Restoran Controvento — Restaurant in Tallinn

I was surprised to see so many positive reviews when the staff is obviously rude, service is slow and the food is ok. Just read the 1 star ones. So I looked into a number of the 5 star reviews (90% by Google Local Guides program) and they seem like a mix of purchased reviews and reviews by real people for points, in short: 5 star reviews look incentivized, because Local Guides get points and they can trade these points for rewards etc. - Its a legit system by google but it has its down sides, as it is also a hint to find spammers and people mostly post positive reviews by default, there are several resources that cover that topic as an being not a trustworthy review source.

As for my personal experience, the head waitress - without saying a word, rudely pushed me out of the way when we were in the lobby waiting for our table, the place was not crowded there was plenty of room to go around, there was no "fire" and we were not blocking anything! At least apologize and ask the person to give way like a polite person would! The other waiter also didn't consider us to be worthy of talking to, when he came by to check something under the window behind my friends chair, disturbing us in the process. Unceremonious staff! For a place that calls it self a restaurant, the staff has the manners of a tavern! We didn't say anything and after having our meals we went to look for desert someplace else. I hope my review will make the staff squeeze a smile out of them selves for a few days for future guests, I'm not setting foot in that place again for it provokes un-gentleman like behavior and the-food-is-just-not-worth-it! EDIT: In response to the owners response: Unfortunately google maps does not support leaving responses on responses so I will write it here. If its not reviews that we use to guess and draw conclusions before we visit, then what else can we use? Well, I have visited your place and the 5 star reviews I have read dont match my experience, so I did look into it deeper and that is my conclusion. I will not disclose the date of our visit. I am thankful for you taking the time to respond personally and with courtesy. I understand the challenges of finding good staff and I do believe that there are also good and professional people working for you, I just didn't see them on that day. On behalf of our small group who visited your place that day, I accept your apology. I will come back again when I see that the 1 star reviews that complain about rudeness are at least more than 6 months...

Nice cozy place but first floor was quite small and 4 tables on that area was maybe a little too crowded. It was hard to talk when all other tables were occupied as well.

Food. We ordered grilled beef ( Bistecca di manzo) and spaghetti carbonara (Spaghetti alla carbonara alla Controvento). Beef was cooked as ordered (medium rare) and tasted really good, but really thin cut of beef. Side order was for extra cost but that's common these days.

Pasta carbonara was so-so. In the menu it said that it was supposed to be with egg. But was there egg inside? It wasn't on top like sometimes with carbonara. Couldn't really feel it in the sauce but can't be sure it wasn't infused to the sauce?! A lot of pepper in the sauce, for someone maybe even a little bit too much and overpowering. Bacon tasted good. Spaghetti was a little bit too watery and combined with thin sauce it wasn't the best combination. Price for carbonara was maybe a little bit high side compared to some places.

For dessert we had panna cotta. Very strong whipped cream taste. Shouldn't panna cotta be made with cream and not with whipped cream? Anyway....it tasted more like whipped cream than proper panna cotta. Don't get me wrong, it was okay but can't be compared to real Italian panna cotta :)

Overall I would give 3,5 stars but let's make it 4 because of Christmas time. Place is nice and service was really positive and attentive but the food could be better for...

The most horrible service I have ever experienced. I never write reviews, but this time the waitress left me absolutely speechless.

Everything started when we began speaking in our native language. Her mood instantly switched to hostile. After bringing the food, she completely ignored us. She never returned to our table, avoided eye contact, and ignored our request to charge the phone. She was nowhere to be seen for the rest of our meal.

We waited 20 minutes to receive the receipt (because she was ignoring us). When the waitress finally noticed I was looking at her, she didn't even come over herself but instead asked another waitress to bring the check to us. She didn’t bother to ask if we wanted anything else, like dessert.

This is not my first time at this restaurant, and I chose it as the place to celebrate my birthday. The service was so terrible that it ruined what was supposed to be a special occasion. I am deeply unhappy and disappointed with my experience. This kind of service is unacceptable, and it left me regretting my restaurant choice.

The food was good, but unfortunately, I do not recommend visiting a place like this, where some waitresses think they have the right to...