Caffè Elena — Restaurant in Turin

I had lunch on a Sunday with some of my friends here. We are aware that, in Turin, if you do not have a reservation or if you are not in front of the restaurant right when they open, you probably have very few chances to actually eat. We were grateful that, in these conditions, we found a table for 4 persons outside at Caffè Elena. It was a cute place, in the sun, enjoying the center. But, unfortunately, these were the only things we enjoyed - the location and the time together.

The restaurant has specific Piemontese dishes, but there are very few and very expensive. I, for example, ate agnolotti and the dish was very small for the price paid. The food is good, the place good, but I have a few problems to write down:

the service was not the best. We waited more than 40 minutes for the food; when the check came, I discovered that the “coperto”, which is a fixed price for the service, included the “service + bread”. We did not receive any bread; besides the bread that we paid without receiving it, I discovered that the agnolotti were 2 euros more expensive than in the menu. No matter how much a dish costs, I should find that in the menu without a changing on the check.

As a conclusion, we had a good time in the sun, but I avoid going to this restaurant, because I consider that the prices don’t actually match the quality, the size of the dishes, and the service.

I wish them all my best and I hope they improve something after they read...

During our permanence in Turin we visited several times this place. The wine selection is formidable and the staff is always on point advising you on the best choice to go with appetizers. We had a wonderful Vermentino and a glass of Erbaluce, both of them white wines, and on a second visit we had Nebbiolo, that is a really good red wine. We always accompanied the wines with a selection of their tapas, with local cheeses and mixed meats. They also have honey and confections on the side, and let's talk about their bread rolls. AWESOME. I really advise this place! The location is small, warm, and very welcoming. The staff is a positive note on your visit. We surely will visit them again...

Don't go.

Waited 1h for our pizza as a starter and another hour for our dishes. Two dishes (lasagna) were cold and partially heated(microwave?). Asked if there was a problem, apparently not. Service was rude, enven though they spoke french. When we found out the server spoke french, we showed our interest(friendly laugh), but he had 'no time' for that and rudely told us he won't translate the menu for us, even though we hadn't asked for him to do so. Finally, we had to ask 4 times for them to bring us the bill before we could leave, which we had to get up to...