Ok so I lost my pandemic “not eating out” virginity last night. I will say I was very impressed with the staff at Blu Grotto, everyone was masked and they seemed to keep their masks on the entire time. Not just putting them on when they came outside etc. Some were even wearing glove, though not all. Even inside the bartender (they walk you through the dining room to get to your table outside) was wearing a mask and he doesn’t interact with any customers directly.
So here is the only “problem” and it’s not really their problem. I went early to drop off flowers and balloons for my daughter and I could see a large tent on the deck so I figured all good. When we showed up for the reservation later, there were several people waiting out front, when I approached the hostess stand she advised us, “You do see it’s raining a bit” and I responded “Yes, but we are under the tent aren’t we?” She said “no” and she showed us the table.
The tent I saw was only a portion of the deck, the rest of the deck they have large umbrella’s but because of social distancing each table stuck out from under the umbrella a bit. The table was probably 8-9 feet away from the only other occupied table under the umbrella so I asked the hostess if it would be ok for me to ask the people if they mind if we moved “closer” to them, the hostess asked the people obliged and we moved to probably 5-6 feet of them to get us all under the umbrella.
So my only tale of caution would be when you make the reservation request to be under the big tent, not an umbrella unless you are sure it’s going to be a dry night. Other than that it was truly a joy to be able to dine out with my family for such a joyous occasion. Food was good, limited menu though so my favorite pork chop wasn’t on the menu. Small gripes to have all things considered.
Now I’m off to the “Restaurants who are doing it right” thread to add Blu Grotto to the list. Good luck and enjoy if you go!
