Given it's convenience to my house, I was really hoping Taverna Fiorentina would be a great neighborhood Italian place; unfortunately, based on my two visits, it's not. Â There's a ton of potential here, but there are just too many misses. It's a smallish restaurant and judging by it only being half full both the Saturday nights I was there, I'd assume most customers agree.
First off, the service I've had in both my visits was very good, and I like the decor/atmosphere.
As for the food:
-They start you off with bread and olive oil/balsamic. While the olive oil and balsamic vinegar are both good quality, the bread is frankly lousy. Too dense and dry - it's bad enough it it makes me wonder what they're thinking serving it.
-$10 Caeser salad. Not a chicken caeser or other type of entree salad, but a small starter salad. I honestly ordered this because i was curious what a $10 caeser is like. Well, this was a $3 salad with a poached egg on top. And the poached egg, while a good idea, was not worth $7. And I was not a fan of their caeser dressing.
-Caprese salad - skip it. Average mozzarrella with sub-par tomatoes.
-Duck Tortelloni - I was very excited when I saw this dish on the menu as it sounds fantastic, but it was disappointing. Not bad, just a bit on the bland side.
-Chicken Parmigiana - in short, this was the type of chicken parm I'd expect to be served at a non-Italian restaurant.
-Tagliatelle with seafood sauce (special) - OK, but the sauce was way too salty.
-Grilled veggies (side item) - now this was outstanding. Sure, it's just grilled veggies, but they got this one about perfect.
-Gnocchi - very well done, and probably a dish I'd return for.
Overall, they do a good job on their homemade pastas, but the sauces, etc need work.
If the price point was a bit lower, I'd go 3 stars, but at this price point they need to be better. Dinner for 2 with 2 entrees, 1 salad, and 1 glass of wine (no apps or dessert) was $72 before tip...
$125 for a meal in a strip mall? Â I don't think so. Â My wonderful husband needs to examine the check better because we were so obviously overcharged. Â 2 pasta dishes, a salad, a glass of house vino, and tap water for $125? Â Come on! Â The waiter "had to check" to see if he had the wine. Â My only guess is that he didn't and substitute some $50/glass variety instead! Â The pasta was terribly greasy and obviously microwaved, by no means fresh. Â Had to wait at times for the waiter while we watched him take smoke breaks outside the front window. Â Ah, we won't be back...
Review Source:I would never have guessed that such a great Italian restaurant was hidden in a strip mall next to Kroger. This isn't just spaghetti and meatballs; this is real multi-course Italian food. I often overhear other patrons speaking Italian (imagine that, actual Italians in an Italian restaurant!). The restaurant is small, but often there's a group of 8-10, and they seem to be handled without difficulty.
It is a wonderful place for a date or to just sit and enjoy food and a bottle of wine for an hour or three... they are never in a hurry, and are happy to have you enjoy your meal at a leisurely Italian pace.
Glad to know this place is here since I travel through Vinings a lot. I only did a pick-up order so I can't say I had a full experience, but what I do know is about the pick-up service and the food.
The service - I don't know the name of the person who helped me, but she was extremely polite and attentive. So there were only 2 tables I saw open, but still. She's a keeper. She did the whole 9. I hate showing after a place tells me X minutes and I get there a little later on purpose and my food isn't ready or they skimp on everything - like hesitant to provide even one napkin. Everything was already boxed up, wrapped up, napkin-ed and utensil-ed up, sad that this is not common so often.
The food - Mussels were sweet as anything, I got some kind of seafood mix, so good. I really appreciated the bread given to me but it wasn't good to me. But at least it will save me some carbs. Speaking of carbs, their Tiramisu is really good. Thin and thick at the same time, you know that perfect consistency? Yum. I've been to Italy several times, with locals and the touristy spots. This is good food.
This is probably not the best representation of Taverna...but my Friday lunch experience at Taverna was just quite abysmal. And it wasn't the food...
The restaurant was freezing cold The group of five of us all had to wear our winter coats throughout lunch. The waitress seats us (four girls and a guy) but decides to serve a table of five members of the male gender who arrives about five minutes after us first. This table was given multiple baskets of warm bread, served water and had their orders taken before our table was even given the time of day. The waitress, when asked to turn up the heat because  it felt like we were in Russia during peak winter, told us that she would close an open door. There was no open door at all, she didn't shut anything and she didn't turn up the heat.
Generally, the wait staff at this establishment have been rather helpful and somewhat capable but I guess the new hire has a steep learning curve to climb in the "treating paying customers like paying customers" arena.
The food as usual was on point and very tasty. But the service for the day was just quite a mockery of the entire service industry. I hate attacking a single waitress on Yelp, but this lunch experience was a total blasphemy.
Very disappointed in the meal and the service. Â Received items in my salad that gave instructions to leave out. Cesare salad that had a supposedly poached egg that was virtually hard boiled. Â Lasagna was too hot to eat until all other party members had finished their meal. Â Waiter said not a problem because it is always that hot! Â Other member had tough spinach with way too many capers. Â Waiter had a lot of BS in answer to problems and the bill was incorrect. Â Have had good meals and service there in the past but this will make us think twice about going back.
Review Source:I visited this establishment recently and was pretty pleased with it. Â We elected to sit outside and enjoy the weather and the great service from Josh. Â He recommended a nice wine for our meal that we enjoyed. Â
The food was tasty but I wouldn't call it five star. Â There was a mishap with one of our dishes but Josh made sure to get it taken care of promptly and to our complete satisfaction.
