Tonight was our 12th night in Italy. We've visited Rome, and small towns in Umbria/Tuscany (cycling our way through the towns, staying 1-2 nights in the smaller towns) At the end of our trip, we stayed in Florence for three nights. On the second night, we made a reservation at I'l Latini, on the recommendation of a friend.
Our visit was in Nov. Now, this was not the super busy tourist season, nor the dead-of-winter January - either of those would, in my view, give a slight pass to the service and quality of a restaurant in a tourist-oriented town.
If you have ever stood in line and enjoyed a meal in the US, at any of the following;
Cheesecake Factory
Olive Garden
TGI Fridays
Grand Lux Café
Or if you like Vegas, Disneyland, or spending time at any crowded shopping mall in the states - read on no more. Enjoy I'l latini. I am sure you will.
A few notes going into this. We have had consistently great to amazing food in both the big cities (Rome, Florence) and the smaller towns (Trevi, Torgiano, Pienza, Cortona, etc) I am not an Italy expert. This was my first trip to Italy. I consider myself a fairly well seasoned traveler, but not an expert foodie. I like to seek out and try good/interesting restaurants wherever I travel.
I'l Latini (for you Americans) is Cheesecake Factory of Italy. I am sitting here reading some other reviews, and scratching my head at how anyone, who has spent any time in Italy, could give this place a good review.
Again, this place was a recommendation from a friend, so we went with it, in spite of the warning signs along the way. She said I would enjoy how "so fresh" everything was. I tried to make an 8pm reservation, but was told only 7:30 or 9:30pm. Warning flags should have gone up, but I was tired after a long day in Pisa. We turned the corner to the place, and there was a line outside at 7:28pm. At the risk of sounding judgmental, or racist, let me just say that there were few Italians in line - another warning sign.
The door opened at 7:30pm, and the fact that we had a reservation did not seem to matter. We were shuffled, or really shouted over, across the restaurant, through a chain of purple shirted uniformed waitstaff. The only thing missing was their 16 pieces of flare.
My boyfriend and I debated leaving the moment we were seated. We knew what we were in for, but we figured, I owed my friend a "sure, we tried your place."
The menu, which was not available online, offered little to no description of the dishes. Pasta (the traditional "first course" on an Italian menu) was listed as "sampler platter of three pastasr" or something to that effect. I had to ask for details, and the waiter in the purple uniform knew details of only two of the three.
We ordered, he pirouetted, and three pastas were immediately on the table. On ours, and at the same time, on every other table of Americans, Asians, Germans filling the place. Now, again, I have had the luxury, the extreme fortune, really, of having 12 great dinners and some damn good lunches in this country.... So by now, I now know handmade vs machine cranked out, once-frozen pasta. The gnocchi was out of a machine and was not fresh. Nor was the Ravioli or the Penne. The pastas, as the soup course right before, were room temperature to cold. I mean it, both soup and pasta - barely warm.
We ordered the Steak Florentine - the restaurant's specialty - the dish that many restaurants in the area also specialize in.
Note: We had the extreme fortune to have the same beef dish the evening before at a restaurant that another friend recommended, Borgo Antico. If you are reading this far into this review because you are still somehow considering a meal at I'l Latini - STOP RIGHT NOW, BOOK AT BORGO ANTICO. Their steak Florentine is what you are looking for.
I like rare meat. I do. The night before, at aforementioned Borgo Antico, I thoroughly enjoyed my rare steak. Tonight, I had to literally say to myself "you've swallowed worse" as I chocked down the third and last bite of rare, but so thick (for show) steak, that the center was ICE COLD.
We asked quickly for the check, as we joked about getting pizza on the way back to the hotel.
12 days in, I think I have a feel for this country a bit. Our waiter brought the check, (hint, if a waiter brings a check quickly in Italy, it's not a good sign... just google this one for more.) As he put the check down, he said "service is not charged here, but if you want to, please leave cash for service."This, after cold steak, cold fried vegetables we didn't order, cold pasta and lukewarm soup, was the worst part of the meal.
Not once in the 24+ meals we have had in Italy, was a tip uttered, suggested, or even hinted at.
My boyfriend and I pondered this question as we waited for the check. How hard is it to fuck up Italian food, in Italy, in an Italian restaurant? I' Latini is the answer. read more