Aiello's In Whitney Po - North Derby

My son and I were driving home from the Cortlandt football camp and stopped here. The owner made us feel like we knew him all our lives. Although they were extremely busy with their regular customers, the owner personally made sure we were taken care of. The meatballs were the best I had ever had and the margarita pizza was delicious. We live 2 1/2 hours away but I’m making sure We go back.

It was the worst service and meal I have ever had. It started great. The appetizer was delicious and plentiful. We waited a good 20 minutes for our salad to arrive. It was also good. Then we waited and waited for 50 minutes before I grabbed what I thought was a manager and asked if we had been forgotten. I got an offhanded comment along the lines that we got stuck behind a large group. We had a reservation the large group were walk ins. During this whole time not one person informed us of a problem. We were ignored. We could have ordered more drinks or even more water. We sat and watched 3 other tables walk in, get served their meals and pay for them while we sat and waited for our food. Even nearby tables commented that others had been served. We finally got our food about 1 hour after we finished our salad. My chicken marsala was dried out. The side order of spaghetti tasted like it had tomato juice for a sauce. Everything was lukewarm. It wasn 't until we were just about finished that the same manager came to the table and offered us a drink. Mind you we had no beverage during our entire meal because no one even came to the table. This was supposed to have been a birthday celebration. My brother and I don 't get a chance to sit down to dinner very often. We are both in our 70s. This restaurant ruined our celebration. The meals should have been comped. I won 't be back. I can 't let management response go unchallenged so now I will let it lose. The table next to us communicated to us that three other tables were served, ate, and paid their bill while we waited between the salad and the meal 's arrival. Why did their meals go ahead and our didn 't? We both were raised to be polite and didn 't want to make a scene. We had discussed not leaving a tip, but the manager comped us a drink for the delay so we decided to leave a tip to recognize that. As for the meal itself, it was lukewarm. The sauce was right out of a can, not seasoned or even cooked. I grew up in the Italian restaurant business and I know sauce. The chicken was dry. How long did it sit on your counter until it was picked up? We weren 't expecting any special service because of the birthday. It was a birthday dinner treat between us. Yes, we were early, but were perfectly content to sit at the bar. Your staff sat us and began this mess by taking our order. They should have just waited until your kitchen was ready. Perhaps the problem lies with having your bartender also wait table is part of the problem. Your response is so off the mark that not only will I not be back but I will be sure to share the experience with as many people as I can in the Cortland area.

Had a lovely lunch with a friend. Will come back again.

Really good food and friendly service. My wife and I split an order of the chicken fettuccine Alfredo and really enjoyed it. The one portion was so big that even with the two of us sharing it, we were plenty satisfied. We will absolutely be back to try more of their menu!

One of the best Italian restaurants in upstate/central NY...