stefano's

chris was in town yesterday, and we decided to treat ourselves to a "fancy" dinner. a restaurant called stefano's has been on my bucket list for awhile because i've seen the commercials advertising it , and it's supposed to be one of the bestfinedining establishments in town. from the outside, we determined it didn't seem too intimidating -- a neon sign and christmas lights in the tree. to top it off, it's located beneath a bowling alley , suburban lanes . it's tucked away, so there's not really a grand entrance, but the windows were dark, so we weren't quite sure what we were in for. when we walked through the two sets of doors, there was a hostess ready to take our coats. we had called ahead for reservations (as per requested on the website), so they sat us right away. there was one couple and a party of 10 or so. probably typical for a wednesday evening. the lighting inside was very dim, and consisted of mainly modern, circular track lighting. wine bottles were showcased in a cabi

food good, everything else bad. the food is excellent, however everything else about this restaurant is not. prices are typical of what you would expect at afinedining restaurant, no issues there. like others have said below the service is low quality. there is a bowling ally and you can hear the loud thud of bowling balls the whole time.

personally i won't be going back. the bad service we received outweighs any positives of the food. when you go out forfinedining you except exceptional service. i receive better service at my local chinese take out. stefano's is run by amateurs.

the most amazing food. i travel frequently and i enjoy good food, i have had manyfinedining experiences. i never expected to find truefinedining in morgantown, wv. i must say that chef chris mcdonald could make any dining experience fantastic! he truly understands food. his selection of ingredients is superb. the staff was fantastic. couldn't have asked for a better experience.

exceptionalfinedining in morgantown. stefano's leads thefinedining pack in morgantown. on its way to being a aaa four diamond restaurant, the only around. i can't say enough good things about this place. service has never under impressed me, menu is creative, food is excellent, wine list is very good. it's cozy and different from anything else in town. the chef will even visit the table to chat if you like your meal. it is not inexpensive, it'sfinedining...so don't come expecting jeans, beer, or spaghetti and meatballs.

waste of money. very expensive prices, which would befineif the food and service lived up to the cost. our waiter was very pushy, things were added on to our bill that he had implied came with the meal. and although the food was fine, it certainly was not good enough to warrent such extravagant prices. the nicest part of the meal was the person playing live guitar. i left a tip for the guitar player, and wish i could have chosen how much to leave the waiter. however the gratuity is already added on for you which i do not like since the service was downright unpleasant.

customer service?. i must say that a sour experience left me livid and telling anyone who would listen not to waste their time and money. we tried stefano's because we needed a quiet place for two physicians to discuss a potential business venture. the server was very attentive and the food itself was perfection. we did not order from the bar. the prices are what i would expect for afinedining experience. the decor is contemporary and lovely. live piano music was being played but could not cover the very loud thuds coming from the bowling alley just above. even the noise did not keep us from being able to quietly and privately discuss business. we made a reservation but i began to feel as though we were being rushed through our meal. then, after dessert was served (90 minutes after being seated), we were informed that there was another reservation for the table in 30 minutes. we finished our meal and attempted to wrap up business negotiations quickly; however, our waiter came over a second time and insisted that we leave so the table could be reset. i found this to be absurd. there were multiple other empty tables in the restaurant at the time and we could see noone waiting in the small foyer/lobby. we moved our conversation outside in freezing temperatures in spite of the fact that one physician's spouse was obviously pregnant. we talked for another 15-20 minutes and noone entered the restaurant (a full 15 minutes after the supposed next reservation for our table). i have worked in the food industry in front and back of the house operations. i am a self proclaimed food snob. i have dined infinedining establishments around the country (boston, new york, chicago, washington d.c., new orleans, san diego, san francisco, etc.). on average, a meal in afinedining setting lasts at least two hours, usually longer. i have never before been asked to leave when i made a reservation and have barely finished my meal. i can not recommend this restaurant for this gross oversight in customer service. additionally, for a dinner service for only two couples on one check, they put a gratuity of 17% on the check even though they did not inform us of the policy ahead of time and it was not noted on the menu. typically, a gratuity is only automatically added to a check for larger groups (six or more depending on the restaurant). my tipping standard is 20% but i bristle at the idea of them tacking it on since it is supposed to be at the patrons' discretion based on their perception of the quality of service. if you want an exceptionalfinedining experience in morgantown, i have always had great experiences at cafe bacchus and, my personal favorite, the glasshouse grille. try one of those instead.