Umbria Prime

10/18/09

serious safety issues

by annieflores at Citysearch

My girlfriends and I were looking for a new nightclub and I read in one of ads for Umbria they were a place for "mature,sophisticated" people. We called Mr Winter who works for the club to put ourselves on the guest list and we spoke with him atleast 2x that day and asked if we are on guest list do we have a cover charge and each time he answered no no cover charge if you arrive before 11:30 pm. We arrived at club at 11pm-$20 dollars to "valet" park our car and we went in club-we still waited in line for a few minutes even though the bouncer had already given us tickets for being on guest list. When we finally got inside we were told $10 cover charge that it did not matter that M. Winter promised us no cover. We payed that and then went in. You are shown up some very dark and I think dangerous stairsp-the bouncer at bottom of staircase shines a small light 1/2 way up stairs after that you are on your own. Club advertises 25 and over. There were no mature or sophisticated people in there-everyone looked underage(they do card so I am sure they are over 21-"barely") Club is very small and crowded on all floors and very very dark. Club has something like 5 floors-each accesible with one set of small stairs that do not accomodate people going up and down at same time-all I could think of was if there was a fire!! how would all these people safely exit this place. When we were leaving and went back down to 1st floor we noted that bouncer at that door letting several people in for free. We were then told to exit thru that door that leads to an alley. We could not even leave thru front door. All in all very very dissapointing expierience and has soured me on boston nightclubs especially those Mr Winters is involved with. $10.00 is really not much money but it is the principal that you told us no cover you did not say 1/2 the cover. There is a difference and we are intelligent females we know what we heard on phone. Also bathrooms were absolutely filthy and very very small-you have a nightclub that holds that many people then make the bathrooms bigger!!! Someone had vomited in ladies room and it was disgusting and while I did not stay at club long due to too many "young babies" in there I was there atleast an hour and in that hour BR was not cleaned and 2 girls went and told employees about the vomit. IF YOU ARE AN ADULT DO NOT GO TO THIS CLUB IT IS FOR 25 and younger not 25 and over as advertised.

• Pros: none
• Cons: safety

10/19/08

A HUGE let down!

by janetanne23 at Citysearch

My friend and I wanted to enjoy a nice dinner somewhere authentic to the Boston area. We asked our concierege to recommend a good Italian restaurant nearby. Seconds later we had reservations for 2 at Umbria. We got dressed up to the nines and headed to the restaurant excited for some great food, great atmosphere and what we had hoped to be a great experience. When we walked in the door we were somewhat greeted (for lack of a better word) and showed to our table. After several minutes our server finally approached our table to pour us some water then walked away. When he came back he asked us if we "even wanted to hear the specials" as though it was bother for him. We asked for a few moments to decide. By the time it took him to return to the table not only had we decided upon our appetizer but our entree as well. We got our mussels after waiting a ridiculously long time. Shortly thereafter 2 ladies were sat at the table next to us. They got their appetizers and entrees before we got our entree (which was pasta with shrimp...) I thought it was a little strange that they got their meals before we did, but decided not to make a big deal of it. We requested a dessert menu and continued to wait. Before we were given an opportunity to order dessert I noticed that our neighbors had received their check, had their wine bottle corked and were ready to exit. Needless to say, we were obviously at the bottom of our server's Priority list. There was an obvious push to sell us alcohol on 3 separate attempts and maybe because we didn't order any it effected the quality of service?? When it was all said and done the meal was average and overpriced. The ambiance was less than appealing and the service was mediocre at best. It seemed as though the only thing they were attentive to was hurrying us out the door as soon as we received our check.

• Pros: Impressive wine list
• Cons: Quality of service, food, and ambience

07/12/08

What a huge disappointment

by awilliams727 at Citysearch

It appalls me that this restaurant manages to maintain a 4.5 star rating. Several complaints: First, the food could not be more tasteless and boring, especially considering the price. It was below average-- I'd guarantee you'd be happier at Olive Garden. The "yams and Brussels sprout lasagna" that accompanied my bacon wrapped pork had a piece of something small, sharp, and clear in it. I took it out of my mouth only to find that it was the appearance and consistency of a finger nail. At first I thought, no matter, it's probably not a finger nail. Then I found several more in my next bite. I finally just stopped eating it since it was all ending up in my napkin anyway. While the sheer quantity dispelled my finger nail concern, one should never find something like that in their $34 entree. Second, my boyfriend's dish was so salty he could barely eat it. Third, I wasn't going to get wine because I just wasn't in the mood to drink enough to spend $10 on a glass. Instead, I decided to compromise and just order an inexpensive glass of the house red. Everyone knows you order the house wine because its the polite way of ordering the least expensive selection. Well, when the bill came, we were charged $15 for each glass of house --it ended up being more expensive than any glass listed on the wine list!! This is a tricky and cheap practice. Even after complaining politely that this was misleading, the waiter was rude. Lastly, I went on a Friday night expecting some kind of ambiance but it was dead. And the staff just sat around watching baseball on the big screen. Really romantic. Also, though we were only there at 8 pm (not clubbing time), there was some kind of non-stop stomping and loud banging going on upstairs that disrupted the entire dinner. Unfortunately, I would give this restaurant NO STARS if that were a possibility, even if it WASN'T expensive. If you are looking for food worth the price, go somewhere else. I'd recommend Florentine in the North End for starters.