Reviews for The Little Sparo in St. John's, NL

Let me say first that my poor rating is not related to the food or ambience inside the restaurant. Food was good and view at our... corner table was absolutely beautiful !! The major disappointment was learning while paying the bill tipping was not an option -18% was already added to our bill with no option not to pay at all or pay at a reduced amount. I am a person who regularly tipshowever I am passionate about being the decision maker in it and by what amount. Our server was average/slightly below average;notwithstanding this I would have still tipped (probably in the 10% range.) However as mentioned I had no choice in the matterand in paying the over $80 tip it left a very sour taste in my mouth. As a result likely will not make a repeat visit anytimesoon. To the chef's, great work in preparing very enjoyable dishes. Read more

Fantastic dishes with an Italian theme. Loved every meal I've eaten here. Great atmosphere as well. Only issue -- we did book... one night, and even got a confirmation, and arrived to find the restaurant closed. Triple check your reservations. Read more

Place is not that great. I had the salmon with skin on. It was mostly muscles in white wine cream sauce. The Arugula was wet.... You shouldn?t serve arugula wet. Huge mushrooms came in the pasta that my daughter ordered. Mushrooms should be bite sized atbest. Chef needs to figure out better direction for each dish. Read more

In fairness, this review is not in response to the food, as I did not wait around to try it. I can appreciate and understand if... a restaurant is busy or short staffed, however this was not the case. After deciding on what to order within the first 5 minutesof being there, I waited and waited?the server finally came around with water at the 25 minute mark. I asked for a slice oflemon, which came with a side of attitude. Expecting for her to return shortly after to take my order, I then continued to wait?another 15 minutes had passed and she still did not return, despite me trying to get her attention. What made me decide toFINALLY leave was when I saw her begin to take an order from a table of 6 people that arrived more then 40 minutes afterme. Not sure if me being a solo diner was not worthy of her time or attention, but the whole experience was off putting to saythe least. In retrospect, I should thank the server for her complete disregard and indifference toward my patronage andbusiness. As I was still hungry, I walked 10 minutes down Duckworth Street to Piatto Pizzeria + Enoteca, where the service wasfantastic and I had the most delicious food. Read more

I stayed at DoubleTree while in Town for a funeral. After a busy day, starved, I went back to the hotel and while passing... through the lobby, I could smell deliciousness. I asked the hostess about closing time and was informed it was 20 minutes away.Disappointed, I thanked her and was ready to go to my room. ?I can get you a table if you?d like? she said. Bucatini Carbonaraand a rum was my response. Sat at a nice table overlooking the harbour, fireplace alongside, jazzy music playing. Within secondsI had my drink. My meal was prepared and tabled in less than 15 minutes. Despite the poor picture, plating was beautiful. Mostimportantly, the taste? fantastic! Perfect actually. Service was perfect as well. I appreciate being served as such on a latearrival. Highly recommended. I will be back next time I?m in Town. Read more

The room itself and view are the highlights of this dining experience. Our food was underwhelming and the kitchen wasn't very... flexible with regards to some minor substitutions. The pizza's for the price point were disappointing. I'd suggest coming for acocktail and the view but dining somewhere else. Read more

Had the steak and it was a little under done for medium rare but delicious. Keep in mind this was the Saturday before Xmas and... although the server tried his best they were seriously understaffed. We waited a super long time for our mains and desserts. Ittook over an hour for us to get our bills, which was a first for me. It was also extremely loud and dark. Not many additions tothe menu so make sure you like what is on offer. No bread for the table which was astounding for an Italian place and theserving sizes for the pasta and risotto were very small for a main. Don't think I will be back despite the tasty steak. Read more

12o'clock reservation. Started late only went down hill from there. Ran out of lattes, Ran out of orange juice. Manager Ran... to the store got some for us. Ran out of eggs. Waited over an hour for food ????. Had eggs Benny. Cold hollandaise, cold eggs . Eggs were wrong consistency asked for soft came medium. cold potatoes ,hot sausage. Too hungry to wait any longer.Seated atend of restaurant close to hotel check in. Music a little loud hard to hear conversation at table. Apologies accepted. 50 %Discount on bill. We will try again at a later date . Reasonable prices. Great view of the harbor Read more