Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Two bad experiences in a row means Servattii's is off the list! Can I give this place zero stars?
To echo some of my earlier comments: bad customer service, ridiculously long wait, mistakes in what was served vs. what was ordered, dirty tables, out of stock items, and a complete lack of apology from the staff makes this restaurant worth much less than what you bargain for. Perhaps it's a good place to get pre-made items such as the boxed salads or bakery items, but walk - no RUN - to another restaurant if you are trying to get lunch.
Update: Servatii's is no longer open on Saturday's. The website still says otherwise, but three weeks ago a sign appeared on the door with updated hours, including "Saturdays: Closed."
Now, these signs mean little, if y ou remember from my first review the signs said that the deli was open until 2 but you'd be yelled at if you tried to order a sandwich past 12, but this doesn't say "temporary August hours" or "until the Fall," it says closed.
The lack of communication, including the website having incorrect hours going on a month now, has cost this place a star for me. Still the best value breakfast sandwich, but no longer available for Saturday breakfast. The Avril & Bleh Court Street Market Place right next door, though, is happy to accomodate. Came in 30 minutes after they stopped serving breakfast? No worries - they're happy to help you out (a monumental difference in demeanor between the two neighbors, as I still can't believe the attitude you get from Servatii's while trying to order a sandwich next to a sign that says the deli is open.) The sandwiches there, though, just can't compare.
I have worked for Servatii's and been a loyal customer for quite a while. Although they are prone to disorganization and their food isn't always consistent, they have amazing cakes, (although a few years ago I attended a wedding where Servatii's had forgotten to deliver the wedding cake, what a disaster!) and delicious sweets. When a store is run by a good staff and has an attentive manager, you will always get fresh consistent product and food. The recent facelift to the Court Street location was a relief. They usually have a variety of fresh hot coffee, sweeteners and creamers. Their bagels are made fresh in the traditional fashion and delivered every morning. I recommend the pretzel bagel or the asiago cheese bagel. Their French desserts are delicious and creative. They have wonderful seasonal treats, including amazing marzipan. Their doughnuts and pastries are exceptional, as well as the bread, which is also made fresh and delivered every morning. Â As far as the deli goes, they ...... try. Their sandwiches have the potential to be wonderful if they would train their staff to be more consistent and familiar with the menu. Â Their stuffed pretzel sandwiches are really good, in fact anything that has to do with their pretzels is amazing. I order delicious rye horn and rolls from them every Christmas and their pumpkin cheesecake is to die for.
This is a family run business and I think they are a little overwhelmed, they have several stores, and trouble keeping staff, and when they do have good staff and manager they are overwhelmed with the responsibilities given, it wasn't unusual to work a 60 to 70 hours a week as a manager. Their practice of hiring whoever is also a downfall, ill trained employees produce unsatisfying results in service. I also noticed while working for them for 2 years is that each store has different policies and rules, again, not consistent, which is a big problem with their overall business plan.
I give them 4 stars because on the whole their cakes, breads and desserts are wonderful. Thieu seasonal cookies, candies, and other treats are creative and unique, as well as traditional. They even have special egg breads and other traditional Jewish pastries, which I have have had trouble finding in Cincinnati. To make sure you get what you want from Servatti's, order your cake or torte in advance and confirm your order. You can also order your cakes on their website, but again confirm!
They also do some catering, their pretzel plates are good, as well as the sandwich platters. Ordering your lunch in advance will also ensure a correct order. It's unfortunate that even though is is an old Cincinnati business that they still have ironed out all the wrinkles in their product and customer service.
I work very close to this place and walk by it daily. I have been there about 5 times and finally learned my lesson. First off I have to say if you like glazed doughnuts this is your place but plan to wait. If you want anything else other than a glazed doughnut, forget it! THIS HAPPENED TO ME 3 TIMES, (yes, dummy me for returning). I order a Pretzel/Turkey sandwhich minus mustard. It took 3 times the first time to get the sandwich right. The last time I went and ordered the same thing a bus of people showed up after I ordered and was waiting for my sandwich. I waited 25 minutes for a cold turkey sandwich and each and every person on the bus got there sandwich before I did. I
would also like to warn you about bake goods.I called a week in advance to order a birthday cake. The clerk on the phone asked me to call two days before becuase of a holiday. I called back two days before and tried to order the cake again they then told me they would not take my order and I would just have to come in to get a cake the morning I needed it. I got up at 6 am to get a cake for my wifes 30th birthday and guess what, they had no cake and refused to make it. Needless to say, Servati did not make this cake and will not make any cake for me in the future.
Servatii makes wonderful baked goods. No doubt. Their pastries are worth the trip, and their sandwiches and salads contain fresh, high quality ingredients. I've tried their egg salad, which is rich and filling. And their frosted brownies are even richer. They have some great offerings.
That said, the atmosphere is lacking. If you plan to sit down and eat, you may be disappointed. The new Fountain Square location has no seating, except for a small bar area. I went with a friend for lunch, and things seemed rather disorganized. Fountain Square is a fairly new location, so I'll be patient. But it's definitely more of a takeout place. The Court Street location does have tables, but it gets busy during lunch, and you're lucky to find a clean one.
Will I return for lunch? Probably not for a while, unless I want to sit outside on Fountain Square and eat.
Will I return for their sweets? Very likely.
Overall, the food is good but the atmosphere is lacking if you want to dine in. If you just want a nice lunch or pastry to go, Servatii is a solid choice.
