Trattoria Sophia — Restaurant in Rotterdam

3,5 stars. Not bad, but I am not in a rush to return.

We had a reservation for a group of 8. The experience was mixed - not terrible, but not particularly memorable either.

The service left a lot to be desired. The first server had just clocked in and did not seem to know where we were meant to sit or what the dish of the day was. In general, the staff felt quite young and inexperienced. They were not very attentive. Our food was brought out first, and the cutlery only arrived afterwards. We were given complementary bread, which was tasty, but the portion was oddly small - just one tiny slice per person.

It also bothered me that empty glasses and bottles were not cleared away; they were cluttering the table. No one asked if we wanted anything else to drink, and we had to make an effort to get someone’s attention. We had ordered wine to go with our mains, but it only arrived once we were already halfway through the food.

As for the food, it was a bit hit-and- miss. Some starters were genuinely good, others felt bland or unremarkable. I had the tuna tartare with buffalo stracciatella, chilli oil and pistachio. I enjoyed it very much (fresh and well-balanced) but I do wish it had been served with some bread, or that our bread basket had been topped up. I would have asked, but the staff were not paying attention to our table.

My friend S had the pulpo with sweet potato purée and pickled onion and really liked it. My friend R had the chickpea crisps, which she found bland; they would have benefited from a dip. My friend Y had the bruschetta, which she described as ‘so-so’, but filling thanks to the generous bread slice. My friend M had the carpaccio and said it was fine; exactly what she expected.

Mains followed a similar pattern. I ordered the dish of the day: seabass with green bean salad. The seabass was very enjoyable (well-cooked and seasoned) but it came with a generous amount of black olives, which I would have appreciated being warned about beforehand, as I am not a fan. The green bean salad was tasty, though the raw red onion was a bit overpowering.

My friend S ordered the ravioli, which was creamy and comforting. She enjoyed it. My friend M had the tagliatelle and did not like it; she said the pasta was undercooked and the dish lacked flavour.

Three others at the table ordered pizza. All three said they were average. One described hers as particularly bland, though to be fair, it was a margherita, which is not exactly bold in flavour.

Overall, the food was a mixed bag. Some plates were lovely, others forgettable. Service needs improvement, especially when it comes to attentiveness and pacing. At this price point, I would have expected more...

To be honest, I was expecting something more. After reading reviews, I was curious and finally ate at this restaurant.

They have an extensive menu with pasta and mainly pizza. We chose two pastas. They also have a daily special, we did not ask for it. I think that the service should also pro-actively mention this, now it was on a chalkboard outside on the terrace.

Besides the two pastas, we started with the vitello tonnato. Fine starter, only the capers were not fresh. I found the Tortellini prosciutto rather salty and the Spaghetti Vongole was fine.

We ordered tiramisu for dessert. We missed the alcohol, which in combination with coffee makes the taste.

All in all, we ate reasonably well. I give it two stars and I will explain why;

6.50 euros for a bottle of water (sparkling water) is absurdly high. we missed in general the taste of the pastas The service could be better. For example, we wanted an extra glass of wine but at one point our waiter was no longer there. It was sometimes difficult to make contact.

For 87,50 (including tip) we...

The cappuccino is great, smooth yet firm in taste. Staff is very friendly. If the food is as good as the coffee the neighborhood is in for a treat. We went back for pizzas later that day. The pizzas are nice and thin, with a nice crust. They look very neat and well-plated. The Capricciosa and Sarda are very well flavored, with a very good balance between ingredients. It definitely seems to be one of the better pizza places in town, although admittedly, there are one or two places whose pizza dough and ingredient balance are even better. Nonetheless, I am very happy with this addition to the Delfshaven area, especially since they are open 7 days a week and are also...