La Trattoria Da Vincenzo — Restaurant in Lincoln

Two Italian restaurants opposite each other in the same street.

Last week I visited La Bottega Delitalia, today La Trattoria Da Vincenzo.

Greeted at the door by a woman who barked at me 'we close at two'.

Inside tiny rooms. In the winter maybe would describe as cosy, in the summer dark and gloomy.

I decided to sit in the garden out the back. I was directed to a table for two. I ignored the direction, sat at a table for four under the shade of the grapevine.

A jug of ice cold water brought to the table. I doubt would have been brought had I not asked.

Soup a mistake. Bean and mushroom. Too much for lunch. My mistake. It was not very good. Far better bean or chickpea soup in Athens.

Soup could have done with a chunk of bread.

Polla alla crema was not good. Served with chips. It would have been better served with local new potatoes.

I was tempted by lasagne. I decided on polla alla crema because a similar dish one of my favourite dishes in an Italian restaurant in Aldershot. The dish in Aldershot far better, and served with a side salad.

Asked did I wish for a dessert? No.

A very long wait for the bill, another long wait to pay.

A man came outside, owner or chef or maybe both, sat smoking. Then, 'I don't want to be rude, we are closed'.

I would have happily left long ago had I not been waiting for the bill and to pay.

Not busy. Around half a dozen people sat outside.

The staff were not friendly.

Service and food poor. Quite a large choice for lunch, even larger for evening, this is never a good sign.

Impressive vine in the back garden, laden with grapes, wine grapes not dessert grapes.

Lunch closes at two. Even for Lincoln, this...

Tried this place based on seeing it just from walking past. I thought wow this could be a hidden gem. Unfortunately although the atmosphere was nice enough the following thoughts are from our experiences.

Staff are not working together with communication. Many people receiving wrong items or wrong drinks or waiting. Staff confused on who is serving or to whom.

Quality of food was poor, I've eaten in so many authentic Italian places. This place aims to do that but cuts corners. This is really obvious. Food portions were ok but we added salt to taste, pasta didn't taste freshly made, and the chicken taste like it had been frozen and it's a real shame.

Starters were also not really starters, either that or there is confusion around presentation.

One thing that was crazy to me is that we ordered desert just to have the full experience. Was told they are home made. Next minute I look across the room and a server is putting our desert on a plate from the fridge and sprinkling decoration .... the desert wasn't even prepared by the chef.

I also over heard conversations from staff about been really rushed because the normal chef was not in ... this made us feel guilty for asking where our mains were after a 30 minute wait from finishing the starter.

I wouldn't recommend this place. I'm...

This really is a first class restaurant. Tucked away, with just a few tables inside and outside with an intimate and homely atmosphere, it’s a hidden gem. The menu is satisfyingly broad in scope and enough to suit most tastes, but without too many dishes on the menu, which for me is always a good sign. The pasta dishes were excellent, fresh, simple, authentic with rich sauces and interesting choices. The pizzas were very good, not heavy, crispy bases and crusts and a nice selection of toppings. The gelato we had for desert was top-notch. Smooth, flavourful and worlds away from a normal scoop of ice cream. Finally, a special thank you to the staff who were attentive, polite and clearly enjoyed their jobs. The prices were more than fair for what we felt was a very special meal. We went as a family of four with two teen boys and we all very much...