Montecatini Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Florida

It’s an ultra Lux Cuban/ Italian restaurant that is best described as serving your favorite Mac and Cheese with Lobster meat and aged Parmesan cheese (not that they serve that). My point is this, if you love to taste a reinvention of your favorites, this is definitely a place to start. If you have a palate of a 5 year old such as myself who searches for the classic comfort foods of your youth then this place might not be your choice. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy most of my meal but it didn’t quite hit my nostalgia button for the street food or peasant style cooking you might get when you are hanging at your friend’s place and his cuban grandma just makes you guys some homemade croquetas or that run down street cafe by Calle Ocho where you can get a greasy pan con bistec with all that salty steak fries from a can. Another thing to have in mind is cheese, if you hate it like my mom or just lactose intolerant then make sure to tell the staff when ordering. We didn’t see it listed as an ingredient in the menu but her seafood fettuccine was sprinkled with a generous portion of Parmesan. I would have loved it but she did not. The kitchen quickly made her a substitute and I told them I would take it home in a box since it wasn’t really their fault and I didn’t want somebody to have that taken out of their paycheck (some places will do that to their waitstaff). After that little hiccup, my mom reported that her dish was perfect with pasta made al dente and seafood mostly fresh (she is very picky and hates dishes made with frozen seafood especially lobster). My steak sandwich “ Pan con Bistec” was made with a finer cut of beef versus your cheap stuff from your Latin Cafés and layered with tomatoes, Avocados, and Arugula or Spinach. One thing that I didn’t like was the French baguette they used; I enjoy my lighter Cuban Bread with the salty steak fries and heavy dollop of mayonnaise. But again, for those who want a fancier and healthier option, this is not a bad way to go. Their French fries were made by a special cutter which made them look pretty but taste dense. I like my fries crispy on the outside and fluffy soft on inside. The way it was cut may have hinder proper distribution of the hot oil or maybe fries were just cold. They provided a fresh baked bread with homemade whipped butter which I always love and we ordered two types of croquettes. The Ham croquettes were nice but I still prefer the ones sold in your popular Cuban bakeries or even the Sembrador brand at your local supermarket frozen sections (sorry, tried Goya brand and didn’t like it). The Codfish “Bacalao” croquettes were definitely a No for me. I am used to the white salty codfish croquettes but they went fancy and blended sun dried tomatoes into that mixture and unfortunately I really dislike sun dried tomatoes in any form. For those who don’t like fishy seafood dishes, they can try it since it masks the fishiness but I like stuff like salty fermented shrimp sauce and other crazy Asian cuisine so it’s a dish I won’t reorder. We didn’t have time for dessert but they had a mock up fake tray to display options so I wasn’t craving any crème brûlée or Flan that time. The place is small in comparison to your usual Versailles or Havana Harry’s but it can accommodate quite a good number of tables due to good floor planning. They have two single large bathroom stalls in front of the bar and the ceiling is high so you don’t feel claustrophobic. Plenty of parking in the shopping center and good view from the street so locating this business is relatively easy. It’s a bit remote for me so it was a long drive but I will come back with family and friends who want to try something new and good. Prices are double the competition for same menu items but there is more quality here albeit not the same flavor profile. Expect to spend $20-$50 per person not including dessert or liquor. Despite that, it’s still affordable if you want to have a...

I have to say this about Montecatini Restaurant I have been in this Restaurant before and never had a problem. We went to celebrate Christmas among 8 friends. I have to say I have never so humiliated in my my life. Before our table was ready prior to 12 noon before entering inside the rude Manager approached my friend and I told us we were not allowed to make loud noise, since we were a group of 8 nor were we aloud to do a gift 🎁 exchange. He told us it was better if we would give each other the Christmas gifts outside the restaurant. He also went on to tell me last night they had a group with a Christmas gift exchange that were super load. My friend and were so upset and wanted to leave right there then however due to everyone being on the way already we had no choice but to stay. Well it didn’t stop there after a while after we had lunch our tab was $400 plus here came this rude Manager which has no tact with the public nor manners again and told my friend to be quiet 🤫 because we were to loud. I told him this was second time he was approaching us with this issue and that third time I was gonna walk out of the Restaurant. He the Manager had the odosity of telling me in my face that he did not tell me this outside before walking into the Restaurant. I felt so bad and was so disappointed in this Restaurant. All we wanted was to celebrate among our friends get together since it’s Christmas time. I felt like this Manger was targeting us in particularly because we were a party of 8. I felt I was being accused of something we didn’t do or harassed by this Manager he was like The Grinch who Stoled Christmas everything was a problem for him. Mind you they celebrate Birthday’s at Montecatini Restaurant and they’re super loud when the staff comes to your table. I will never go back to Montecatini Restaurant that’s for sure and neither will my friends. It was humiliating how he made me feel with all this...

The food was filling and delicious! I’ll be coming back to try the pasta and the desserts, they looked very tempting to try!

But the service was NOT so GOOD because we were attended by a waitress named “Cheilan”. She has blonde tip highlights, and brown hair. Once I arrived and sat down, the waitress came up and had a serious look on her face. She did not say “Good evening, how are you?”, she simply said in SPANISH “hello…..are you ready to order?” I kindly decline and said “no, we need a few more minutes in Spanish” and she DASHED away without another word.

We tried getting her attention but she simply looks the other way when we needed Parmesan Cheese. Once she finally came, she asked if we are still ready to order. My mom was about to speak up to order Parmesan cheese on the side, and she walks away, we had to YELL out “Espera…😐” and she doesn’t apologize, she just stares at you, in frustration. We asked for the cheese and she looked at us as if we were speaking Chinese ? She said “Que es eso?” With attitude and we had to translate “PARMESAN CHEESE, please” to Spanish. She has to learn how to say words in English as a server. Her service was purely disappointing, and I will never want her as my server for me or my family again.

As she took out the paying machine and handed to my mom across the table, and yank it out and almost hit my face because she wanted us to pay. That is very rude. She didn’t even ask if we WANTED DESSERT! “Querían algún otra cosa?” Wow.

Cheilan M. needs proper training to learn simple words in English like “Parmesan CHEESE” which is “queso parmesana” and have a HUGE smile! We all go through life situations, but she isn’t allowed to take it out of us customers for no reason. We were patient and we were very nice to her. I work at a restaurant myself, we weren’t hard customers at all.

I hope this is taken serious and into consideration....