Ristorante Cavallino — Restaurant in Unione dei comuni del Distretto Ceramico

When I was planning our road trip in Italy, I tried getting a reservation in one of chef’s Mossimo’s restaurant. That is how I found out about this restaurant. Since my husband is a big fan of Ferrari and we were going to an F1 event, I though this will be a nice stop on our way to Florence. But I have to say that it was a big disappointment. I had high expectations since this is affiliated with chef Mossimo, but this place did not meet any of my expectations. 1- Food was good, but not mind blowing good. I don’t think I will remember any of the dishes in a week. 2- Service was not up to the standard of a good restaurant. Staff were super slow. One of the servers was talking to people on the next table for 5 minutes, but when i was trying to get his attention for a glass of wine he would not pay enough attention. 3- One time when they brought the order for the table close to us and I noticed they mixed up the orders. That is something you don’t see often in a high end restaurant. So was it worth spending a night in Maranello to go to this restaurant? Absolutely not. I think we would have had more fun if we spent this night in Milan or Florence and went to a low key pizzeria. Sorry but this was not up to...

Overall experience was OK. Worth the four hour trip I took? Debatable. The highlight of the meal was the Parmesan cream brûlée and the 25 year aged vinegar! The olive oil too. So good. A sweet and savory dish that’s creamy with slight bite from the onion gele. Here is why this place didn’t meet expectations: The tasting menu had no alternatives for people who don’t eat pork. That’s a first in a high end restaurant. Not very inclusive. The menu was boring. There was nothing on there that was innovative. The Parmesan crème brûlée was an exception but my understanding is that it’s what they are know for. It’s a starter, it’s not what makes a robust menu. The amuse bouche was anything but. Deconstructed pizza is not a new thing, I had my first one over a decade ago in a Jose Andre restaurant (mini bar). Jose knew how to do it well, Cavallino’s just begged the question why mess with a good thing? I would have loved a good slice of pizza. So why did I hate it so much? The crust on that bite was so thick and dry, it took over the flavor of the whole dish! The service was excellent and so was...

Very impressive. I was doubly pleasantly surprised; first because the decoration is very tasteful and harmonious. Things could have gone very differently in a themed restaurant with tacky and bright colours etc. Not here. Everything is beautiful designed and coordinated. It’s absolutely beautiful second, this is a great restaurant. Of course it has the backing of a great chef, but that hasn’t stopped certain places “insipides by” Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsay to simply go for cheap and unremarkable dishes. The restaurant could have been full just based on the Ferrari name alone but that’s not the case at Cavallino where every dish is prepared with remarkable taste and finesse. The staff is remarkably helpful and attentive.

They could have got away with something much lower quality than they did but thankfully decided that they wanted something that lived up to the excellence of the Ferrari name, and something that is useful to welcome their clients when visiting the factory.

We hope many others will enjoy it as much as we did and we hope to be back...