Zeffirino Genova — Restaurant in Genoa

My brother and I ran into this restaurant after it started heavily raining. We had just arrived - weary and overwhelmed after travel - and there’s nothing quite like a delicious meal to reassure and soothe two nervous souls! I found this place by the good google reviews and it happened to be right beside where we were staying. Upon arrival, the place had an old-school, white-tablecloth feel about it bordering on dusty-antique, and it smelled heavily of cigarette smoke. The waiter was nice, got our drink order (limoncello spritz and a lager), and served us some focaccia while we looked over the menu. We looked at one another in slight disbelief at the prices and briefly wondered if it was better to make a run for it back into the rain, but the first bite of focaccia had been bitten, so we committed to staying and we both ordered the mandilli al pesto. The pasta was thin and soft with a classic pesto sauce that was really nice, but after several bites with no texture or chew, it started tasting mushy and slightly bland. Mix that with the lingering smell of cigarettes, and your meal becomes unappetizing. If this were a cafe where they were charging €12 for a bowl of pasta and a drink (which is possible in Italy!), I wouldn’t have bothered writing a harsh review; but after walking out of there €90 lighter, we felt robbed and still wet. Unfortunately, there seems to be many tourist traps that exist in Italy, and it can be disheartening when you find yourself in one… this experience felt like a tourist trap. And if it is not intended to be one, this restaurant needs to lower their prices or...

We chose the "Zeffirino" restaurant because of its popularity in Genoa City. Its Google score attracted our attention, knowing that it is located in the city center. Upon entering, we already had a table prepared. Nice and clean. There are lots of pictures depicting the history of the Zeffirino family, which I guess from conversations must be a very popular restaurant in the city. We were welcomed with a glass of champagne, which turned out to be nice, and the staff were extremely friendly (in general). The food was nice. But no big deal. The soup (traditional from Italy) was good, but nothing special. Portuguese cuisine has had this same soup, which is much better and tastier, for many years. The lobster pasta was reasonable. No big deal for a restaurant located in a country famous for its pasta. And I say lobster because I only got two pieces on my plate. Unfortunate. The most negative point was in fact the waiter (probably the restaurant's owner) who greeted all the tables with greetings and welcomes, completely ignoring the table I was at. Bad manners to say the least. Mr. "Zeffirino", a word of advice from someone with a keen eye and an exquisite palate. You should NEVER interrupt my almost complete dinner by cutting up my lobster (2 small pieces). If you want to be friendly, be so from the start when we enter your restaurant. And treat all the tables with respect and greetings. That's how you make a good owner and a good business owner. A place not...

Our dining experience was a tale of two halves. On one hand, the food was absolutely delicious– genuine compliments to the chef for the wonderful meal. Unfortunately, the service was consistently poor and significantly marred the evening.

When we asked questions about the dishes, our waiter reacted with clear irritation. It was difficult to tell whether he simply wasn't listening properly or struggled with English, but communication was a real problem. To make matters worse, they completely forgot to bring one of our drinks, and when dessert arrived, one of the desserts wasn't what we'd ordered at all. We decided to just let it slide rather than complain.

The atmosphere among the staff felt off too. One particularly grumpy waitress was moving around the dining room with a sour expression. The layout also caused issues: when serving the table behind us with a cart, staff needed us to shift aside repeatedly to squeeze through. This was disruptive and frustrating – a restaurant should organize its tables so servers can move freely without constantly bothering seated guests to make way.

Ultimately, while the kitchen excelled, the service failures were too numerous and impactful...