08/02/09

Ambience great, but food needs tweaking

by Humbledbyexperience

One of ordered the orza and another ordered the pasta. The Orza had a nice prestentation, but was what some restaurants would call a "small" plate. Not a good value.

The seafood pasta lacked....well it lacked PASTA, at least enough of it to call it a pasta dish. The seafood was hard to find, and the sauce could have used a more distinctive flavor.

The server was GREAT! Everyone was very friendly and I would recommend this restaurant with the caveats mentioned.

If you love Salsa dancing,then this is the place with the best DJ in town.

• Pros: Fantastic atmosphere with great music!
• Cons: Small portions with some room for improved preparation

06/15/09

In response to the johnbilski fan of Loring Pasta Bar

by elsbethyoung

After waiting for 20 minutes for them to bus a table on a "Monday" night, and then another 20 minutes before we were even noticed or actually, before we got up ourselves and went back to the host stand...you call that service? This was our second attempt to enjoy this place after hearing so much about it. Both times...we never even got a meal. And yes, the staff does have a problem, but you must be a regular or you might even work there in order to write such a great review about this place. When three different waiters walk past you on the patio and stare you straight in the face, and you know this is one of their sections, you know you have a problem. The staff is not "wise", just a bunch of ignorant young people who were probably hired by the same standards Abercrombie and Fitch hire their staff. I cannot of course, comment on the food, because I have never had the satisfaction of even trying it. ( special note-one star is obligatory, there's no option for "none")

• Pros: the reassuring knowledge that there are better restaruants
• Cons: restaurant=hospitality=service=not the Loring Pasta Bar

05/24/09

Sunday Brunch

by MinneapolisKid

I came for Sunday hoping for some nice lunch only to find them serving brunch. It was like eating at Old Country Buffet and they charged $15 per person!

• Pros: Nothing!
• Cons: Mediocre Food

01/01/09

Extremely Disappointed

by LJoo83

A group of us (9) went to Loring for NYE with high expectations. The music was great, the setting was gorgeous, and the staff seemed cool and friendly. Our waitress was really nice, although slightly slow on service. It was NYE, after all, so some leniency was to be made.

We order and waited. Then waited. And waited some more. Between ordering and the actual arrival of the food, it was probably and hour and a half. Good thing we had the complimentary bread, otherwise we would have starved.

Two out of the nine were satisfied with their meal; the rest of us were not. Last time I checked, a 22% satisfaction rate is not acceptable. For the rest of us, our food was cold, the meat was chewy, and the pasta was brittle. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be served cooked, not raw. One of my friends received what looked like a prison shank rather than a steak knife...the handle piece was completely burnt and not usable.

Of course we complained; most of us didn't finish our food! For my 6'2'', 200lb boyfriend to not finish his meal is probably the 7th wonder of the world. What did they do? They gave the standard college student discount, whatever meager amount it totaled I don't know. (30% on alcohol, says my better half).

At the end of the night, our waitress couldn't manage to split our bill evenly. After three hours wasted, empty stomachs, a $80 ticket, and a group of very irate people, none of us will ever venture there again.

• Pros: Very hip, cool atmosphere. Think downtown jazz club.
• Cons: Everything else-food, service, customer service.

12/18/08

You Get Out Of Something What You Put Into It

by johnbilski

Let's face it...the staff don't have a problem; you probably do. You come in from the 'burbs in your Hummer and expect some type of Oceanaire experience. The Pasta Bar isn't that place. I've never had a bad experience there. Of course, I tip well. Do you? The Loring is what it is. The bar is comfortable, the people watching great, the bread spectacular, and the staff is wise. These reviews seem to not tell the whole story - I would guess the "food send-backs" were largely questionable and maybe your rudeness offended the server from the get go. You don't dictate the terms at a place like the Pasta Bar; you should be on your best behavior and hope for the best. They don't really need your business as much as you need them. These kinds of establishments do not exist alongside the Barnes and Noble nor the Gander Mountain back home. My only complaint is the Salsa Weekend. Not a big fan.

• Pros: Everything but Salsa Dancing
• Cons: Salsa Dancing

10/28/08

Very cool surroundings, interesting food choices, and slow service

by SublimeLove

I have recently discovered Loring Pasta Bar, I absolutly love the atmosphere but the service is slow and the staff is not very friendly. I have age there twice now and the food was not as hot as I would have liked, this might be because the place is awfully drafty. Overall I liked it, mainly due to the decor.

• Pros: The atmosphere
• Cons: slow service

10/02/08

Great atmosphere...and that's about it

by louj227

Servers didn't have a very good attitude, they give you small portions (no refills on the small bread basket), my food was bland and lukewarm and there wasn't much of it, and too expensive for that kind of low quality. Me and my boyfriend were both still hungry and walked over to Annie's Parlour...there's a place that looks run down, but the food is amazing and the servers are really nice, helpful, and funny. I'd skip the overpriced atmosphere at Loring Pasta Bar for some great food at Annie's anyday.

• Pros: The atmosphere is amazing
• Cons: The food, service, and prices are awful

09/20/08

decent

by jeb210

If you're looking to meet up with someone and spend some time chatting, Loring Pasta Bar is a great spot. Definitely not "fast-food" (my table for two spent about 2 hours here). Which is actually a nice chance of pace compared with restaurants that want to get you out and turn the table around as fast as possible. Food was decent, not worth raving over. Additionally, parking is quite a chore.

Not so sure I cared so much for the wait-staff's attitude either - however, it definitely gets the job done and of course, like everyone else has mentioned, the ambiance is terrific.

• Pros: ambience, takes reservations
• Cons: parking

09/15/08

Great ambiance - poor service - lukewarm food

by BVBreezy

We visited the Loring Pasta Bar on Sunday, September 14th '08 at 6:30 pm. Seated upstairs, there was one waitress for the entire area and she was either bored, tired, hungover or a combination of all three. She put the minimum of effort into service and it took nearly 20 minutes for the glass of wine I'd ordered to arrive (after being told that they "didn't really have Zinfandel" so I changed my order to a sauvignon blanc which was good. On a positive note, the waitress didn't hang over us all evening either.

The music was FUN (warning if you don't care for the sound of an accordian) and it was cool to watch some talented couples on the dance floor. The volume of the music was inconsistent during the evening which became a bit annoying (either you could barely hear it or somehow it was so loud that microphones screeched) but the atmosphere is low key and it was a minor inconvenience. However, what would have been really good food was brought down a notch by the fact that all of us received our food lukewarm after waiting a very long time for it to arrive (nothing like lukewarm lasagna where the cheese has hardened on the top and a knife is needed to cut through it). I returned mine to be reheated - which they did along with the salad that was on the same plate!! The lasagna was much better warmed a bit, but stil far from being hot. We overheard the people two tables down request that their food be heated also, so we weren't alone. The pork tenderloin was probably the best meal of the five we ordered (and would have been fantastic had it been hot). Portions are on the small side for the price, but the interior is really interesting and the music added a wonderful touch to the evening. We'd give Loring Pasta Bar a try again and hope for better service the second time around.

• Pros: Ambiance, music
• Cons: poor service, food served barely lukewarm

08/11/08

Average food, student discounts

by NadaJ

The food is average and the menu seems to change at the drop of a hat. The food is expensive for what you get, unless you're a student, then you get a pretty good student discount. It takes a long time to get your food, so don't be in a rush to get anywhere afterwards.

• Pros: Student discount
• Cons: Long time to get food