Unfortunately, it wasn't a wonderful experience. I had read excellent reviews and was very positive, especially about the staff, but unfortunately, in my experience, I found none of this.
There were two of us and we wanted to have lunch before heading to the Sentiero del Cuore. We arrived around 2:20 PM, without a reservation. We went directly to the outdoor courtyard, where for about 5-6 minutes several waiters passed us by continuously without anyone asking us. I decided to stop one, who invited me to ask inside. Inside, I asked for a table for two, preferably outside, but was told that the outside area was full.
Noticing that there were two or three beautiful tables with covered benches free, I assumed they were reserved and agreed to sit inside. After about 5 minutes, seeing that everything outside was still free, I asked another waitress for an explanation. Her response left me speechless: "Yes, it's true, they're free, but today there are only three of us, so we'll try to seat people inside for the staff's convenience." An absurd conversation to have with a customer. I insisted on sitting outside, since we'd driven an hour and a half and wanted to enjoy the beautiful day and the garden. I was told to ask the waiters outside, assuring me they'd seat us.
I went back outside, and for another 15 minutes the same scene repeated itself, with a single waitress pacing back and forth. Initially, she apologized, saying, "I'm coming now, guys," but after a quarter of an hour of total indifference, darting past us, she said, "Sorry guys, but I really can't." At that point, I lost patience. Leaving a customer in the middle of a field without paying attention is unacceptable. I went back inside and, finding the three waitresses I'd spoken to all at once, I said firmly, "Listen, excuse my French, but I asked for a table outside. First, they told me it was full, then you admitted the truth; I've been waiting outside for 15 minutes, and no one's paying attention to me. What should we do?" The response? "Your appetizer is ready. We were waiting to serve you inside... but if you want outside, we'll set the table for you now."
Moral of the story: it's 3:00 PM. A full 40 minutes just to be seated.
The appetizer (very simple, as you can see from the photos in other reviews) arrived around 3:00 PM, and we finished it in less than 10 commendable minutes. The only downside: our four bruschettas were literally just bread and oil, with no tomato sauce or anything else (I'd never seen bruschetta like that, and in fact, the table next to us had topped them). From that point, another very long wait: about 40-50 minutes of standing around waiting for our first courses (a pappardelle with wild boar in white sauce and a pasta with porcini mushrooms and truffle cream). The porcini mushrooms, in my opinion, were defrosted directly in the pan along with the pasta: they were full of water, rubbery, and with some pieces still cold inside. I understand the use of frozen food, but it should at least be thawed and cooked properly.
On a positive note: from that point on, things improved; the service was faster, and the staff was always smiling. I also appreciate the fact that they offered us two coffees at the end.
In conclusion: we arrived at 2:20 PM and left at 4:50 PM for a lunch that could have lasted an hour and a half. It's a shame, because with a little more attention and organization, the experience would have been wonderful. Prices, in my opinion, are a little high: €68 total, when €60 (a few euros less on each course) would have been a fair price for what was offered.
Dumitru Zanogea
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25 Maggio 2026
6,0
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