Faro Italian Grille
 

Vita, what exactly is a phantom? I'm aware what the definition is, but what does it mean to be a "phantom" on the forum?

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Nothing bad about Rusty but he/she hides their real identity well on this forum.

I'll take a wild guess.....
 

"Rusty" McLear comes to mind....?????

My post falls within the specified 10 so I'll respond. I am not in the food industry and have no stake in this. I have spent some time in Italy, some of that in the kitchen with Italian friends. I have consumed serious quantities of pizza while there. Pizza in Italy does vary by region, but as yet I have not found any that resembles American pizza. The closest would be in Sienna which has a large presence of American students. If you like American deep dish then the comparison would be to Italian pizza rustica, it is somewhat similar but still not quite the same thing.

All that aside, my post was more cultural humor than critique. One cannot overstate how passionate Italians are about food and you will likely take some good natured ribbing if you prep something "wrong." And thus you all now know how to say wtf in Italian...

I don't have a stake in any restaurant or business in NH.
My comment about the sausage factory was just to humor a fellow forum member.

I have zero ownership interests in any restaurant. I have a good deal of restaurant knowledge from schooling and past restaurant management positions. Nor am I friends with any of the restaurant owners in this area. Sorry for the let down. [emoji6]


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Rusty I always thought you were the Rusty from the Meredith restaurant fame. Not correct?

It wasn't you I was referring to, Vita had a good guess.

I have a friend that went to Italy and has said exactly the same things you did about Italian Pizza vs American. Thanks, I appreciate your input :)

You portray personal knowledge of the ins and outs of every restaurant in the area. If what you claim is true, I'm marveled at what you have put together.



I wasn't trying to out anything, I study things ad nausium, and I can't hold a candle to the conclusions/knowledge you imply

Is it not ok to have an educated opinion? That's all it is that I have. My professional experience has given me the knowledge and know how in regards to the hospitality business. That's all.


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From your earlier post it made it sound like you do have friends in the business...


Ice Ice and more Ice, but be safe out there! -PIG

Pig, I used to have a friend that waited on tables at the Lobster Pound. She's however no longer there.


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Friday
 

Went to Faro's last nite for the first time. First nice touch was the complimentary valet service. We could have been seated right away at a table but chose to sit at the bar in the lounge area - so no wait issues. Service, drink and food were all very good. Lots of great choices on the menu. Only suggestion is to get higher seated bar stools (30"?). The existing ones seat a little low. Gave my car ticket stub to server when we paid and car was outside the door and warm when we walked out. We would go back

Went to Faro's last Thursday with the family. They appeared to sit us in the "kid friendly" section of the restaurant which was fine with us as we understand that people without kids are sometimes disturbed by the additional noise. The food was fantastic. All four of us really enjoyed our meals and my daughter almost jumped out of her seat when the dessert tray was brought out. We ended up taking dessert home as we stuffed ourselves on our entrees as we couldn't stop eating them they were so good. We almost went back the next night again with my in-laws because we enjoyed it so much and wanted to try some other items we debated but did not get. We will definitely be back.

Here's a Little known fact for you !

Sit in the bar stools on the end of the bar furthest from the dining area (Cumberland Farms end) & you'll be fine. Sit in the ones closer to the restaurant section you'll feel like a kid needing a booster seat.

Me thinks it's not the stools -- it's the bar is perfectly level and the floor is the level with the ground (downward sloping !)

Ask a bartender or barmaid the next time !!



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Tuesday night at faro
 

Went tuesday night (last night) for our 25th anniversary sat at the bar (the high end) and had a great meal. if you haven't been there go before the summer because you will need reservations by then. I've been about 7 times and haven't been disapointed yet. My fav is the eggplant but I've only had it twice so I guess I'll have to give it a few more try's. The wife is hooked on the chicken marsala. i do recomend the antipasto for an appetizer, very good. Also Richards home made Limoncello is a great finish to a tasty meal (if they have left it goes fast).:liplick::liplick:

Bumble they've used your quote (above) in an article on Faro's Italian Grille today in the Laconia Daily sun!

Did they really? What was the article? A write up in the restaurant or something? I haven't had a chance to read the sun today. Thats pretty cool! Thanks for letting me know. I'll be sure to check it out!


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This is what the article said about you and you can read one page of the article below:

A week after it opened, an enthusiastic customer who identified him-or-her self as Bumble 2249 wrote in the Winnipesaukee Forum, ‘’Faro has set the
bar for authentic Italian restaurants in the Lakes Region. Real homemade pasta. Homemade sauces. Best of the best meats, cheeses, breads and desserts! There are other good restaurants here but as far as Italian cuisine is concerned, this is it.’’
Those kinds of endorsements are music to the ears of Richard Ray, whose family had operated the Lobster Pound since 2007 and has operated an Italian
restaurant in Boston’s North End for decades.

Packed!!
 

Just an observation ..... This place was packed on Saturday night! So much so that we passed on dinner there until maybe another "not so busy" night to try them out. They must be doing something right to be THAT busy on a late March night. Good news for the Weirs Beach neighborhood BIGTIME!! Can't wait to finally try them. :liplick:

The Breeze
Wave 'cuz I'll be wavin' back :D

They have a help wanted ad in at least the Laconia Daily Sun for cooks, waitstaff, etc. Must be getting ready to gear up for summer,

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In discussing with the staff on our last visit (and it is kind of obvious) ... when the warmer weather arrives they plan on having outdoor seating. this will increase seating capacity by ??? (15-20%?)

