Salerno's Italian Restaurant

I recently ate at the Grotto restaurant in Highland Village. While the food was great for the most part, I don't plan to return.

Good things:

1) Lobster was great - pretty much the best I've ever had

2) Good sized portions on the lobster and steak

Not so good things:

1) Steak, while cooked exactly to my requested style (medium), was tough. At these prices, I didn't expect tough steak.

2) Side vegetables were very minimal - I don't call 8 pieces of asparagus and 2 thin slices of tomatoes a lot of vegetables.

3) Interior is in bad need of updating - uncomfortable chairs from the 80's era (70's maybe?) are not what I expected to be seated in. Our table was unlevel, and moved every time I tried to cut my dinner, or pick up or set down a glass.

4) Owner/Manager (Morris) - needs to take some lessons on being friendly to patrons, and his staff needs to know if he's there or not. He has the warmth of a spider. In addition, we asked to meet the owner (several times), and every person we spoke to told us a different story on if he was there or not, and if he would be coming over or not. This is not rocket science - either he's there and will be coming over, or he won't - period!



Final point - there are WAY too many restaurants in the D/FW area to choose from with nicer people, better (more modern) accomodations, and overall more inviting atmospheres than this. While the food overall was very good, good food itself is not the only thing that I judge a restaurant by.

Morris is a piece of crap and his staff is the worst! My wife, who has cancer decided on the Grotto for maybe our final anniversary together,(31st of Dec). After many mess ups for over a month in reservations, menu and price, Kathy Salerno told me that if we had a problem contact her. When we got there, we were told that it may be an hour before we got seated even though it was our anniversary and she has cancer...she was very uncomfortable and needed to sit. When I asked for Kathy, her puke husband Morris appeared and basically said it is what it is and and just accept it, I sadi this will be my last time at the Grotto and he said we couldn't eat there, get out in two minutes or he would call the police. I have eaten on 6 continents, 50 countries and 50 states and have never encountered the arrogance, the abuse and the negative attitude that I did from Morris Salerno. He and his restaurant The Grotto of Highland Village, are the worst!

A spur of the moment dinner decision with two of my friends brought us to the Grotto. We girls were looking for something other than our usual spots and this was a perfect find. We laid claim to a table with overstuffed club chairs in their comfortable bar and ordered the first round of cocktails. After unwinding for a while, with the help of our excellent waiter, Jared, we ordered the Steak Salerno appetizer and our first bottle of wine. Barely into or first glass of an excellent cabernet arrives a Big platter of beautifully cooked steak, thinly sliced with roasted cloves of garlic with a light sauce, we devoured it and wondered how we would be able to eat our meal.

Next came garden salads and a huge bowl of creamy She Crab Soup; once again perfection. Entrees’ were difficult to choose. Two of us ordered the Tender & Crab, another perfectly cooked filet covered in crabmeat and a delicious creamy garlic sauce served with mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus for sides. The second entrée was Veal DiVincci, delicately cooked veal with a skewer of jumbo shrimp, again perfectly cooked and delicious. We were too stuffed for any dessert, which was a shame because I’m sure that would have been as delicious as everything else was.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, the atmosphere, the staff, and of course the food. This place would make a great dinner date spot, girlfriend’s night out, special occasion, or for anyone that enjoys exceptional food. Moderately pricy, not sure that very small children would enjoy this place but it is at the top of my list of Special Places I will visit often.