Ciro & Sal’s

This restaurant is cute and it feels homie but this is nothing that I would call home about. It’s food that can be found elsewhere in Massachusetts. The value is a little bit high because they overcharge for small portions.

Wife and I went for the early bird special, both of our meals were good, nothing above or below expectations based on the menu prices. The décor is warm and cozy, too bad there’s probably not a lot of people here in the winter, because I bet the atmosphere best suits warming up on a cold winter day.

Four of us went to Ciro and Sal’s Halloween eve. We’ve been to scores of P’town restaurants over the last 35 years. We always heard great things about C&S, but somehow had never been there. It was packed, the atmosphere was fabulous, with the fireplace going, a cozy feel, and very good service.
The unfortunate part was that our food was a huge disappointment.
The calamari appetizer was weak… tough, and done in a way that really missed the mark. The gnocchi was O.K., but nothing at all memorable.
Then came the main dishes. In fairness, both of our friends ordered the lasagna, and seemed pleased.
The bread was a common supermarket variety, served with flavorless olive oil. I ordered Pasta foriana, and my wife ordered chicken parm. My foriana was the worst I have had. I’m not sure what they did to it, but the pasta was dark, over oiled, and lacking the flavor this dish should have. I occasionally make this dish at home, far better than what I got.
My wife loves many traditional Italian dishes, and went with the chicken parm. The flavor was lacking and the meat was tough. She did not like it at all. I don’t mean to be too negative, but this part is the truth… she brought much of the dish home, and fed it to our dog. He loved it.
Even though the experience was negative, this place historically has a very good reputation, so perhaps we’ll give it a second chance. The décor is so cool, I just wish the food could be good.

An absolute MUST every time I’m in Provincetown. By far my favorite restaurant here. It is SOOOO cozy. The menu is amazing and I have NEVER had something I didn’t like. It’s never loud, and in the fall the fireplace is going and you feel like you’re wrapped in a warm cozy blanket. The prices are reasonable, and I noticed this last time I checked in I got a free dessert! I had the Chicken artichoke special. Absolutely delicious. Fast and friendly service. I’d go here once a week if I lived closer. Try not to miss going here… you’ll realize instantly what I mean when you enter the door.

This review in no way represents the quality of food. The entrees we ordered were delicious.
My fiancé and I went here for a nice meal while on a weekend getaway. We had reservations for 7, when we arrived (right around 7), we had to go to the bar until our table was ready.
Once seated, the waitress gave us menus, went over specials, then disappeared for 20 minutes. When she returned we orded, and my fiancé’s soup arrived prompty. Following the soup, her salad arrived. While eating the salad, she bit into a piece of saran wrap. We waited over 20 minutes before we grabbed the hostess and asked for our waitress. We both had empty glasses as well.
The restaraunt apologized, and gave us one round of drinks on the house, but then again, the waitress was nowhere to be found.
In the end, the food was excellent (minus the cellophane). The hostess was nice and courteous. The waitress was the main problem, along with the kitchen that sent cellophane in a salad out to a table.

I tend to have an early dinner, hence my exposure to early bird specials.
C&S has one daily between 5:30 and 6:30 pm. Soup, salad, entrée, dessert and coffee/​tea. There is always a «special» pasta which is not on the menu.
The soup was a large serving of vegetable minestrone (4)
Iceberg salad w/​tasteless dressing (0)
Pasta special (4)
Strawberry cheese cake (3)
C&S: Tip– lose the salad for a solid 4 stars from me.

The food was fantastic and the service was wonderful! Had a totally awesome experience.

We had out of town guests who decided at the last minute they wanted to go out… an issue in Ptown. We tried C&S in spite of a previous bad experience, having heard «it’s not as bad as it used to be.» It is. The server was good, the atmosphere charming, but dirty… just look at the carpet on the way in… yuck. The food was just not good, but would be serviceable if you had tried a dozen decent restaurants first. We’re not ever going back.

