Ristorante Rossini — Restaurant in Cork

The worst experience I have had dining out for a while. I was so excited to try out this restaurant. My partner and I took my mum out for a meal. Our table was booked for 8.30, we made it to the restaurant at 8.20. We could not get inside and were left to wait behind a queue for about 15mins on a cold November night before we could even get in the door to speak with a member of staff. Everyone in the queue had booked a table. By the time we could get in the door we were packed like a tin of sardines into a hallway leading into the dining area. More and more people just kept pushing their way in the door and it was a massive health and safety hazard. Grossly over booked. After 1 hour standing in this irritable atmosphere we got at table. As busy as our waiter and waitresses were we found them to be very nice, welcoming and as attentive as they could be given the circumstances. Unfortunately, what I was prepared for, happened, the food was a disaster. I had the Pollo Cacciatore, I had a piece of the chicken, it was ok, but all my veg was freezing cold. Not a major problem you would think. Note: (We felt really bad for the waiting staff, whoever was doing bookings really let them down)(they also let down the kitchen staff). Anyway, I politely informed one of the waitresses of the issue and told her that if she could just replace the veg I would be happy with that. She took the entire plate away and came back a couple of mins later, with the food Piping Hot!! I knew immediately my food had been microwaved. Horrible thing to do in my opinion. I cut into the chicken and it was ROASTING in the middle and dry as a board. I called waitress again and politely asked her to take it away, I did not come here to eat microwaved food. So I shared with my partner in the finish as I felt there was just no point in ordering another dish. To end our evening I had to assist in extinguishing a table cloth that caught fire across from us, a candle had melted onto the paper table cloth and only for my partner seeing it, it could have got a lot worse as it was in an enclosed booth type area. Luckily myself and two staff members got the door open and the burning cloth out of the building. This happened around 10.30, so the queue had dispersed at this point. If that had happened when we were packed in like when waiting for our meal someone could have been seriously hurt, there would have been chaos. This is no exaggeration I might add, it was a very serious situation as that booth is surrounded by curtains. An awful experience as a whole. Would...

We had a mixed experience at this restaurant. Despite having booked a month in advance we were seated at the "dud" table in the restaurant which was wedged between a storage cupboard and a table filled with cutlery and napkins, slightly secluded from the rest of the diners. This affected the atmosphere for us, since the rest of the restaurant was beautiful, and we were out for date night rather than a quick meal.

We had the garlic mushrooms for the starter which my partner loved, but didn't suit my own palate. For our main we had the trio of pastas (Tris Rossini) and a pepperoni pizza. While the pasta was delicious (especially the carbonara which was incredible, I wish I had ordered a whole bowl of it!) the pizza was exceptionally oily. We ate most of the pizza as it was still edible and it tasted alright, but the oiliness affected our stomachs.

For dessert we had the fresh fruit meringue and the crème brulee. The crème brulee was good and it came with a scoop of chocolate ice-cream and some biscuit crumbs which was a nice touch! The meringue was also delicious with lovely fruit and lots of cream! We were warned by the waiter that it was a big portion and he wasn't kidding! But it was still great, even though we couldn't finish it between us. The cocktails here are lovely.

All in all, the only issues were the seating and the pepperoni pizza which neither my partner nor I enjoyed very much.

I think, instead of placing an extra table in between working stations for extra custom, it would be nice if a holistic dining experience was prioritised for all customers.

Our waiters were all exceptional and lovely.

3 stars for last night's...

Salvatore & Team. Well done yet again. After many years for my Husband & I to return with my daughter Vicky. We both frequented this restaurant many times over the years. But unknown to each. Now new married and with family down we decided on Ristorante Rossini. Princess Street Cork. Always a busy venue. Booking advised. We were seated at the window seat by Salvatore himself. We ordered our wine. But luckily for us they were out of it. Salvatore quickly brought two very nice red wines for us to taste. Oh choices, choices. We opted for the Scaia Corvinoa 2016. Exquisite flavours married with heavenly aromas. We ordered our food. Stuffed mushrooms. Hello delicious different. Super taste and flavours. Wanted more. But next time. 2 parma & Melon. Mains Prawn Toscano. Beautifully presented. Fusion of colour and again flavours. 2 penne Arrabiata with the freshest of sun kissed tomatoes. Bottle of very good olive oil with chillies. Hot. Oh yes hot. Just as we like this oil. Poured over penne to increase extra flavours. Busy, buzzy spot, excellent atmosphere. 40th party going on also. Wonderful clientele. Spotless bathrooms. Team full of fun, smiles. You clearly can see they love working here. Such passion about them. Guess true Italian. Salvatore very kindly gave us copious information re our up coming trip to Tuacany in October. So shall take in board a visit to Assisi & Luca. Do some wine tasting. Well when in Roma. One must. Cant wait to go back to Ristorante Rossini. Thank you. Superb from start to finish. Thanks you. Susan, Dermot &...