La Badessa — Restaurant in Turin

A very noticeable restaurant, with an interesting story about its origins and strongly tied to the tradition of the Piedmontese cuisine, it is positioned in a very nice location in Piazza Carlo Emanuele II, one of the historical squares of the city, with tables both inside and outdoors, which are deployed based on the season and the weather. The dishes are all well prepared and presented, besides being tasty and delicate. We experienced a few small mistakes such as having roasted potatoes served as a side dish to someone who ordered a mixed salad (although the potatoes were delicious, anyway, and we did not point it out), but the table service is generally very attentive and professional, and yet kind and friendly. The roasted beef reduction sauce used as a seasoning for stuffed pasta (this is very traditional in Piedmont) is a bit too liquid, so that it doesn't stick very well to the pasta: it should be slightly thicker; but the dish is nice and tasty anyway. And finally, the zabaione cream is nice, but it tastes a bit too greasy, as if it were additioned with some fresh cream or mascarpone, which is maybe a little too much for this traditional dessert. However, these are minor observations, and the judgment about the general quality is very good...

Staying at the NH hotel across the street (great hotel btw) and the front desk recommended this place as a local and authentic Italian restaurant. Had reasonably good reviews so went over. The ambiance felt a little pretentious and the abundance of art displayed was overly religious. Felt like I was dining in a church. We started with the local Piedmont appetizer spread which consisted of sliced roast beef wrapped with tuna, an egg custard fondue, a vegetable flan, and trout tartar. These were tasty outside of the vegetable flan which was quite salty. We ordered the lamb and chestnut gnocchi as the mains. The lamb was OK although salty. The chestnut gnocchi was underwhelming. No chestnut flavor and have had better pasta at a NYC diner. We ordered semifreddo for dessert which was delicious. Overall I would say that the food was way too salty and had 0 WOW factor which is what you would want when visiting Italy. Service was friendly! Our meal came out to $133 Euro with 1 bottle of wine. It didn't feel worth it for what was average food & stuffy ambiance. If you are in the immediate area go to Catarina Bistrot a block away which is amazing food, better ambiance, and...

The tall, ambivalent, sad waiter sets an unfortunate tone for the evening. I can’t imagine what we customers might have done to justify such poor behavior. The rest of the staff manage a bit more enthusiasm but the vibe is depressing. Other small things, we were not given a lamp until we’re almost done and it didn’t work anyway.

We had the set menu. The amuse bouche was egg salad (?), not what I expected at a good restaurant. The antipasti were largely forgettable, tuna salad (!) wrapped in a slice of beef, a small disk of tuna tartare with 3 slices of tasteless black truffle and a decent crab salad. The agnolotti were quite tasty in a flavorful brown sauce and the veal cheeks secondi was also quite good. Dessert was a deconstructed cheesecake with some biscuits and a few pieces of fruit. Okay but not memorable. I had a mediocre chianti for 22€. I felt the Piemonte wines were marked up too high.

Decent food with poor service make for a bad experience. The evening was really 3 stars but I am giving 4 just for the food. Also, take some time to rethink your antipasti and...