If you are in the Smyrna area and Craving Italian, I would recommend giving this establishment a try.
what's with the hate on this homey local establishment?
it's not glazed with cheese or something that comes out of a frozen plastic bag but appreciate it.
Servers have been cool, nothing too negative or positive to say there my significant other swears by the seafood risotto, and I've had the lasagna and pork loin.
the last night I was there like always asked for some flash fried calimari and to please include some marinara sauce (it didn't come with it but ten minutes after calimari was already sitting on table and it came cold...grr)
all in all had a good time will be back
Ok, I am spoiled when it comes to Italian food but this place was pretty good. I liked that they weren't afraid to do something a little different. Like the Wild Boar Papardelle, which was good, the pasta was a bit too thick for papardelle, I had the Ravioli stuffed with duck and cheese in a porchini mushroom sauce which was awesome. Â We had the grilled calamari as an app and although tasty I was disappointed that there were only 4 calamari pieces with a salad. The meat and cheese plate was awesome, sage infused fontina was my favorite!Dessert was awesome too, they brought us a plate of everything Chocolate Mouse was my favorite with a touch of cinnamon. The staff was wonderful and a very private setting. Great for dates or just a little intimate dinner.
Review Source:I have mixed feelings about Taverna. Â The service was really excellent! Â However, the food was just - meh. Â Nothing special. Â They have a large wine list but I wasn't crazy about the two wines I tried, and my dish was very sub-standard, for Italian food. Â I was generally just a little bummed with the food/drinks.
Review Source:I give this place four stars purely based off customer service! Â I always talk about how I am so into customer service and very few get it right. Â With all seriousness customer service is what can keeps me coming back. Â
When I entered I was greeted by two hostess who held the door open, smiled friendly and were very welcoming. Â I was the late one of my crew of 6 who were already seated and had just placed their orders. Â My chair was taken out for me, a napkin placed in my lap, my water glass filled and the wine listed handed and explained to me before I could even greet my friends. Â I got a quick run down of the menu and my order was placed and I was brought to wines to taste.
My friends food arrived maybe 5 minutes before mine came to the table. Â I was impressed! Â Being that they ordered 10 minutes before me and I didn't have to suffer through watching them enjoy meals without me. Â I ordered the Orecchiette with Italian Sausage and Broccoli. Â It was pretty good. Â The pasta was a little under cooked but the sausage was flavorful (a bit spicy YUM) and the broccoli was crisp and fresh. Â There was nothing technical about my dish so not much for me to complain about. Â
After finishing our meal our dishes were quickly taken away and drinks refreshed. Â One of my friends did not like her dish during our meal and it was quickly replaced with soup and seltzer water to ease her tummy. Â We tried their chocolate mousse for dessert which was good. Â The mousse was thick and very rich. Â It seemed more like an ice cream and was topped with homemade whipped cream.
Overall, the food was average but the service was spectacular!
As you know, I participated in the Yelp massacre of this place 2 years ago. I'm a masochist, so I came back here again. I wanted to give them another chance because there are people who love this place.
When I walked in for dinner, I got flashbacks. I began to sweat thinking I have to eat pine-sol risotto, gritty salads, and bad food again.
I saw their gnocci and decided to order it. They assured me that they hand make their gnocci and was light and delicious. My wife ordered the pasta Sorentino and the house salad.
The house salad started off wrong. The dressing was drenched on.  It  reminded me of the super gritty salad they served us 2 years ago.
Then our pasta dishes came. It didn't taste that bad! Of course, I had better gnocci at other places, but it surprised me. It did have a light texture and did taste delicious. My wife's pasta dish didn't taste that bad either.
Overall, the food's rating jumped up from 2 stars to 3.5 stars. The service was still stellar. However, my only complaint was the price. Their dishes seemed expensive. But they are on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> so you can take advantage of that.
So -
My wife and I have been waiting to have reason to cross town to visit this Taverna. We've read so much about it, especially the reviews here on Yelp.
We're always a bit concerned when paging through the reviews finding several that are all 5-star when others are only 1- or 2-star. Something must be amiss.
Anyway, we're always excited to find a "true" Italian restaurant. Of the reviews we read, which were most all excellent BTW, we re-read with interest those postings by Daniel T. and Paolo. These really caught our eye.
Sadly, very sadly, we must agree with Daniel.
We found the wine list adequate, yet very overpriced for the offerings. Even by restaurant standards. You can bring your own bottle, but there is a $25 corking fee to be paid. So this option will only work out (based on the wine pricing structure bottle vs. glass) if you were to bring a very fine, expensive bottle with you. And the food here would not support such an expenditure.
One of our "rating guides" for an "Italian" restaurant is to order the Calamari as an appraiser. Should this work out, then we hope to see better later.
Last night when I "checked-in" on Yelp, I initially said that the Calamari was properly prepared or something like that. Yes, it "appeared" to be, and that's when I posted. However, when we tasted it, frankly, it was awful. Too thickly sliced rings, dipped in mystery, flavorless, unsalted  batter and completely undercooked. So much so that we were forced to send it back.
And, now came a replacement. Can you imagine our surprise to see, smell and taste the exact same thing as the first offering? Frankly, we were shocked. The bus boy asked after a bit if we were done and we said that we'd take it home  in a box so my wife could try and do something with it at home. Did I mention this conversation was in Spanish? Yes it was. And why does that matter or is it important? Well, just before the initial serving we had been conversing with Paulo the owner (originally from Roma, not Frienze - but he did live in Florence) in Italian. Yes, we speak both.
