"The restaurant opened a few minutes after with the lights turning on at or so. Our reservation was at so we didn't see the restaurant at all until we realized we were lost and had walked past it. When we consulted Google...Maps and turned around, we saw the proprietor turn on the light. Strange, but Italians eat later than Americans and timeliness is not necessarily normal in Italy. This dining spot is a REAL Neapolitan restaurant. We were the only English speakers with no other tourists in this half-filled place. The other people were all locals, groups of friends or small families. After being greeted by the chef or owner (we still have no idea who he was), he yelled at Lucca the waiter to tell him to deal with us. Lucca apparently is the only person who speaks English and the proprietor didn't even bother to try to speak Italian to me (which I actually do speak). Lucca was terrific. He was young, energetic, spoke excellent English, took care of us really well, and had excellent knowledge of the food and wine. You couldn't ask for a better waiter. He was attentive, but not hovering, and dealt with the crazy owner/chef/whomever with some exasperation, but professionalism. The food itself was good. The quality and preparation of the meal were high and we enjoyed every course. The octopus salad was great and freshly prepared. The squash blossom was large and tasty, filled with ricotta cheese and ham. The pasta with rabbit, one with bucatini and the other with gluten-free fettuccini, was good but unremarkable. The secondi of meatballs and another round of octopus salad were fine, but the first octopus was better. The lack of a menu caught my husband off guard. He isn't used to someone telling him all the food options, then expecting him to decide on the spot. He's used to reading things, thinking about them, and deciding after a few minutes. Deciding on food while your waiter is looking at you was a slightly disconcerting experience for him. The owner/chef/proprietor (whoever he was) is the only reason this didn't get a review. He was constantly yelling in the main dining room, usually to someone in the back but also sometimes at people in the room or on the phone. He wasn't angry, he just was loud. That disrupted the dining experience, but nothing as bad as when he answered the phone in front of our table and pulled our waiter away from our table AS HE WAS SPEAKING TO US so that Lucca (who is a great waiter) could speak to the person on the phone. WTF?! You pull a waiter away from a paying guest to speak to some stranger on the phone while he is actually taking someone's order?! That is beyond unprofessional, it's bad business. For a liter of house white wine, courses, and a bill of only euros, we thought this meal was a bargain. I would recommend L'Osteria for the prices alone."
