Restorāns Rossini — Restaurant in Riga

I recently revisited the restaurant, hoping for an improved experience, but unfortunately, my dissatisfaction with the food persisted.

😒Food Experience: I opted for the Beef Tartar with asparagus and Pike perch fillet from Burtnieku lake with roasted tomatoes in olive oil. Regrettably, both dishes lacked flavor. Despite my limited cooking skills, I believe I could produce more tasteful outcomes. I suggest allowing the tartar ingredients to rest at room temperature before serving, as serving it immediately from the fridge diminished its taste. The inclusion of only 2 super hard tiny croutons with a substantial amount of tartar fillet disrupted the balance. On a positive note, the Olives and Focaccia were delightful. However, it was surprising to find the Focaccia listed on the bill, as I initially thought it was a complimentary starter.

The coffee at the end was a letdown, prepared in a local "Latvian" style, quite different from the expected espresso. On the brighter side, the wine by the glass selection was impressive.

Service: The service, characterized by quickness and professionalism, stood out. Staff were attentive and efficient, contributing significantly to the overall positive experience.

I appreciated the interior and overall atmosphere of the restaurant. It's regrettable that, given the culinary shortcomings, I might limit my visits to enjoying a glass of wine in this pleasant setting. While the culinary experience fell short of expectations, the service, ambiance, and wine selection were commendable. There's potential for improvement in the kitchen, and I hope my feedback contributes positively to enhancing the overall dining...

With a restaurant style that evokes dungeon-like ambiance and history in its décor, overall restrained and tasteful. However, the evening and the cuisine were a bit disappointing… We reserved a table for two but arrived at different times; the waiter seemed unsure of where our table was, but all was eventually found 😅. Service was slow and lengthy, but drinks arrived promptly, thank you. The taste quality of the dishes leaves something to be desired… the meat in the carpaccio was cold, the cheese was questionable (it said Parmesan, but clearly wasn't), though the fresh greens were hard to mess up 😄👌. The chicken pasta was average, except for the portion price; it was odd that it was overcooked for an Italian restaurant where you'd expect al dente… As for the veal medallions… tough; we asked for medium rare, which was correct, anyway the meat was so hard but sauce saved the dish. The pistachios and gorgonzola were clearly the highlights, special thanks to the chef 😂🙏🤌🏻.

I'd like to mention the wine list separately; it's exceptionally good with pleasant bottle prices. You'll probably find everything you desire there. Perhaps we were just "lucky," and maybe other dishes truly deserve praise, such as the pizza, seafood, and desserts…idk

Overall, it's worth noting that they don't serve bread baskets with oil and olives while waiting for your food; you have to order them separately, which slightly disrupts the concept of an Italian...

Food is good, no complaints here.

My complaints are regarding the wine menu and how service charges are added without prior notice.

Wine: server offers an off-menu wine from their in-house wine shop. Fair enough, says that is pairs excellent with steak.

Bottle was already put on the table and just as the waiter starts opening it, I ask whether it would be possible to try the wine first. The waiter replies in a rude manner "no, if I open it you'll have to drink it". Long story short - the wine was horrible, one of the worst I have ever tasted, and at 50 EUR the bottle I do expect some better service accompanying a wine of a rare grape variety.

Service charges: my friends and I were charged a previously undisclosed service charge. If I recall correctly the service charge was for "6 and more people" or similar. We were 5 people - two people joined us in the last 15 minutes before we further went on with our plans - pretty dishonest...