Osteria la Fontanina - Teatro Romano, Ponte Pietra — Restaurant in Verona

I understand why this restaurant is very hit and miss. Here are my observations:

Owner pushed us to order more food (we initially ordered the Agnoletti and braised beef) after first assuming it was one portion of each dish for each person (we were a couple). When we asked if we could go for our current order first and order more if we find it's not enough, she said it would be difficult on the chef (not sure why since we were the only customers at this point). I gave in and ordered another starter (the slow cooked egg).

After we were done with the slow cooked egg and braised beef, the other waitress asked if we wanted the bill. I was confused since I was still waiting on the Agnoletti.

Turns out, the owner had scrapped that from our order (again, not sure why). 5.Which brings me to my other point, why would you not confirm the order with the customer before you put it in? Another couple came to the restaurant. They asked where the closest parking meter was as they parked down the street. Neither the owner or the waitress knew where the parking meter was, they pointed down a street and instructed to try it but weren't sure (seriously?!). I realised why later on...police were doing the rounds fining cars illegally parked. The owner came running out, drove off in her car parked outside and drove around for 15 minutes until the police left and then parked in the same spot.

Overall, food was average for a Michelin star restaurant, service was terrible hence the one star. We ended up paying €121 for two starters, one main, one dessert, water and a cola. Their menus don't include tax and the cover charge is €5 a person so be...

Warning!

We made a reservation 4 weeks ago to end our Italy trip with a culinary highlight. We have eaten at Osteria la Fontanina a few year ago and loved it, that’s why we wanted to go there again. But instead of a place outside at the terrace, we got the last table in the darkest corner inside. As we asked why we couldn`t sit outside, they told us, we should have said so at our reservation. It was clear for us, that booking weeks in advance guarantees the best available table (or at least to get asked where we want to sit during the reservation process). During dinner it got ugly when we realized that two of the “reserved for someone else” tables stayed free. As my wife told the waitress about this, she turned around and left without a word! Doing something like this and treating guests like this is so unimaginable that we – of course – won’t visit again and make sure our friends and business partners do so as well when visiting beautiful Verona. Top tip for the owners: Offer a table outside for the aperitif or the first course at least until the reservation guests appear (one table was still empty when we left!), offer something nice when you see that your guest is unhappy. And be professional about complaints. Turning around without a word is something we never experienced before and behavior like this will hopefully take away the Michelin star! Besides: Food is good but overpriced due to the star. Wine recommendation was good as well. Owner/chef showed for a minute to pour wine but was extremely crabby. All in all an awful experience that left us very unhappy. Hospitality works...

Worst restaurant I’ve ever been to - in my life. I’m not joking. I’ve never felt so unwelcome in a restaurant, or felt like I had to be on my guard all night to avoid being ripped off. We were almost finished with our bottle of wine so they brought us a new one, already opened, without asking first. They then got angry and aggressive when I gently pointed out that we didn't order it. To appease them we ordered the desserts that they forcefully insisted we take - despite wanting to leave. The final coup de grace was to charge us exorbitant sums for bread and olive oil and god knows what else that we didn’t ask for and didn’t eat. When we dared ask about that - also gently to avoid cashing a fuss and ruining our night further - they started shouting and told us to leave! The female owner then physically pushed us out while hurling abuse in front of other diners!! I thought I was in a bad movie. I've never seen anything like it. We were all shell shocked. I've seen the positive reviews and all I can say is - you got lucky! The owners are genuinely crazy, and I don't say that lightly. So maybe they just weren't working the night you were there, or were busy elsewhere. Avoid at all costs, unless you like the idea of a ruined evening that you can tell your friends about for the rest of...