User Reviews for Campiello

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Dec 20, 2007 by Matt from Minneapolis
Overall Rating: 10
Food:[10] • Service:[10] • Atmosphere:[10]

• Beautiful interior, good looking staff, great place for a date, free valet.
• It is expensive.

“Good food that is fancy, good place to bring a date to impress. A little on the expensive side but you get free valet parking.”

Jul 7, 2007 by Dave from Minneapolis
Overall Rating: 4
Food:[5] • Service:[7] • Atmosphere:[6]

• Reasonably good calamari.
• Pricing, atmosphere, creativity.

“Campobello's is an overpriced branch of the D'Amico empire. Housed inappropriately in a space that used to have a Tex-mex cafe, the atmosphere is not particularly intimate. White linen tablecloths and table candles weren't enough to overcome the crowded seating plan and noise levels were higher than a "date restaurant" ought to be, but not unacceptable. Seating was immediate at 6:30 on a Saturday evening, not a good sign. Service was reasonably attentive but neither particularly helpful nor friendly. Clientele was quite elderly for the neighborhood, perhaps composed of people who didn't feel hip (or perhaps "hip") enough for the neighborhood's trendy bistros and uncomfortable with Thai, Indian, or even Vietnamese. A few uncomfortable teens being taken out by grandparents were the only under-30s not at the bar. The menu offers entrees from $17 to $35, appetizers from $7, and wines from $30 to $150 a bottle. The menu of "specials" that rotate monthly says those are more marketing than "what a great find our buyer made". For heaven's sake, even if you aren't going to rotate them frequently you shouldn't put "Specials for July 1 to 31" on the menu. As is common, a bread basket was presented. Three (halved) slices of unexceptional sesame-crusted Italian bread served with a cold triangle of butter clearly cut from a one-pound slab with no additional blending, herbs, or even softening at room temperature. The $12 calamari appetizer was coated in a nearly tempura-light batter that was falling off the slightly chewy squid. My dining partner and I couldn't decide if this was an interesting textural counterpoint or simply inappropriate. The accompanying aioli sauce was quite spicy, more so than the level of garlic would suggest but there was no significant horseradish note either. An ordinary Chardonnay went for $38 a bottle. An $8 "Caesar" salad consisted of five un-cut leaves of Romaine with a half dozen one-inch-square stale croutons. That explains the steak knife, it was needed for both. The dressing was no better than supermarket bottled and the finely grated parmesan wasn't either. No fine touches like anchovies or indeed anything out of the ordinary. (OK, not everyone likes anchovies, but still). The shrimp linguini ($19) was unexceptional, nice noodles, tender shrimp, and buttery sauce but again nothing really interesting. There were a few nickel-size disks of some unidentified substance neither seafood nor pasta, not crisp enough to be a water chestnut and without the resistance of a vegetable. Maybe stray gnocchi? Portion sizes were appropriate, not the pig-out three-meal platters that have contributed to our obesity epidemic. We were not about to blow another fifteen bucks on coffee and dessert. The total tab including tax and tip for this very modest dinner was $90, about $40 more than it was worth. Those are not Midwestern prices, though a New Yorker or San Franciscan wouldn't be shocked. Really, any chain Italian joint (Olive Garden) could serve you the exact same quality of food for half the price. At that tab I expect subtle and innovative cooking, better presentation servers that describe menu items in detail, and cooking I would have a hard time duplicating at home. All in all, I would not recommend this place. The food was acceptable but not exceptional and the value was terrible. There were no small children, who would have been bored out of their minds. The "date night" atmosphere was way below par, it's not near downtown or hotels for business travelers, and the gross overpricing suggests that, like us, the typical customer is someone who wanders in and doesn't ever come back.”

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