This review is strictly for the deli side of things at downtown Servatii and not the pastries or sweets. Â
This old-school Servatii location is striking when you walk in: Â an attractive wooden pastry case, pretty old tile floors, well-spaced and comfortable seating, and big picture windows with a view of Court Street and its lunch traffic.
The food is a bit of a roulette wheel, though. Â
I'm a reuben fan, so I ordered one the first time I went. Â The "corned beef" had the texture and even the flavor of processed, Subway-like cold cuts. Â Or even bologna. Â (Bleh.) Â The portion of meat was small, too, although that was probably a blessing in this case. Â And the sandwich was inundated in Thousand Island dressing, but had hardly any sauerkraut. Â I ordered a "fruit salad" with my sandwich, thinking I might get fresh fruit in such nice surroundings, but instead I got a thimble-ful of the soggy, canned, artificially-sweetened stuff. Â The stuff seems like it's on the verge of fermenting. Â Seriously, Servatii: Â You're really serving this glop in 2010?
I'm not even sure why I gave Servatii another look, but I did.
The second visit was quite a bit better:  Servatii's Italian hoagie is definitely a step up from the reuben and probably better than the average in Cincinnati.  The cold cuts themsleves aren't of very high quality, but the hoagie roll was quite good  and toasted nicely and the sandwich cohered well overall.  Pasta salad was good and garlicky.
A third visit revealed that the hot ham (& swiss) melt was a pleasant suprise, too, with a nice sesame Servatii pretzel roll. Â Some of these sandwiches do get by on the strength of Servatii's better-than-average sandwich bread. Â
The staff is efficient, if rather brusque. Â No rays of sunshine, these folks.
Consider this score to be a hair on the south side of three stars. Â But Servatii can be a half-way decent lunch option if you order right. Â
N.B. Â On some days, this Servatii location treats its dining-area patrons to the shrill and scurrilous fulminations of WLW "personality" and blowhard pipsqueak Bill Cunningham. Â Luckily, the volume has been kept low so far...
I had such high hopes for this place.
Practically everyday I walk by Servati, which is on the edge of my neighborhood, and drool through its windows. It's always announcing something new or other - pretzel sandwich and baked goods and a series of delicious items. Still, without real reason to go in, I window-shopped alone.
But then, a reason! I was hosting a screening of "The Godfather Part 2" as part of my year-long movie project and we were doing an Italian potluck dinner before hand. And what is any screening of "The Godfather" / Italian potluck without cannolis? I knew right where I was going to go.
I walked in Tuesday afternoon ready to buy. Two bored looking girls in bakery outfits watched me from behind the counter. I checked out their selection of food which was ... rather unimpressive actually. A few things that might be mini-cannolis, some chocolate cake, a bunch of cream puffs which was their new hot item and that's about it. Â
"Do you have any cannolis?" I asked the girls. One of them pointed to the five little things which looked like they might be mini-cannolis covered in ... chocolate? Chocolate crumbs? I couldn't tell.
"Ok, I'll take all of them," I said.
"All of them?" The girl asked. Um ... yes? I didn't think buying five mini-cannolis was such a shock. But then again, maybe she knew what was to come. "Sure, and any other Italian pastry you have. I'm having this potluck dinner."
"I don't think we have any other," she said. True enough, they had none, which really disappointed me and was actually kind of strange in a pastry shop. I ended up buying some chocolate cake as a last-ditch effort. Ok, whatever, it's a sweet and it's better than nothing ... or so I thought.
When I put out the cannolis later that night, I was excited. Crusty flaky outside with delicious, sweet inside. Mmm. But I got none of that! The outside crust was stale and gross. The inside cream was disgusting and bland. And whatever the hell those chocolate things were made it taste like the whole thing had been burned. I threw mine away, and I watched my guests eat theirs with disgusted faces. Oh god, so bad.
Plus, they were way overpriced! Way way overpriced. Ridiculous in every way.
Now, I have been told that Servati is a better deli than it is pastry shop. I cannot vouch for this. I have only tried the pastry shop in Servati Pastry Shop and Deli, and let me tell you, it was not a sweet experience. Ugh.
So - as far as taste goes, I'd give this place 5 stars. Their cakes are the best and in theory - these people seem like they would be the perfect place to go for a birthday or wedding cake.
In actuality, though, these people suck at presentation and follow-through. The first time I ordered a birthday cake through them I had gone with the large Black Forest torte and requested writing on it. When I went to pick it up at the downtown location, they then decided to notify me that the order was sent to their Kenwood location and that I'd have to pick it up there. After racing across town to pick up the cake, I got there to discover they had made 2 cakes since they didn't have the size I had ordered and hadn't put any writing on it. So basically these people are incapable of calling and asking if certain substitutions are ok. But these things were ok in comparison to one of the cakes having a huge dent in the side of it where they had squished it with the box. And this was attempt at getting a cake #1.
The second time, I thought I'd give them a second chance because they make awesome cake. I went to order the Black Forest torte again and they said they no longer made it. So I went with the Dobash torte and gave them a weeks notice on the order. When I arrived at their downtown location to pick it up, no one knew what I was talking about. I waited around for over a half an hour while they looked around clueless as to where the cake was. I opted to just get whatever they had there instead because I didn't have all day to wait and left with some other torte.
If you're just looking for good cake and don't need to rely on them for it to look nice or be what you ordered - they do a good job. But I sure as all hell wouldn't trust these people with a wedding cake or planned birthday cake.
As for their deli - its probably one of the better ones in the area.
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