I mention this as all of the orders, cross talk and "kitchen talk" we heard was all in Spanish. Wonder where the cooks are from?
Main courses:
Myself - tagliatelle with pesto and grilled shrimp; and my wife the Flounder filet Limone over pasta.
My dish: borderline revolting. The grilled shrimp were just that: raw shrimp grilled w/o any seasoning, etc. Eatable, but not really. The pasta with pesto had so much mystery oil in it, I chocked on the first bite. After having to *ask* for a sprinkling of Parmesano, it was all down hill.
My wife: She announced that her's was properly cooked, had a wonderful amount of lemon and was delicious.
So, there in lies our conflict about the reviews. I guess it depends on what you order. Oh, and both our dishes were on the "special" menu.
Observations: I couldn't believe that the owner was not in the kitchen sampling the dishes/supervising preperation to insure they were correct. Also, if we had not used a Groupon for this meal, I'd feel very put out. I would not return, but my Italian wife is insistent so we'll give it another try when we're out that way.
I hope this helps. BTW, I do NOT agree that the service is lousy. The service and friendliness of the staff is excellent. They are very attentive but not in the way. From that standpoint, we enjoyed the evening. And most everyone's right. The place is authentic in style and feel. That's not the problem, the food is. The bar is wonderful and the mixed drinks are excellent and well prepared. Very friendly. I hope that Paolo will correct his food offerings. If he would just taste the plates before serving, he'd understand. His busing tables and greeting guests at the front door is not helping improve this food offerings.
Disappointing. Â First, the bread was not fresh. Â It was cut into bite-size cubes at some point hours before we arrived apparently, because by the time it got to me it was dried out. Â It even tasted stale.
The house salad consisted of spring mix and a cherry tomato on a small plate. Â Nothing that doesn't come out of the bag labeled "Spring Mix" I could have picked up at Kroger next door. Â That would've been ok, except we discovered when the check came that they charge a whopping $8 extra for a side salad.
I ordered one of the recommended specials, penne and salmon in a vodka cream sauce. Â My husband ordered chicken parmesan. Â Both of our meals were incredibly over-salted.
We didn't have wine or dessert...I think the bread made me realize I didn't want to blow a lot of cash here. Â
We had no issues with the service. Â The place was still busy when we left a little after nine. Â Maybe they were just having an off day. Â I'd like to say I'd give it another shot, but there are so many other great Italian restaurants in Atlanta that use fresh ingredients and don't over-season the food. Â We probably won't be back.
Mixed reviews.
The atmosphere is very cozy and it was a nice place for a romantic evening out with the hubby.
The bread was cut up into small pieces but was very fresh to dip in the balsamic/olive oil mixture. Â That was a highlight for us.
The drinks were mixed well and we enjoyed them.
My husband got a carbonara pasta with a side of the fresh made sausage. Â These dishes rocked and I will give them 5 stars.
My dish was a flounder with lemon pasta - the pasta and creamy sauce were so good, the flounder was well, blah! Â
We did not get dessert since we were so full from the bread.
We will go back and give them another shot, like I said they had a great atmosphere. Â I noticed they have a Monday night special with wine, perhaps that will be the night.
I had some hope for this place based in part on the fact that the chef /owner is from Italy.  There are also many very positive yelp reviews including one that said "The best Italian food in Atlanta".  Wow, that could not have been further from my experience.  I will say that we liked our server, although he wasn't very knowledgeable about their wine list other than the vast number of options they were out of.  I asked about a Donnafugata Anthìlia. He had no idea about it other than it was a white from Sicily. Well, it says that on the menu and I already knew that. To his credit he came back with a sample and said he looked it up on his i-phone because he said no one there knew anything about it.
Our appetizers were a chickpea and shrimp soup and a Caprese salad. Â The soup was decent enough if underwhelming. Â The Caprese was without seasoning but otherwise fine. Â
They had a tilapia piccata.  My friend was interested but did not want it with Tilapia. They also had cod and flounder so he asked if they could do it with flounder.  Which they did.  I ordered seared scallops on lemon-seafood risotto. Both entrées were north of $20 by a few bucks. Â
My risotto was among the worst I've ever had. Our server brought a bowl of parmesan to the table and asked if I wanted cheese on my food. Â In Italy they will look at you like a stupid American if you ask for cheese on your seafood. Â Because I subscribe to the no-cheese-and-seafood rule and I am not a stupid American (at least not in that regard) I declined. I noticed immediately that it consisted of badly broken grains of rice like I've seen at crappy Mexican restaurants. Â Risotto should be creamy and this was the opposite. Â It sat in pool of greasy melted butter and had little flavor of lemon. Â The "seafood" in the seafood risotto was simply calamari. Â The scallops had a good sear on them and were nicely cooked. They were the only thing I could eat after two bites of the risotto. Â
My friend's flounder was rubbery, looked more steamed than pan seared and was very fishy. Â Our server was very nice and offered to bring something else and suggested the veal piccata. Â This was not much better. Â The veal also looked like it never touched a pan. Â The sad thing is there are countless pizzerias in this country that do a better job with this dish and don't charge $24.
We really liked our server and hope he gets a job in a better restaurant that understands how to cook and how to conduct a proper pre-service meeting to educate about new wines and to tell them that Italians do not put cheese on seafood.  I considered giving this two stars but the entrées were so bad I just couldn't bring myself to do that. For two apps, two entrées, and a bottle of wine our tab was $120 with tax and tip.  Atlanta is way too big a city with way too many dining options to go to Taverna Fiortina.  $120 will take you to heaven at La Pietra Cucina.  Make the drive.
