Please don’t go here if you like your food cooked properly. It all started with the bread that they placed on the table when we arrived. Mostly likely the worst bread I’ve ever had at a restaurant. Oh how I wish I just got up and left my table when I tasted that fiasco. After ordering the Bruschetta and receiving a piece of toast with diced tomatoes on top, my table felt iffy about our meal. I ordered the lasagna, and boy was I disappointed. The flavor that this lasagna was truly unmistakable, and when I say that I mean it tasted like chef boyardee. I requested to have it sent back, and I told him it was mushy and tasted bad, and then our waiter told us that it was meant to be that way. Sorry, but I definitely don’t think lasagna is meant to be soggy. Now not only my food was iffy, but so was 2 of the others in my group. So right now I’m sitting at a table with 4 people, and 3 of them have improper dishes. The Milanese was burnt, the pasta was undercooked, and the lasagna is soggy, go figure. By now you Unilocalers have probably heard of al dente, and if you haven’t here’s the definition: describes pasta and vegetables, rice or beans that are cooked to be firm to the bite:
I’ll let you know that the pasta was NOT al dente, it was undercooked, yet the waiter still insisted it was. Honestly, that took me by surprise, because he didn’t stick his fork in the food and taste it, so how could he possibly know? Last was the Milanese, burnt and flavorless. Probably the thinnest and most bland piece of chicken to ever grace a dinner plate. If you haven’t gotten the picture yet, this place is just a big rip off, charging an average of $ 25 a plate for true crap. Overall the food was terrible and the service was average, but I’ll NEVER go here again!

Save your money and pick another place for people watching. Horrible service. Slow, rude and barely able to communicate. I asked for ice tea and got a glass of icy water with a tea bag in it. Maybe they were expecting me to brew sun tea out of it. The marguerite pizza was mediocre and so was the house salad. We found a hair in the pizza. When we asked for the free glass of Prosecco for checking in, the waiter said «ahh no that’s for dinner only». We pointed out that there was no such condition on the offer and instead of honoring the offer he said he’ll let the manager know to change it!!! No way to represent the 305! AVOID at all costs!

How can one beat the south beach atmosphere! The bread was good but I had to order v and oil. Any great Italian place would serve it automatically!
House red wine too was good. the spinach salad was robust ! The special of lobster and spaghetti was priced right but I I like my pasta softer. The lobster was fresh but at 18 $ who can complain! The server although slow at times, and the place wasn’t crowded did manage to improve. He was very friendly towards the end. The pre set 15 percent gratuity was annoying!

The worst dinner we’ve ever had. Do not order the pasta with Lobster. $ 34.00 and its served with a cheap red sauce and the entire lobster socked in it without utensils to break it. Rubbery calarmary and cold bread.
Bad bad bad

Wir waren hier am 04. Juni 2014.
Ich muss wirklich gestehen, top
Essen!
Wir hatten einen sehr interessanten Salat:
Spinatblätter mit in Wein eingelegten Birnen darauf noch in Zucker karamellisierte Walnüsse,… LECKER!!!
Dan kamen Steak mit etwas Salat und homemade Pesto (zu viel Knoblauch) und noch einen Teller Pasta mit Tomatensoße (auch zu viel Knoblauch).
Alles in allem eine gute Location. Abzug gibt es nur für den Garlic