Linfa Milano | Gluten-Free & Vegan — Restaurant in Milan

The most disappointing restaurant I've been in my whole life... I'm writing this in English, but know that I'm Italian

FOOD: Maybe I was just unlucky with my choices, but nothing I ordered could be considered delicious. Believe me, I'm someone who literally eat everything and likes to enjoy even the simplest of food, but all these dishes look so pretty but taste so bad. The appetizer wasn't that bad BAD actually, but it kinda tasted meh and for its tininess and price I'd say it could improve more. The other two were just hell. The one in the middle looked so nice described on the menu but... I'm sorry to use this word, it was disgusting. I don't even know how they thought of this dish... It tasted like a sour, bitter and fishy plate of grass. Saddest pasta in my life, as trust me I've eaten all kind of pasta from around all over the world. Felt so guilty for wasting food, but couldn't eat more than a few spoonfuls. As for the desert... The main problem was that it was plain salty. And I don't main the "a bit of salt among sweetness" kind of saltines, just plain SALTY since the main creamy part was salty, but the others ingredients weren't sweet at all.

PRICE: Maybe they're normal price for these kind of food or place? I don't know but I just totally thought that it was excessive pricey. I mean... Appetizer 12€ Pasta 25€ Desert 9€ That's only for the food, you still need to add the money for the drinks and the table... If you're gonna have to spend so much, just so to another restaurant, Italy has so many good restaurants with greater food and prices. Oh and no cash but cards only, such nonsense.

LOCATION: It's not a bad location, but there's no private parking, so you just gotta test your luck with the parkings in front of the restaurant. We were inside so it wasn't so bad, but I saw the tables outside and... My gosh literally tables on the sidewalk, placed between the passing people and the parking lot. Just what.

STAFF: Everyone was very friendly and polite, but one of the 2 people who served us didn't know English... Not even the basic, which really is just unacceptable considering the supposedly high standard of the place. Often left us to ourselves, leaving us unattended for most of the time, even when we asked or requested something.

SUMMARY: Had very high expectations that were brutally brought down and smashed to pieces. I noticed that the menu changes? So maybe you can try some more delicious food? Because I really hope no one else has to eat the dishes I chose. But, still overly expensive tho. Never tried a vegan restaurant before, but was so disappointed that I really hope they're not all...

Re-visiting my review 1 year later I can only believe that the positive reviews are paid endorsements or affiliated with this venue is some way to counteract the truthful reviews. If I could give 0 stars for everything, I would have. I still regularly think about how horrendous our experience here was and feel sick at the thought of the money we wasted (and may as well have burnt). The more I reflect, the worse it was. The idea of the food I forced down due to the hefty price tag still makes me feel queasy. I implore everyone and anyone reading this to not waste their hard earned money, like we did.

Original: We have just left this restaurant and I have to completely agree with the negative reviews. I thought people might have been a bit fussy, but, if anything, they are generous. We had such high expectations after reading reviews, but this is the most disappointed I have ever been after a dining experience.

We booked at 3pm and when we arrived were shown to a table next to the kitchen without a proper greeting. In fact I got the sense that the waitress had been rather impatiently awaiting our arrival in order to get us in and out before closing time. We weren’t told the menu was online for several minutes, at which time we were told to order quickly because the kitchen was closing - again, adding to the impression that the restaurant staff were keen to see us out as quickly as possible.

The arancini was nice for starter, but the pasta for main had pretty much no flavour and was quite cold. The only way I can describe the taste of the radicchio side is like bile after you have been sick. The crumble dessert was nice, but nothing special and not for the price tag.

The cocktails were nice, but again, nothing special despite the elaborate descriptions. They were also notably tepid and not cold as promised or desired.

Towards the end of our meal, the head waiter was showing guests around who appeared to be hiring the space for a private function and we felt very uncomfortable sat in the middle. Overall, it felt like the staff just wanted to go home despite bookings being allowed up...

