text: Tonight was my first night checking out the Grotto, and after a bad service experience with another place close by, i was ready to eat anywhere at that point. \n\nI have passed the Grotto many times living in Scottsdale, and have often walked by smelling the aromas grazing my senses while strolling by...i love that they seem to always have their doors/windows open and the tables overlooking the street are fantastic.  \n\nAnyway, as Brett S. said , the service can be a little bad but it is definitely part of the charm.  Anyone who has every been to a real Italian \"joint\" understands this.  I was almost pleased with how traditional the feeling was, as in \"if you don't like it, get the heck out\" haha. It was also a very packed Friday night around 730, so i truly expected nothing but a wait anywhere we went, but we at least found a group of down to earth people entering and exiting wearing everything from jeans and a t-shirt like me, golf attire, to going out clothes. No matter your style, they treated you all the same.  Perfect!  (finding a place like that in Scottsdale is hard to do!)\n\nWith it being a Friday night and already having a bad experience with a previous place, i just wanted a square meal and to head home, so i didn't do as much sampling as i would have liked.  We started out with the calamari which came with a marinara sauce with a little kick to it.  It looks like they added red pepper flakes at the end, but it was a nice touch.  I had the house salad with vinaigrette dressing...and word to the wise, if you don't like onions, this salad (at least with the vinaigrette) comes with sneaky chopped marinated red onions in it...so beware! The blue cheese crumbles were a nice touch as well.\n\nMy friend ended up ordering the fettuccine alfredo and i chose the cannelloni. The fettuccine was much smaller portioned than i thought it would be, especially in comparison to my dish...so if you're very hungry, i would stray from this dish.  While normally a classic favorite, i didn't quite like the added spices to the dish, which seemed to be an Italian seasoning.  The alfredo sauce alone was to die for though.  The cannelloni was phenomenal.  Everything was cooked to perfection and flavored out of this world. \n\nPlease also note....when this food is done, it's coming to your table, steaming hot! So wait a few before you take your first bite because you'll probably burn your mouth in some way/shape/form! :o)\n\nOverall the Grotto really picked up my night, and being a yankee in a western state...it's nice to have a piece of home right around the corner.  I'll definitely be coming back!