(There are some reviewers that put information about themselves in the review that add credibility to their opinions like they are from Europe or I'm Italian or something like that. Â Without taking anything away from them, it is possible that the restaurant had a really, really, off night on my visit, though I find that hard to believe, I feel compelled to add my own "credentials". Â I am an Italian American from the New York area and also a Le Cordon Bleu Chef. Â My training includes fine dining Italian in New York and a stint in a restaurant in Campania, Italy. Â I have been to Italy numerous times.)
Best Italian food I've had in Atlanta... hands down!!
To start off - I'm originally from Germany and I have been to Italy many many times and have eaten at some fantastic places. This has to be the most authentic Italian food I've had in a LONG time. And definitely the best Italian food in Atlanta!
I saw that some people gave it weak reviews and I really don't understand that.... at all!!! Were we at the same place??
I went there for my birthday with my boyfriend. We were greeted very friendly and seated immediately. We were brought two glasses of prosecco since it was my birthday (can't beat that).
I have to admit, the place is small, so it is definitely more suited for smaller parties. I would expect a party of more than 8 people to feel crowded. The atmosphere is very rustic. Even my boyfriend who just came back from his first trip to Italy said it feels like he's in Italy. I liked the TV in the corner that was playing areal shots from different cities in Italy.
Our waiter was great and gave us some fantastic recommendations.
We had the mussels as an appetizer. Get the one with the white wine sauce. The mussels were cooked perfectly... not all rubbery as you get them in many chain restaurants. My boyfriend literally ate the sauce with a spoon. Â I had to stop him from just picking up the plate and licking it... :)
For entrees - he had the veal agnolotti (aka fancy ravioli)... delicious!! And I had the scallops on top of the lemon seafood risotto. The risotto was FANTASTIC!!! I couldn't get enough of it. It had whole calamari in them... non-fried. If you're one of those people who get freaked out by the tentacles, this may not be your dish, but you would definitely miss out!! The scallops... YUM!! I'm salivating just thinking about it.
Yes, it's on the pricey side, but I've paid about the same amount (or more) at restaurants with a lot poorer food.
At the end of our meal, the head chef (Paolo from Florence) came and said hello to us... I got to practice a bit of my Italian skills. What more can you ask for?
Top it all off with a tiramisu with a candle in it and some limoncello... the perfect dinner experience!! I would highly recommend this place.
Yes, Yes, YES! Â I've been looking for such fine dining mixed with affordable prices and exquisite service. I almost feel like I've gotten more today that I could have expected close to home!
 Allow me to start off by saying that though a small place, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a romantic evening or a relaxing lunch for an affordable price who has great taste in Italian food. I was warmly greeted at the door and the waiter was very charming and very well groomed and handled his dish descriptions and presentation of bread and plates with noticeable care.  I tried and would recommend the Tilipia dish in white wine sauce over spinach that kept me wanting more and having to mind myself not to rush the meal.
 My lunch partner was also impressed with the Pollo (Chicken) Penne dish. Both our meals very filling and worth a second trip!
 The tiramisu was real, and made fresh which would make other Italian dining places blush, I believe; it's not soggy and it really tastes like it was just made and comes with a tasty raspberry sauce drizzled over the top. Nice touch!  The chocolate mouse was so rich, I found that even a bite and a half was worth taking home!
 Now what tipped me over to give the final star; this place truly does think of everything when it comes to what kind of traffic they tend to the best.  When I walked into the bathroom, though small and for a single person, it was very much clean and designed to make anyone feel at home, with a ceramic washing bowl as the sink and a nice, vanilla scent greeting your nose.  Not to mention, I noticed the sink lined with a few bottles of name-brand mouthwash AND small paper cups! This is very handy for those looking forward to a romantic goodnight kiss after eating garlic. They really DO think of everything!
 All in all, it's worth taking my husband back to and telling all my friends. And I would recommend any eyes reading this review to take the sound advice of a stranger, do your taste buds and self a favor, and Check This Place OUT! You will not regret it!
Unless you own at least 3 Chanel handbags and drive a Lexus, I would avoid this place like the plague.
We bought a coupon through LivingSocial, so it wasn't too hard on the wallet, but I would never ever go back without a coupon and, frankly, I would never ever go back, period.
We were barely greeted; the hostess asked if we had reservations, then plopped some menus down on the table and took off. There were no pleasantries or niceties from anyone at this restaurant, and half the time another waiter had to refill our waters because our waitress was too busy schmoozing with the aforementioned "Chanel handbag" type and the regulars.
The bread was cold and on the stale side (it actually hurt to bite into one of the pieces). The food arrived quickly enough; I had the Penne Braccio di Ferro and Shrimp, which was average but nothing special, and my fiance had steak, which was also average. Certainly not worth $18 and $24, respectively.
All the while, our waitress was downright unattentive, and when she actually bothered to come check on us or get us water, she was huffy and rude. We had the Tiramisu for dessert... strawberry sauce? Why? Furthermore, it was a tiny piece, where I saw no ladyfingers, and there was no taste of liquor... I probably could have made something myself that was a little more impressive.
We left a 12% tip, as the service was minimal and begrudging at best. We signed the receipt and got out of there ASAP, only to have our waitress run out to the car and say that we never signed anything. In all reality, I think she was so shocked to see such a "low" tip amount and wanted to make sure we had written the right thing. After going back and forth with her for 2 or 3 minutes (literally), telling her we most definitely signed our "merchant copy" of the receipt, we finally signed it again, with an even lower amount. She glared at us and walked away without even so much as a "thank you" or "have a good night". I'm under the impression that we shouldn't have even left a tip at all. If there were to be a next time, I doubt we would, if presented with the same waitress.
