I really wanted to like Florentine's. I see the commercials on television, it's located in the all so cool and trendy Downtown Fullerton and the waitresses are so hot that they should be required to carry fire extinguishers. Just my luck, I get the only male server on duty. He was cool when he finally got around to serving us.

We were seated right away on a Sunday evening around 5:45 p.m. The pub was crowded but not packed. The couple seated next to us were obviously done with their meal and waiting for someone to pack up their leftovers. They waited 15 minutes before the busboy came over to pick up their leftovers. Another 5 minutes and the waiter came over and announced that the computer was down and he was unable to tally the bill. They asked, "How are we going to get out of here?"  They also mentioned to the waiter that we had been waiting nearly half an hour without service. Our waiter came over and took our order, fully thirty minutes after we had been seated. the couple next to us asked about seeing the manager. They were told that there was no manager on site. After several minutes the waiter decided to tally the bill by hand. I saw another large group by the front door. The hostess never came over to meet or seat them. They just found a table in the restaurant and sent a representative to get menus.

I ordered the seared ahi appetizer and the pepper and sausage lasagna. My dining partner ordered the roast lamb. The meals do not include soup or a dinner salad which can be ordered separately. The ahi came out within fifteen minutes or so. Chopsticks were not offered. I'm not sure whether or not they are available, I didn't ask because I was too hungry. The dish is presented Japanese style with wasabi, ginger and cucumber salad. The ahi is covered in a creamy wine based sauce which is pretty good. The restaurant has a full bar and I saw some very nice martinis being made. They also have an extensive wine list. Our meals came out and they looked delicious. The lasagna was saucy with lots of cheese and colorful peppers. The lamb had a spicy crust and was very tasty. The portions were not huge, but not small either. I asked for garlic bread and was informed there is none. What kind of place serves Italian food without garlic bread?

For dessert I had chocolate cake and my dining partner had Boston chocolate cream pie. The cake has chocolate chips and was very good. When our dessert arrived, we requested the bill hoping to avoid the misfortunes of the couple next to us. The bill arrived just as we were finishing, but it was wrong. the waiter, who never did reveal his name to us, redid the bill but incorrectly in our favor. We protested but he said it was OK.

My dining experience at Florentine's Downtown Grill took two hours from sitting to leaving. The food was very tasty, even without the garlic bread and prices are fair even without the discount. I was told the service is usually better. There really is no where to go but up. I cannot recommend Florentine's due to the service.