Vinothek-Trattoria Pavia — Restaurant in Baden-Baden

Some Italian people commented here and on TripAdvisor that this is the best Italian restaurant in Baden Baden-Baden, and as an Italian myself I want to know...what did they smoke, and how can I get some?

We entered the restaurant and it stank of cigarette smoke. It was half dark and dead silent, super uncomfortable atmosphere. The owner was nice enough, but his own cleanliness made me question the hygiene of the entire place - if you are going to serve clients, at least do your best not to have your pullover coated in beard dandruff. For the love of god, man, please change before waiting tables, put on an apron, vacuum yourself clean, but don't greet me with grated skin on your clothes? Pretty please?

Drinks - the only reason why I gave 2 stars to the food. The Spritz was actually very nice.

Food - average at best, even for Germany. Nowhere near to how authentic Italian food is like. The bruschetta was obviously a store bought oven baguette, though the toppings were ok. The Pinsa had a nice enough crunchy dough, but the ingredients on top were straight up low supermarket quality. For some to me unknown, unholy reason, the pasta with pesto had CREAM in it. It was also overcooked to a level where I could have used it as a bread spread, but that's just how Germans like it, so I wouldn't directly fault the place for that.

At this point, I'm just confused. I mean...why? T_T

Overall, I could have eaten better, cheaper, and more comfortably if I had cooked the whole thing...

My husband and I were traveling through on our Black Forest road trip, and got hit with a craving for pizza. I searched a few places and liked the photos and reviews for Trattoria Pavia. It did not disappoint! The texture, toppings, all of it, was exactly what I wanted. Only regret is that I didn't take a photo to show you how lovely it was.

When we walked up and saw the sign, I was confused because it was variations of "Pinsa", with common pizza toppings. The kind and attentive owner, Augustino, told us that the blend of ingredients classify it a pinsa, a Roman dish. I highly recommend trying it! And order the house red, goes...

Das war der wohl seltsamste Restaurantbesuch, den ich je hatte. Das Restaurant war fast leer, halbdunkel und totenstill. Ich hätte nie gedacht, dass absoluter Stille bei einem Restaurantbesuch so massiv unangenehm ist. Eine Frau mit ihrem Hund hing auf einer Couch herum, trank irgendwas und faltete Servietten, während sie via Kopfhörern Musik hörte. Irgendwann schneite der Chef rein, offenbar der einzige Mitarbeiter (an dem Tag?) dort. Er wirkte sehr zerstreut, verwechselte Bestellungen und kommentiert leise sein eigenes Handeln. Hygienisch war es echt fragwürdig - der Chef hantierte mit allem herum, und fasste dann die Eiswürfel für die Drinks mit bloßen Händen an und der Glasstrohhalm meiner Begleitung hatte Lippenstiftabdrücke dran. Das Essen war ok, die Drinks...