Poor service, gourmet prices for average food. The only thing that was nice about this place was the ambiance... other than that, the entire experience was a big failure. The waitstaff definitely pampers those who flaunt their money (the table in front of us got their calamari in record time, with an extra ravioli appetizer presented to them "on the house", as we overheard, and the table next to us whose husbands are well-known businessmen were doted on constantly); don't waste your time with this place.
I keep seeing bad reviews about this restaurant, but i don't really know why.
I mean, i'm italian (real) and this is the best italian restaurant i've ever found in Atlanta.
Just go back and try the special menu (not the regular one. There is a special that changes often). It is a little bit expensive, but it's worth it, to me.
Anyway, there are coupons everywhere online, usable in Taverna Fiorentina (try <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> or sometimes also halfoff depot).
Thanks to one of those purchase-a-coupon-to-a-local-restaurant-thingies, we ended up dining at Taverna Fiorentina on a recent date night.
In a shopping center tucked away from the maddening Peachtree Street, etc., this restaurant is a dimly lit quiet oasis for dinner. Â I did watch the video of Italy during the entire meal. Â How could I resist the beauty of Italy? Â Oh how I wish I could have deep, deep pockets and oodles of personal time to traverse all of picturesque Italy. Â Swoon.
Well, we ordered our food after reviewing the offerings. Â The octopus appetizer states that it is pounded. Â Indeed, it was first thinly sliced and then, probably, pounded paper thin and decoratively lined on a white plate like a doilie. Â Once we got it unstuck from the plate and scooped some of the shredded salad served with it, it was enjoyable. Â I'd advise y'all to PASS on this appetizer as it is highway robbery to charge $10 for doilies.
I'll refrain from sharing the prices since we fortunately had a coupon. Â I had a Chianti along with my Pappardelle al Cinghiale. Â The dish was very good. Â I enjoyed it. Â The cinghiale (wild boar) could easily have been tender stew beef and I honestly wouldn't have noticed it. Â I told our attentive waiter, Jack, exactly that.
My husband had the Spaghetti Cartoccio. Â He enjoyed his dish. Â It tasted great. Â Basically, it's cooked pasta and seafood cooked in paper.
Dessert brought us to the bread pudding which was nice.
I wouldn't stretch so far in saying it's like we were transported to Italy, per se (even if I have never been) but we did have a flavorful and relaxingly quiet meal in a nice restaurant.
Would I go again? Â I would. Â I'd look to find a coupon and would try the tiramisu.
I went there in Jan 2009 with my bf.
We got fried ravioli as an appetizer and they "accidentally" managed to serve it with some Tabasco wing sauce instead of the marinara (which is a total mystery since nothing on their menu has Tabasco in it...). The actual ravioli was awful, and when they brought out the marinara it must have been "fresh" from the can.
The spinach lasagna entree was a poorly prepared heap of frozen food aisle spinach. I am really not that picky, but this was verging gag reflex. They offered a seafood risotto to make up for it, which was undercooked with some horrible bitter lemon squeezed over it. Not that it was even prepared at my request, it was a "mistake" that they tried to pass off to us. For all I know, it was originally someone else's dinner.
The server wouldn't directly answer my questions about whether the ingredients were fresh, which was just offensive considering the high prices. The only reason we left a tip was in the hopes that it would trickle down to the Hispanic staff that were literally doing all the work. My "waitress" did not serve a single item to the table nor did she check on us. She took our order and left the obviously "lower level" staff to get their hands dirty. She then proceeded to call them "the Amigos" and tried to blame them for our bad experience. It was socially/racially awkward, insensitive, and uncomfortable.
I really CANNOT believe anyone could call this authentic or enjoyable.
Seriously, go somewhere else.
Pros: nice lighting
Cons: everything else
This place has great Italian food. It has become one of our favorite lunch places. They have reasonable prices for lunch from $7-$15 for lunch entrees. They have Italian pasta dishes and paninis on the front of the menu and pizza on the back.
They start out by serving you water and toasted squares of bread. The bread is just a little warm and is served with oil and balsamic in a dish.
The Italian pasta dishes are really good. I usually get the Penne Pollo, which is a delicious dish with penne pasta, chicken pieces served in a pink sauce with sun dried tomatoes and spinach.
We had the desserts a few times and they were good. They have Moose, Tiramisu, and a few others we haven't tried.
We've also been there for dinner, then the menu turns a bit more expensive with different dishes than lunch.
Mamma Mia!
For it might have been some Russian,
Some French, or Turk, or Prussian,
Or perhaps Italian?
Hard to tell, honestly. The interior is nice and the video playing on the television reminded me of being in Italy, but that was about all that reminded me of Italy. The "freshly" baked "bread" tasted like it was fresh from a Medici bank luncheon. I am used to crappy hard bread at a lot of Italian places, but they went out of their way to say it was being freshly baked in the oven and that was why it took awhile to come out. The oven must have been in Italy and instead of an oven was actually just a Sicilian warming a bread basket by sitting on it while on the boat bringing it over.
I opted not to do the prix fixe menu as I rarely eat desserts, salads, or appetizers. I declined to eat any of the antipasti because I did not want to eat food I was not paying for. I had tried the Wild Boar dish at a wine tasting and it was pretty good, but at this dinner I opted for a chicken dish with mozzarella served over some spaghetti. The chicken was a bit dry, but I mostly liked it. My main problem with it was price. The dish was $18, but it really was like something I could get at Figo for about $6. Just way overpriced for about everything.