This is good & bad news in my opinion .... personally, I love outdoor seating in the summer months but the kitchen is of finite size and no matter how many cooks you put in, the kitchen can only realistically produce properly prepared food to the current quality and standards at a finite rate.

I surely hope that they do not over extend themselves. It seems to be working GREAT to this point. The kitchen's capabilities in the summer will be the key ! Otherwise, in the Fall, we will be reading all the "bashes" about how bad the service was, it took forever to get our meal, our meal was cold when served ... and so on.

I wish them the best of luck & hope they succeed ... it is truly a great addition to the area.



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Faro Reservation
 

Make a reservation you won't be disapointed, I Have been there about 10 times since they have openned. Would have been there more but the pants started not fitting..................:eek:

I wish I could say the same. We've tried to go 10 to 15 times. Unfortunately more often than not we've found that they close early and are maintaining very inconsistent hours. I'm very disappointed with this restaurant and have decided it's worth the extra distance to go back to Rossi's.

HUGE ERROR !!

make a reservation & you won't be disappointed.


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We made reservations for tonight. Looking forward to trying Faro.

PBFF,

Just an fyi... Food pics always help the review! ;)

Let us know!

Dan

So you did get to eat on SOME of your visits: how was the food?

we have triedthe first few times were just heading over on a whim. Their sign does say open till 10 p.m. But we found them closed.
We've called around 8 p.m. got the answering machine which said they were open till 10 p.m. Drove over there and found them to be closed. Made it difficult to catch somewhere else to eat elsewhere.

I opened this thread and I was thier loyal customer to lose.

Can somebody that's understands Swahili please decipher this for me??


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Went to Faro last night. The new decor is nice. The food presentation was excellent. Service was good with waitstaff that know their menu.
We were brought a couple complimentary appetizers to try. I didn't try them but the table was very happy with them. We also ordered the antipasto which was good.
I had the 16oz strip steak with rosemary and garlic with a side of angel hair pasta and red sauce. The steak was cooked medium but I ordered medium rare. Not a huge deal, I wouldn't send it back as I'm not really picky. The steak was, steak. Not bad, but no flavor. I've had steak lots of places, this dish looked great but disappointed me. The pasta may be home made and fresh but the red sauce was tasteless. For a minute I thought maybe it was me but the table agreed that their red sauce was also bland.

One friend ordered desert which he says was good. Cannoli from Modern Pastry.

I'm not a food critic and never complain. You wanted a review, you got it.

I will tell you we are a large crowd that eats dinner most every weekend in the North End. In fact, we were texting the rest of the family while they dined at Pagliuca's in the NE last night. We will try Faro again with the full crowd. We are looking for a Friday night regular place and Faro is very close to us. Hopefully it was just a bad night with the sauce.

Dan...I, we, all took pictures of the plates. I anticipated posting the pictures with a good review. Like I said, presentation was excellent. In this case, pictures are not worth a thousand words.

bland sauce
 

Try a little salt on the sauce. They're probably cooking it with little or no salt
knowing it can be added by the diners, to accommodate those who eschew salt.

If their intention is to make bland sauce, in order to accommodate people who abstain from salt, doesn't it make sense that every plate on the menu would be cooked without salt? I guess I could see them making a pot of sauce with low salt and offering a low sodium alternative then throwing it out every night.
There's more seasoning to sauce than just tomatoes and salt. It wasn't a tasty sauce that needed salt, it was a sauce void of flavor other than the tomato.

Red sauce
 

I have become a regular and I love this new addition to the area. I always get a side of fresh pasta with red sauce (love the lamb shank entree), and I think the sauce is great. You can tell its home made, not to sweet and not that strong tomato taste. Maybe you are just used to Rago out of a jar?? Faro is the real deal.
-GG

Thanks for the laugh thegreyghost!! Read my mind!


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If it makes any difference, I'm Sicilian. My mother still makes a sauce every Sunday (a few on this forum would attest to that). My grandmother and aunts did the same. I make a sauce occasionally. I've eaten in plenty of restaurants (most in the North End) and plenty of Italian homes. I know the difference between jar sauce and homemade.

The sauce tasted fresh and homemade but lacked flavor.

The fact that you think Papa Gino's is the best pizza in the lakes region tells me you've had your share of ketchup and elbows.

I was expecting Bumbles reply to my review last night, what took you?

This is why others don't post reviews. It will certainly be my last.

PBFF, thanks for the review, even if your honesty brought about snarky comments. I had to look up your reference because I thought it was too ironic to be true.

Thanks for the honest review PBFF! It is appreciated.

I suspect some of the recent posters might have some sort of a vested interest in the place. I have not been to Faro yet, so my mind is completely open.

I will post a honest review after my second or third visit this summer.

R2B

.What? I can't laugh at someone's post? Come on.... You expected me to comment on your post, but I didn't did I?


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My thoughts exactly. I have favorite restaurants from the lakes region to North Conway. Having some kind of vested interest or whatever could not be further from reality. I just like the place. I also like the Lyons Den, Lavinias and Elyacoya and I'd speak my mind in their defense if someone started a ridiculous and unwarranted thread on this forum about them as well. Or maybe I wouldn't... Because there's no way that I could have an "interest" in FOUR restaurants! [emoji12]


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