Ristorante Osteria da Nando Cucina Tipica Aosta — Restaurant in Aosta

I recently had some friends visiting me in Aosta and decided to take them to this restaurant, as I had enjoyed a good experience here in the past. Unfortunately, this visit turned into one of the most shocking and unpleasant dining experiences I have ever had.

We were a group of four and ordered the trout, the fonduta, and the bourguignonne to share. The owner, who was serving us, seemed surprised by our order and his demeanour was rude and abrupt, so we double-checked with his son, the other server, asking whether ordering both fonduta and bourguignonne would be too much. He reassured us that it was fine, explaining that we could enjoy the fonduta while the bourguignonne cooked.

When the food arrived, things immediately began to go wrong. The fonduta was served completely cold, alongside a single portion of bourguignonne: one plate of meat, one cooker, and one set of sauces. We clarified that we had ordered four portions, not one, at which point three more plates of meat were brought—but still only one cooker and no additional sauces. We were left trying to cook four portions of meat on a single burner.

To make matters worse, the cooker repeatedly went out. We relit it ourselves several times, but it kept failing. When we raised the issue, the staff dismissed our concerns, saying it was “just catching the wind wrong.” Eventually, after much persistence on our part, they reluctantly changed it—only after first trying to “fix” it by adding more lighter fluid and even placing a serving plate in front of it (see photo). No apologies for getting the order wrong or the cooker not working properly.

By the time the bill arrived, we were deeply dissatisfied with the service and politely asked for a small discount to reflect the poor experience. What followed was truly unbelievable. Immediately, both the owner and his son became extremely hostile, shouting at us in front of the entire restaurant. They accused us of ordering incorrectly, of cooking too much meat at once, and even of having come to the restaurant to get a free meal. The owner and his son repeatedly demanded, “How much do you want off your bill?” while shouting aggressively. At one point, the owner even moved towards us in such a threatening manner that his son had to physically hold him back.

They told us to leave without paying which we were not comfortable doing. We made it clear that we were not asking for a free meal, only a fair adjustment. In fact, we then insisted on paying in full just to de-escalate the situation and because we felt insulted by their insinuation. Shockingly, they then refused to let us pay at all until, after a long and humiliating argument, they finally took our payment—only to throw €40 in cash at us, saying “here is your discount.” We left it and walked out, utterly embarrassed in front of my guests.

I have never been treated so badly in a restaurant. The service was appalling, and the behaviour of the staff beyond unacceptable. I will never return, and I cannot recommend this...

Amazing traditional food, a true gem 💎 of Valle d’Aosta. Top quality and awesome service. Try not to miss the polenta, which is exquisite, or the legendary fondue de bourguignon, which is going to make your day a better one. As a dessert we tried the Tarte Tatin, which is possibly the best we ever had. The restaurant is Family run and you can see the dedication and love that goes into it. Prices are very moderate, considering the ingredients, quality and execution. If you're lucky you will also stumble across celebrities that are filming nearby (Happened to us), as this is a place of choice for connoisseurs.

I read (Very few) negative reviews and I wonder how biased they are. Either these people had a bad day, or they do not understand the first thing about food. I see them praising conventional burger joints in Milan, extremely expensive and pretty mediocre as food goes and lash out at this restaurant. You would not be able to eat an appetizer at this price in Milan and taste is taste, I understand, but sometimes good is just objective and this Osteria deserve nothing less than 4 stars to 5 stars. Beware of obviously biased negative...

This family run restaurant in a cozy space on one of the main drags was a pleasant surprise with its menu choices of local food and wines. We chose one of the fixed price choices of 5 dishes, each paired with a glass of wine. 3 dishes would have suited us better- we barely made it out, we were so full. My veal chop came on a sizzling platter, cut tableside by "Momma"- she cut all the orders of veal at the various tables and it was quite a show. For the 4th dish, we each received a bountiful cheese plate- mine was a selection of cow cheese and my husband's was goat cheese. The son was our waiter and he moved from Italian to French to English with relative ease around the restaurant. The restaurant seats around 25 at any one time. It was delightful and the son went out of his way to explain each dish and the wines paired alongside. Several families with small children were also eating here- child friendly! I will recommend this restaurant to anyone...