What was once one of the better restaurants in then is no longer
What happened? Small, flavorless entrees–
Mediocre service–
Overpriced for what you get
In a town with so many options it’s time to step up the game Ciros!
Pass and go to 9 Ryder

Despite the food being good, this was the worst dining experience I’ve ever had in PTown.
The host forgot about us, so we were seated far later than we should’ve been. Our table was in what could best be described as a cave, far away from the main dining room. It was hot, stuffy, and the waitress seemed to have a hard time finding us. The service was abysmal. We kept watching the couple at the table across from us get service so different from our own that it really highlighted what we were missing. They got bread with oil & cheese, while we only got a basket of plain, dry bread. They got a rundown of the evening’s specials, which were never mentioned to us. They got water, we didn’t. I spent my whole time there trying to cheer myself up by thinking that I’d never have to return again.

Scott was a competent waiter and the hostess was friendly on the phone and in person. Unfortunately the bus boy was pushy and kept trying to take things away prematurely even after being told not to! The sole reeked of fishyness and had to be sent back, but we were quickly brought a bland plate of cod fish to replace it. The stuffed pork tenderloin was dry and tough, but fairly tasty. The canoli we ordered as our free desert with check-​in was bland and tasted like freezer burn. Furthermore, we were seated near the restroom and people kept leaving the door open! Overall, not a great night even though a friend recommended this place.

It was my first time visiting and it will definitely be my last. I’m giving it one star for the old world feel of the downstairs dining room with a nautical theme. Our waiter was nice enough but extremely spotty. We waited a long time for apps and when they came they were overdone. The calamari was thick and wide like rubber bands the worst I’ve ever had. We sent the Calamari back to the kitchen we ask that be taken off our bill. We placed our order for entrées while we were placing our order two tables to the right us were seated while we were waiting for our Entrées, they receive their appetizers and the entrées and finished and paid their bills and we still hadn’t received our entrées I asked when or meals would be out. Our waiter said they would be out soon 20 minutes went by I asked where our meals were again he said that they were coming 15 minutes went by and still no meals for total time waiting from the onset of our order 1:20 mins passed. We had enough ask for our check paid it and was out of there I’ll stick with Ross’ or Front Street from now on

We «tried» to dine here Sunday night. Drinks were ordered along with calamari appetizer and clam chowder. After quite a wait the appetizers were served. The calamari was sent back, as it was equivalent to fried rubber bands. The chowder was good. We then waited and waited and waited for our entrees, which were not forthcoming after almost a one-​hour wait. We decided we couldn’t wait any longer and left. Interesting ambiance though, worth one star for that.

This was the worst dining experience in Provincetown on this years vacation. The service was deplorable. Empty water glasses and no bread and a very reclusive server. Huge delay between being seated and being waited on. We just kept hoping that somehow the food would compensate for the miserable service, but alas, the food was horrible too. The Chicken Parmesan was overcooked and wouldn’t have tasted good even if it was tender. The pasta was served on the side in a small bowl with about a tablespoon of tomato sauce, and a three tablespoons of warm water. I barely ate any of it. There was food left on everyones plates. It just wasn’t good. Period. Go elsewhere.

We are four last evening. This is my first time in P-​town. We decided to check this place out when we were walking on Commercial street the first evening. We decided on the early bird special of 4course dinner between 5.30−6.30. The restaurant is in an alleyway that you would have missed it if they didn’t put out a menu stand on the Main Street. My three companions chose chicken parm and I had calamari cantiani of squid and pasta with cream, lemon and garlic. We want to compliment that the vegetable minestrone was excellent. My companions had leftover chicken parm and pasta. I finished mine. The dessert was New York cheesecake slice with strawberries and sauce with whipped cream. They also had decaf coffee to top off as addition. The salad was plain iceberg lettuce with Italian dressing.
The negatives are that the place was stuffy as the evening progresses. You tend to heat up even though outside the premise was cool. The hostess had on a sweater in the beginning. When we mentioned that we were sweating, they tried to operate the wall air conditioner. There was another newer wall unit but it wasn’t operational too. We found out later outside the premise that the wires were exposed and was not hooked up yet. Our server Scott couldn’t turn on both units too. In the end, we the patrons had to open the windows to air the place. The windows had no screens so bugs can fly in easily. The whole place had great ambiance of an Italian place until a large group of twelve was present. The décor had lighting fixtures made from kitchen utensils such as a grater or a coriander or a basket for the light bulbs.