As I noted earlier I opted not to have dessert so I cannot comment on that. Reaction from the people seemed mixed.
The server was a little overwhelmed but I think overall he did a great job. I was never without water and I drink water pretty fast at meals. They did separate checks for eighteen people which was awesome. I was about to give it a solid three stars but then I got the check. I was charged for an $8 salad I did not have but they happily took it off which was good. In addition, they also charged every person who did not do the pix fixe $4 for antipasti. If you are going to do something like that you need to let us know BEFORE the meal, not after. I purposely did not eat any of it only to be charged later without being informed of the policy that they just made up. Lame.
Dang..... I hadn't seen this much unnecessary vitriol since Hilary ran for president.
Stopped by here for lunch today and had a very pleasant experience. I would definitely go back - either for lunch or dinner.
I had the creamy pasta dish with peas and prosciutto, and it was delicious! A little decadent for lunch, but whatevs. For what it's worth, I can tell you now that between Chinese at Tasty China and this place, the meal here is much more conducive to surviving a super tough work-out. I don't know what it is about Chinese, but it is my arch nemesis when it comes to any kind of athletic performance.
But I digress. Back to food. So the sauce was a tad on the salty side for me, but I'm more sensitive to salt than most people. The pasta was obviously homemade and perfectly cooked. They were generous with the prosciutto and the portion. The peas were done just right. Other than the slightly salty sauce (which, again, is most likely just me), this is one of the most delicious pasta dishes I've had in a long time.
I was afraid that I'd be in a food coma the rest of the afternoon, but I was pleasantly surprised. I just made sure that I had plenty of water to drink - because as you may know, dehydration is the #1 cause for fatigue - and I was pretty darn alert, unlike some other people in class today.
This restaurant is very tiny - seats maybe 40, 50 people at the most, and therefore is NOT suitable for a large group. I'd recommend a group no larger than 4, actually. Check it out if you're in the area. I'm very glad that I did.
A solid 4.
Yikes! I was a part of the big yelp party that came to this restaurant. To be honest, I didn't even know this was a yelp event and wouldn't have come if I had known the party was so large. 18-20 people are hard to accommodate but, I really enjoyed the people on my end of the table.
About the food... Like, Kit, I am putting my yelp Elite status on the line by giving it a 1 star review. This has to be the worst Italian that I've ever had. Add to that a bill of $45 dollars. I was not happy. Here's the break down. I didn't want to order the prix fixe menu as all the items had meat in them. So, I ordered off the regular menu. I was still brought out a salad from the prix fixe menu that was drowning in some sort of lemony salty dressing. I took two bites and could go no further. I think my eyes actually watered from both the tartness and the salty kick. Yuck!
The meat and cheese appetizer was descent. Being as you could probably get it from your local grocer, it was hard to mess up. Slap a few slices of meat and some cheese on a wooden paddle and there you go.
From the menu, I ordered the Spinach and Feta Cannelloni. Again, hard to go wrong with this dish, right? Wrong! There were lemon undertones in this dish. Gross. Just plain bad. The flavors didn't mix and I have to say I could not help but to shake my head. Emily R must have been watching me because my facial expressions were hard to contain. Surprise. Disappointment. Disgust. Confusion.
I opted to pass on the dessert.
I can say that the decor and atmosphere of the restaurant are very nice. And our waiter was great. He did an excellent job with such a large party. Splitting the checks for a group so large was a nice touch.
Will I return? There's no way in hell. $45 dollars for food that was probably worth $10 is not something that I will ever do again. My advice: less lemon, less salt, more spice.
I was with the large group of yelpers and was at the 1 star end of the table. My evening began kind of badly because somehow, even though I RSVP'd for the event over a week before, there wasn't a seat for me at the table. I think I should have taken that as a sign and just left because it only went downhill from there.
As I waited for a pair of women to finish so we could annex their table, I tried to ignore how awkward it was to just stand there and tried to focus on the video of Italy, which took me back to the happier days and much better  restaurants from my trip to Italy last year. But finally they got up and I was seated. Silverware followed a few minutes later, but I didn't get a bread plate until the bread was all but gone about 20 minutes later.
This was also when they brought the antipasti, not wanting to eat it off the table cloth, I just had 2 olives and a dab of cheese when the finally brought the room temperature "fresh from the oven bread". If I'd known I was going to get charged $4 for antipasti that might have come from Publix, I would have eaten a lot more.
Because I don't eat salad and the desserts didn't appeal, I just ordered from the menu and got the hay stack pasta. It was spinach pasta and egg pasta with cream sauce and thin tough pieces of ham and peas, which I left out. The sauce was ok, although a bit gluey and not terribly flavorful, but the pasta was awful, one bite was beyond al dente and the next would be just a mouthful of mush, save for the jerky like shreds of ham. I quit after about 5 bites.
Luckily I was entertained by the expressions of my dining companions as their food came out or as they took their first bites. That was really priceless and the only thing that qualified this place for 1 star (that and the inability to give fewer).
One other note, they don't serve brewed iced tea here, they serve that fountain stuff and they don't warn you. When I switched from that to Coke I was hardly surprised at that point to get a glass full of flat soda, just because that is how the night was going. Luckily I didn't really want to drink it because drink refills, even water, were few and far between at our end of the table and only came when requested repeatedly.
Would I go back? Only if there were no other restaurants in Atlanta and there were no sheep...
