text: We came to Bratalian for Restaurant Week 2014 and were very excited, given the excellent reviews. Although some aspects of our experience were good, overall it was weak enough that I don't think we'll be back. \n\nService: We called at about 5:15 to make a reservation, but the line did that fax machine screechy sound. Okay, then! We'll take our chances! On the ride there (it's about 25 minutes away from us), we worried that the place would be packed because of Restaurant Week so we called. The hostess was very accommodating and cordial, promising us a table. When we arrived, however, our luck with service changed. We didn't have a single server. Our order was briskly taken by one waiter, the food was dropped by another, and our dessert order was taken and delivered by the manager. The place was pretty busy, but other tables seemed to have good service. We felt overlooked and kind of like nuisances! The biggest issue is that they added an 18% gratuity and then taxed it. This is not typical procedure for Restaurant Week and I resented not necessarily having the gratuity added (I guess), but being taxed on it - I think - is in bad form. \n\nFood: From the Restaurant Week menu, we had the meatballs and fried calimari and zuchinni to start. Then, for our entrees, we had the linguine clams and the salmon with a lemon-butter sauce. For dessert, we had the profiteroles and the ricotta cheesecake. I thought the food was fine. The fried calamari didn't have much seasoning and was overly greasy; the dipping sauce on the side was a simple, plain marinara. If the calimari is going to be so plain, at least offer something a bit zestier for dipping. The meatballs were below average. They are VERY large, but, again, there wasn't much flavor. They were also a bit dense and dry; we were hoping for plump, juicy meatballs. The entrees were much better. The clams in the linguine were big and so flavorful. My salmon was probably the best part. The skin was crispy, the fish was cooked perfectly, the lemon-butter was succulent, and the sauteed spinach was a lovely compliment. If I come back, I would get the same entree. I was really looking forward to dessert because of other reviews, but I gotta say, the ricotta cheesecake didn't live up to the hype. I thought it was too dense and bread-y. The flavor was fine, but I didn't finish it because of the density. It was like a having a mouthful of wet sand! The profiteroles that my boyfriend ordered were good. The pastry was flaky and what can go wrong with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce?We had a half carafe of red wine along with our food, which gave us about 3 glasses total. \n\nAtmosphere: It's a small restaurant, but it's very cute. It's decorated perfectly and arranged so that it's size is not a problem. It's lively - lots of groups. There were a few slip-ups that night: a tray of dishes crashed, the smoke alarm went off in the kitchen. No major issues, really. Just added to the fun. The biggest \"atmosphere\" problem for me is the broken lock on the women's room door. I struggled to get out of that bathroom for like five minutes, which doesn't seem like a long time until that's the amount of minutes you spend involuntarily in a bathroom. I had almost resigned myself to my new life as a bathroom-dweller, about to start fashioning a bed out of toilet paper, when I finally escaped. Bratalian, you've got to fix the door. \n\nOverall, it was just okay. The service was unexceptional and simply got the job done. The food was fine. Unfortunately, that's not really enough to have me come back.