Okay, my world just got alot sadder. We went to Ciros and Sals tonight. And I’m disappointed to convey that this place has hit ROCK BOTTOM. We entered and noticed only two tables was taken. Totally unusual for a Saturday night in Ptown.
We used a Living Social coupon for our meal. We ordered two veal dishes. What we got was DISAPPOINTING.
Veal Marsala $ 26 (⁰⁄₅)
What I received was ridiculous. I should have sent it back. There were 3 SHAVED pieces of veal and very little mushrooms. Marsala wine wasn’t finished cooking. IT WAS AWFUL.
Veal Milanese $ 23 (³⁄₅)
What my partner received was ridiculous as well. It was CHICHEN Milanese. We both didn’t realize until a few bites. It was confirmed by our bill.
The are no saving grace about the experience except for the pasta that accompanied our entrées. We used two little bowls of cheese just to get through dinner. The NEW SERVERS were polite and friendly. That’s it.
Sorry no more C&S for us. This is so sad…

Not sure why all of the bad reviews… I have eaten here many times both in and off season. One time we even arrived just a few short minutes before closing and were welcomed warmly, although we were the only ones in the restaurant and I’m sure two seconds before everyone had been calling it a night. We have had excellent service, although on very busy nights it may be slightly slower than usual. The waitstaff has always been friendly and professional. The atmosphere is lovely, intimate and warm.
I’ve also never had a bad meal here — last night was our first visit this year and with all the recent negative reviews I was a touch nervous. However I was happy that we didn’t let them deter us. Everything was delightful as usual. In fact, I have family coming in soon and we will be bringing them here for what I am sure will be another delicious meal.
We had:
Mozzarella di Capriccio — the basil was to die for fresh
Pesce Adriatico — light and perfectly cooked. I had it with cod which is easy to dry out — it was light and flaky. It also comes with a side of pasta.
He had the Pesce special, which I’m sad to say I can’t remember the name; it was salmon with littleneck clams in a lemon/​butter sauce. also with a pasta side. He calls it «incredible»
We also had the tiramisu which was scrumptous.
Don’t let the reviews stop you from enjoying this delightful Provincetown staple.

It’s really too bad, this place has such a great atmosphere, but the food really let me down. For the starter I ordered the insulate di casa which is no more than iceberg lettuce with oil and vinegar, salt and pepper. It was one stop up from completely tasteless, they obviously used some sort of veg oil instead of olive oil and it was in desperate need of something to dress it up. I would pass on that salad going forward.
My main entrée was chicken Milanese, the meal came with a short kind of noodle on the side, like the kind you seen in chicken noodle soup, it was dressed up with an Alfredo sauce and was terribly salty. The chicken was most definitely a frozen breaded patti they pulled out of he freezer and threw it into the deep fryer. for the price of $ 28.00 The chicken was dry and completely tasteless. I felt like asking the waitress to throw some sauce on top and put it on a sub roll… adjust the price down to $ 5.99.

Horrible! Minestrone soup was brought out warm, not hot, and was overly salty. Ordered the Suppa de Vongole, described on thee menu as pasta with little necks, plum tomatoes, wine, and basil. The broth underneath the pasta was brown, and upon taking the first bite, the only taste was SALT. Nothing tasted like clams, tomatoes, basil, or wine, and there was NO fresh basil in the dish, only green flecks mixed with the tomatoes, which could very well have been canned tomatoes. The dish didn’t even look fresh.
Our waitress never told us what the soups of the day were, so I asked. She only mentioned Minestrone. Later, I heard another waiter tell his table that Clam Chowder was on the menu. Also, when I asked her for suggestions, she said, «every thing is good». Sorry, nothing was good, and I will never go back!

Grew up going to this restaurant and never wanted to give up on it but I think I have to. The past two times we’ve gone the service has been awful. Bringing food out cold, forgetting drinks, and giving us wine glasses straight from the dishwasher with water in them.
I really want ciro’s to be like it once was! The only fantastic part of the night was the amazing bartender upstairs. He was a young guy who was a Provincetown High alum. Very personable, will make any drink you want and look up how to make it. Made the best French 75!