That's $25 I will never get back...
I have to say I'm a little taken aback with the flurry of bad reviews that have poured in for this place recently. Â It sounds like there was some yelp group that went here and had a bad experience. Â That's surprising to me since I had a pretty good experience here. Â But I'm also not surprised since I feel like this place is not suited for large parties at all though - it's a small, intimate place. Â If the food was really that bad for that group well I guess that's no real excuse but still...
I went at the end of May (I've been backed up on reviews for a while) for my birthday celebration and had a great time. Â The restaurant itself seems a little out of place in that strip mall, but they manage to make it work I think. Â The service was good throughout the meal. Â
The bread we had was pretty good. Â We split a pea & prosciutto pasta dish and the bistecca alla Fiorentina. Â The pasta dish was really good - rich, creamy, cheesy. Â One of the better pasta dishes I've had out in a while. Â I'd definitely get this one again. Â I was really excited to see the steak on the menu as I'd had it before in Florence and it was fantastic there. Â The steak here was pretty decent, but slightly disappointing compared to what I was used to/expecting. Â It wasn't as large as I've had before and the meat wasn't seasoned or warm enough. Â Don't get me wrong - it was good, but it just wasn't particularly special. Â The steak was served with a little salad on top (decent) and two sides - we chose the potatoes and the spinach. Â Both of the sides were pretty tasty, but the portions were small. Â We also got the tiramisu which I thought was great. Â I think you guys got screwed - we got a huge chunk (there was no fruit) and it was pretty dang good. Â One of the better ones I've had around here for sure. Â
Overall, everything was very good. Â It's too far out to go with any frequency whatsoever for me, but I'll definitely try to hit it up again. Â It's surprising that everyone in the big group seemed to not enjoy it much, but maybe they had problems with the large group or just had an off-night in the kitchen. Â I definitely recommend giving that place another shot without a big group and not just writing it off because of that bad group experience. Â I'm just sayin'...
3.5
I came with a large group and like Angela M, I'm thinking maybe this place is more suited for an intimate dinner for two. Based on our experience last Friday, they need more work on handling large groups. The food quality was disappointing (esp. for what we paid) and the lack of consistency in delivery was laughable, hence the two stars.
Food quality - the terribly salty "Insalata Mista" contrasted big time with the very bland "Wild Boar Pappardelle" that tasted more like beef stew w/ pasta noodles. I got the feeling that since a lot of the folks at our table ordered the same thing, our dishes were probably put together quickly w/o the usual care & thought to make the dish special - which was disappointing considering this restaurant is upscale & pricey.
Delivery - salads were presented in bowls, plates, it seems whatever place settings were available. Tiramisu portions varied from small to big enough to feed a family of 4, few strawberries to A LOT of strawberries, a little strawberry drizzle on one corner of the plate to a lot of drizzle all over the plate. The dessert could've been the save but instead became the most laughed about part of our dinner. Honestly the company was what saved this dinner - thanks, guys.
Came here with the yelp party, and apparently the company biased me more than the others, since I thought it was a fine way to spend a Friday night.
So yes, I agree with most of what has already been said: antipasti was delicious - particularly the cheese and the artichokes; the salad was salty (and from sea salt, making it gritty); the lemon risotto was creamy and tangy with shrimp (tails removed but heads still on), and the tiramisu portions were highly variable. Â Service was great, particularly considering that you're dealing with "snobby, amateur food critics" who aren't afraid to ask for anything.
My two cents: good looking wine list with lots of options, obviously heavy on the Italian wines. Â It was a good deal that they set up with Tulie. Â While the server was working his hardest and did a good job catering to us, he did seem to get flustered and annoyed with us, particularly as the night wore on. Â Also, since I got one of the larger portions of tiramisu, I was blinded by the sugar (though not the strawberry syrup on top, which I ate around..).
I would definitely recommend trying TF again, though in a smaller group. Â I honestly think that it was just a function of dealing with such a large and demanding group. Â The pairs and foursomes leaving from our room seemed quite happy. Â One of a foursome actually came up to Jimmy and said that we'd been very well-behaved for such a large group. Â I wonder if the staff felt the same way.
I've been sitting here pondering what I should right.I mean the folks at the restaurant were beyond accommodating when they knew 16+ people were coming as a group.  I was able to contact the restaurant manager Jasmine and Will and they even put together a menu for me.  That was something I truly have to give the restaurant  credit.  The bills were handled in a nice almost smooth manner... but what I had tasted at the Wine Zinfandel event catered by the restaurant was not exactly like what I had eaten.
Bread Basket of Italian style Foracca bread was not bad, nice and moist with olive oil.
Anti pasta of Meats and cheeses- Well you can't really go wrong on this, overall it was good, I really liked the blue cheese  that had a brie texture,  Broken Parmesan, Goat Milk Cheese, Marbled Meats, olives, artichokes. All were great!!
Green Salad w/ Green Tomatoes and Lemon Vinaigrette - OK way too salty and lemony, there was not a hint of anything for this- pretty much lemon,oil, and alot of salt. I basically thought WOW how can you mess this up so badly? I was quite disappointed-
Wild Boar Ragu w/ Pappardelle (papadelle al Cinghiale)- Well what they should have left out in the salad, they left out here.. pretty bland. Â Plating was inconsistent. Â The person to my left was eating the same entree as me, and had less pasta on his plate. I had a bit more pasta and the meat was not nicely seasoned like what I had remembered. Â Sauce was bland, and overall not very intriguing for a red sauce. Â Meat was not as tender, was more like pot roast texture ( you know how stringy pot roast can get??) rather then a melt in your mouth meat Ragu.