È sempre un dispiacere documentare una pessima esperienza presso un locale verso cui si riponeva forte interesse e curiosità, ma credo sia importante segnalare quanto accaduto in occasione della cena di San Valentino.

La serata era strutturata su più turni, al nostro arrivo ci è stato comunicato che c’era un “gap” tra il turno precedente e il nostro - tradotto: il servizio aveva accumulato così tanto ritardo sulla tabella di marcia che all’orario d’arrivo del secondo turno non c’era nemmeno un tavolo libero in tutto il locale. Così, ci siamo ritrovati a decine di ospiti fuori dal locale in attesa di poter essere ammessi al suo interno.

Solo dopo un po’, il personale si è degnato di aprire il dehors per permetterci di sopportare la lunghissima attesa al caldo (siamo a metà febbraio), il tutto mentre in maniera apparentemente arbitraria qualche primo tavolo del secondo turno veniva fatto accomodare. Questo ha generato molti malumori tra gli ospiti in attesa, che a) non capivano per quale motivo alcune persone entrassero per prime, b) erano combattute se andare via a stomaco vuoto o rimanere soltanto per paura che venissero addebitati soldi sulla propria carta (il locale vincola a lasciare i dati della propria carta e dichiara di scalare 100€ a coperto in caso di no-show).

Ora: è del tutto inaccettabile che un bistrot con un simile posizionamento non abbia nemmeno un flûte da porgere in forma di scuse alle tante, troppe persone in attesa di sedersi per oltre QUARANTA MINUTI - oltretutto, trovo gravissimo che nessuno del personale abbia mai pronunciato la parola “Scuse”, ma soltanto dei fuggitivi “Ringraziamo per l’attesa…”.

Un simile disservizio esige OBBLIGATORIAMENTE delle scuse, e non aver ammesso di aver lavorato inadeguatamente è stato un atto di grave ineleganza e scorrettezza, considerando quanto imbarazzo ha provocato a tutti coloro che speravano di regalare una bella cena al proprio partner.

Per il resto: alcune portate certamente raffinate, il sushi vegano invece molto asciutto e colloso - tant’è che pressoché ogni tavolo ha richiesto venisse accompagnato con salsa di soya, nonostante iniziali reticenze da parte del personale perché “di solito lo serviamo così” (che dire… di solito lo servite male, allora!).

Il personale è sempre stato educato, visibilmente in imbarazzo, ma il servizio presentava molte imprecisioni grossolane, tra secchielli per il ghiaccio spostati da un tavolo all’altro, cestini del pane con tre (3) fette contate (Veramente? Tre fette ad una coppia? Volete proprio farli litigare per San Valentino!)

Il numero di portate è stato adeguato. Nulla, di certo, che giustifichi quasi 300€ di scontrino per una cena di due persone (tra doppio menù di San Valentino e tre calici di vino di qualità non premium).

Neppure in cassa il personale ha minimamente accennato ai grossi inconvenienti che hanno funestato la serata, limitandosi a rifilare un micro-pacchettino di cioccolatini a testa senza ulteriori spiegazioni.

A proposito di cioccolatini: quando ho prenotato la cena tramite form online, il funnel di registrazione lasciava intendere che per procedere alla presentazione fosse necessario acquistare uno degli “add-on” previsti per San Valentino, tra cioccolatini, biscotti e spumante… lo considero un dark pattern molto ingannevole, poiché induce l’utente ad acquistare per forza pur di prenotare la serata, quando non è così.

Insomma: con questa cena, volevo con tutto il cuore sostenere un locale impegnato nel diffondere consapevolezza intorno alla cucina vegana gourmet, ma tanti (troppi!) elementi di questa sfortunata cena mi hanno fatta sentire presa in giro, e vedo che le tante altre recensioni negative confermano questa attitudine “furbetta” da parte della gestione a non ammettere le proprie negligenze.

A...