Al Dente has been on my 'to do' list for a while based on a friend's recommendation but one of the biggest put-offs for me is where it's situated - it's just so far off the beaten track for my liking and unless you live local, it's a pain to get to. On a Saturday night, I like to go for dinner near where I intend to drink and Easter Rd bars just aren't my scene - am I being snobby? Yes.. Yes I am.\n\nBack to the restaurant - I wasn't as impressed as I expected bearing in mind the other reviews I read on yelp. My pet hate (I have a few!) is when booking a table over the phone and the person you're speaking to implies they are completely fully booked but they can squeeze you in - at 6.15!! After internally 'harrumphing' at this antisocial time I hastily accepted the table, just feeling grateful I managed to get a table. \n\nSo.....you can imagine my annoyance when the restaurant was empty - literally! It was a bit cringe-worthy having a whispered conversation with my date in an empty restaurant with an overly attentive waiter who had nothing else to do. I apologised to my date more than once with \" I promise...they told me they were full!!\" I felt slightly conned especially when we were immediately ushered to the table by the window, in what I thought was an attempt to bring in passing custom. The restaurant started to fill up around 8pm, so they clearly did have other bookings for the evening, but not between 6.15 and 8pm.\n\nFood-wise, it was nice but not entirely memorable - the menu is very small and typical of authentic Italy with Antipasti, Pasta, Secondi and Dolce options. I had the Asparagus and Ricotta filo parcels to start which were quite nice, but as a non fish eater (yes, I know!) there wasn't a lot else on the menu I could or wanted to eat. I then went for the Lasagna which based on a previous review that stated \"the best lasagna I've ever tasted\" was a bit disappointing. Yeah I enjoyed it, but was it the best? No.\n\nWould I have rated this restaurant a bit higher if the ambiance had been different, my expectations were not set so high from outset and it wasn't empty? Probably. 'Meh' pretty much sums my overall experience.