Tiramisu/  Chocolate Mousse choices for dessert/ as well as a cannoli - It just kind of went down hill even further after I saw the desserts come out.  My Tirasmisu looked like it was homemade (not in a good way either).. Tiramisu looked like it was formed in a  Pyrex of the 8 x10  and messily plated. Random strawberries were thrown on the plate, and then drizzled w/ a strawberry puree.  Never had it plated up w/  berries on top and sauce /puree on top ! Maybe a mint leaf and some whip cream?  Italian "authentic" was not what I got.  No liquor taste, layers of "semi moist" cake a bit of coffee , not even espresso  (no lady fingers in site), w/ a mixture of what tasted like whip cream and cream cheese. NO taste of a hint of alcohol which is normally cognac of brandy of some sort.  Tasted like a fast whip  tiramisu recipe from <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fallrecipes.com&s=59bcd58e2f8d0b8ee07469cd050304a052648c62d30b661142f176e748f3caae" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://allrecipes.com</a>, definitely not Grandma's Italian recipe. Plating was TERRIBLE. This place is suppose to be a bit upscale.  Sizing of the slices of Tiramisu varied from normal size to gigantic, pretty much like someone was cutting it up at a party  (not professional) . I was a bit horrified- even if this is preset menu dessert. You gotta be kidding me if Kroger next door can do better on dessert!!
Chocolate mousse- well it tasted like Jello Pudding, texture was not a mousse at all.. random "cool whip" was placed on top. All dished up in the cups that were identical to our water glass! I mean serious??
Cannoli- I had to try it.. no taste in the filling of moscapone cheese, the wafers were good, but the dish lacked in serious sugar, vanilla, and all things that make this dessert awesome! Hannah had to add some sugar to it ( I have a photo to prove this!)
I don't know if this is due to a large party- and a preset dinner menu... But for me execution of 1/2 of the preset was a mess.
What added to the insult was a 4 dollar ser charge for folks who ordered the menu items, and not the preset. Â It was very confusing why they would be charged 4 bucks- maybe they assumed everyone was eating the anti pasta? Â I dunno! But an apology was noted on the charge, but for me, it should have been mentioned when the persons were ordering that "hey so we had a menu set up for your party- you can ordered from the menu- but 4 dollars will be added to your check, just wanted you to know." Nope nothing was mentioned until the end, with an apology.
I feel it's a bit sad that I am writing up this review, I mean the concept is there, the execution isn't. Â I wish I had a 4 star rating. I want very much to come back, to try the food without 20 people, and the pressure of serving a large group all at once. But the thing is, if you are a resto, you should be prepared to do it all, be it 2 people per table, or 20 pple! Preset menu, menu, or occassional "off menu" should all be executed with grace, and definitely technique, especially if you are planning to charging 19+ bucks for entrees, 12+ bucks for anti-pasta, Â and an average of 8 bucks for a small salad.
I think service was great, they tried very hard- but what leaves a lasting impression is  still the food.
1.5 star for food.
3 stars for service( the check took 40 minutes to come out) took awhile
But I won't sugar coat this review. When You come to a resto, you expect good food, especially if you are walking away with a $$$ Bill.
Thanks for Tryin
On a recent Thursday evening visit we found the restaurant completely empty. There are 2 dining rooms - one is open to the kitchen and somewhat noisy. We chose the other room which is downstairs and a little more secluded.
The wine list is extensive and very heavy on reds. We chose a bottle of the 2005 Chianti which was one of the better Chiantis I've had, not too dry. They do allow you to bring your own wine, but the $20 corkage fee is a lot in my opinion.
Although we skipped appetizers, my bf ordered a small salad. For $8 it is very small, definitely NOT for sharing. If you are intent on having a salad, I would forgo the regular  house salad in favor of the Barbabietola - beet salad with bacon, walnuts, and raisins which is probably a little more satisfying.
As far as our food, I thought my lamb shank was tender and tasty. The mushroom risotto that came with it could have been a meal on its own! My boyfriend's skirt steak, was terrific - tasty and melt in your mouth tender. Â
Although we were full, we couldn't resist dessert. Â Our waiter recommended the Tiramisu. He said it is the chef's grandmother's recipe. We liked it, but thought grandma should lighten up on the chocolate powder.
Service was great and very attentive but not obtrusive. I do think it is a little expensive with pastas at $20 and main dishes at $25.
This was our second visit to the restaurant. It was fabulous again! A real surprise from pulling up to the side of a shopping center. We didn't have much hope for this the first time we visited, but despite the location, its a great place not to be missed! We had the pappardelle with wild boar ragu and the penne quattro fromaggi. Both were wonderful dishes with homemade pastas that we would order again. The menu is very creative and fresh with a variety of Italian dishes that are not the usual standard fare. The service was spot on as well. The space is a bit small, but better than some Midtown and Highlands spots!
Review Source:Excellent! Â This restaurant ranks as #2 in my list of favorite Italians...right underneath Babbo in NYC. Â But hey it says something when you're up there with Mario Batali. Â Service was some of the best, everyone is friendly, you don't ever feel like you're at a snooty restaurant. Â Our waiter/sommelier was so attentive and was able to find us the perfect wine. Â Yes, the restaurant is small but that is what I love about it. Â It definitely has a comfortable and laid back European feel to it. Â So happy I live near this restaurant....I plan on becoming a regular!
If you have kids, I believe they eat for free on Sundays...
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