it's Amore — Restaurant in Vienna

3 main points: mediocre food, slimy mannerism, and presumably no bathroom

My parents came to visit me in Vienna. I had a chance to eat here during my parents' visit. I didn't want to eat Italian food since I tend to have a high expectation as someone who lived some years in Italy, but in the end, I did as my mother wanted to try this place. I'm not giving it 1 star for its food, or because it is not run by Italians. The food was quite mediocre in my book and would give it a 3 stars. The dining experience was quite good as well until I received the bill. My issue with this place lies on their trickery attitude.

When we entered we noticed there was a lunch menu. Among those, there was 'spaghetti Bolognese.' I ordered one of those with the substitute of pappardelle for the lack of tagliatelle and 3 other dishes including a regular salad. However, on the bill I noticed the lunch menu discount wasn't applied to the Bolognese dish. When I asked why it wasn't applied, the waiter replied because I didn't specify when I ordered. So when I asked what the difference between the regular and the lunch menu was, the waiter claimed "no difference but the lunch menu comes with salad. Since we ordered an extra salad, he put a la carte price." So OK, in the end we didn't take the complimentary salad for our ignorance and they'd make us pay 2 euros more - for eating less? To me, this weird logic threw me off. It wasn't even about paying 2 extra euros for a dish or not, but rather about the slimy attitude. I think they could easily give us 2 euros discounts, which could've been given as tip to the waiter anyway.

After paying, my family was in a rush to leave the restaurant out of discomfort over the little discourse with the waiter. 30 seconds after we left the restaurant we realized we should use bathroom before leaving Donauinsel and returned to ask the waiter if we could use the bathroom and his answer was to use the public bathroom downstairs with a condescending smirk. I don't know if he did it out of spite or because they actually do not have a bathroom at their restaurant. In either scenario, it's ridiculous that they have no bathroom in their establishment, or to make their customers use the public bathroom.

Overall, this could have been an ok experience, but the arrogant/dismissing attitude of the waiter...

The worst service in Vienna (I live here so can compare). It’s ridiculous that there are more than enough waiters, but they move chaotically and that doesn’t help. I waited for half an hour for my wine (the waiter took the order twice) and I had to go to the bar myself to pick it (it was staying there for quite a while, but nobody cared). Then same story with the second plate for the shared dish. It took them more than an hour to bring our pizza! It’s funny that the waiter asked us about the tips - it seems this situation is super normal for them. By the way, we’ve never seen the bill with all the dishes we ordered - only a payment confirmation. Another important nuance - there is NO WC IN THE RESTAURANT! Given the waiting time it’s quite an issue 😂 However, I have to admit that the food was really good and the place is cozy and really beautiful with flowers, lights and the Mediterranean atmosphere. It’s a pity that after all you only remember the...

Worst dining experience I had for a long time.

I had a pizza marguerita as it is a safe value for any decent Italian restaurant.

Although it came quickly (suspiciously too quickly for a handmade pizza), it was a disaster. Mozzarella was replaced by unidentified greasy gratted cheese. I wouldn't be surprised if the tomato sauce was canned. The dough was chewy and fat. Fortunately, the only three basil leaves looked authentic and fresh.

While I was making an effort to make peace with my terrible choice, unpleasant bathroom scent was periodically accompanying my meal. When I thought we couldn't go any lower, a rat from the surrounding bushes almost jump on my friend.

Finally, when I wanted to pay the bill, the waiter implied that tips are usually expected in Austria and abused our ignorance of local rules.

When I got home to sleep, digestions issues prevented me from turning the page and forget this very bad start...