CiaNO Go

We've been trying to plan a dinner with another couple for some time now, so when we saw the Gilt City deal to Ciano, we jumped on it and set a date. I made the reservation on Open Table and then called them to tell them we would be using the voucher, so imagine my surprise when we arrived and told me she couldn't find my reservation. Since I had talked to someone a few days before I insisted that she check again. Oh! There it is, she forgot to go to the next page. Wow, OK. 

We were led to an upstairs room, which was disappointingly not as nice as their main dining room (which was fairly empty at this point). Then they gave us menus and we excitedly started picking the appetizer and main dishes- we were very excited. A few minutes later the waiter came back and asked if we were using the Gilt City voucher- oh that's a different- much more restrictive- menu. Our hearts immediately sank, it was decidedly not as appetizing. There were two appetizers, two mains, and two dessert options so we ordered one of each to split.

We loved the bread though and the delicious truffle butter, so all was not lost. Our appetizers arrived and our excitement was renewed:

Beet Salad

Roasted Eggplant Amatriciana

But then this arrived. Don't adjust your monitor, it really was this green. The 'Summer Vegetables' consisted of a lot of Lima Beans and a few chunks of asparagus stems. After eating a quarter of it I was positively lima beaned out so decided to move on to the chicken.

Cavatelli with Summer Vegetables in Basil Pesto Sauce

Guess what? More lima beans. Were lima beans on discount at the market or what?

Roasted Chicken with Lima Beans and Mushroom Ragu

 We were less than impressed with our mains and the desserts were even less exciting. In fact, I assumed that they must not have a dessert chef on premise- so imagine my surprise when I read some other reviews online talking about some of their amazing desserts!

Sorbetto

Affogatto

We were all very disappointed in this meal, especially considering this restaurant is getting rave reviews. I think they really lost the point of doing a Gilt City deal. Here is an opportunity to give someone a taste of what you have to offer and gain a customer.  If this was a Groupon deal it may have been a little more understandable, but this was NOT a heavily discounted offer, so there was no excuse to cheap out.