Ristorante Claretta — Restaurant in Florida

Where to begin? What is it about restaurants that were once great but are now mediocre at best, and yet they try to live off of the glory of days gone by? When the mother of the current owners was alive, may she rest in peace, she prided herself on serving 'authentic' Italian dishes, made with the freshest ingredients. I know as I ate there many times. Fast forward to my latest visit to this once excellent ristorante, and the only thing that survives is the high prices and anticipation that one may be in for a treat. Sadly this is not the case and shame on the current owners, for they are merely going through the motions, living off a reputation that no longer is valid. My wife and I recently visited after many years of absence and expected a wonderful meal, given the number of 4+ star reviews. Not only were we very disappointed but without question, our meal was one of the worst we have had on the Treasure Coast, irrespective of the price…..$225, for two including tip and a $60 bottle of wine which retails for $15. To begin with, we asked our server if the Alici Marinate con Peperoni would be enough for two, and she said it would be better if we ordered another antipasto, which we did, the burrata with tomatoes. The Alici Marinate con Peperoni, was very good, but then again, there was no preparation required, merely an assembly of the tinned or jarred ingredients, and it would have been enough for two. However, the other antipasto, the burrata with halved tomatoes, sprinkled with parsley was a disaster. Cold refrigerated tasteless green plum tomatoes served with room temperature, almost stale small pieces of bread. Even the most unaccomplished cook knows that tomatoes should never be refrigerated, and for a restaurant that is considered fine dining, it is a crime! Moving on to our main course, my wife had the taglierini gamberi e pinoli, and I ordered, at the recommendation of the server, a taglierini con porcini mushrooms. She said, and I agreed that this is mushroom season in Italy, so I expected fresh porcini mushrooms. Our anticipation was high but instantly dashed upon the presentation of the dishes. Both were served at the exact same time, and a column of steam was billowing from each plate. My wife's taglierini gamberi e pinoli did not have any rucola [arugala], as listed on the menu and only a few pinoli [pine] nuts. Worst of all, her dish was so hot she actually burnt her tongue on the first bite. The sauce was dry, the pasta was tasteless, and the few shrimp were clearly frozen. This was not a 'fresh' tomato sauce as advertised. My dish, the taglierini con porcini, was almost inedible. Instead of fresh porcini, I was served, a canned or bottled button mushroom that was almost gelatinous and disgusting. Once again, my dish was tasteless as though the chef, if there is one, never tastes the sauces. Unquestionably these two dishes were prepared and then either sat under heat lamps or microwaved before service. For anyone to suggest this food is like the food one would get at a restaurant in Italy is ludicrous. My family is Italian, I spend 3 months every year there and know what good fresh food should taste like. This was neither fresh nor authentic! Then finally, our desserts came. We only ordered the desserts as it was a special occasion, and I am an optimist, hoping that we might be surprised. Well, placing a cupcake size dry Italian Ricotta Cake on a large plate and adding a bunch of chocolate swirls and dots does not qualify as an excellent dessert. Once again, we were disappointed. I know this is a harsh review, and I know how hard it is to be in business, but I also know that it is apparent the current owners are only going through the motions. Shame on them! Only they and their staff know what is going on in the kitchen, and it is certainly not preparing food at the standard the mother would have served. As for the 4+ star reviews, what can I say, people rate Pizza Hut as having good...

My daughter booked a reservation at Risorante Claretta for my birthday last night. It was our first time at the restaurant and we heard great things about it so we came in with high expectations. We were a party of 3. We were greeted by a male server (older gentlemen with glasses). He brought us a 10 lb book of their wine listing which was way too overwhelming to look through. I asked him for a sweet wine and he stated that all their wines are “dry”. So, we were drinking water until we were greeted by another female waitress which ended up being one of the owners (daughter of Claretta). I asked her if she knew of any sweet wines that they might have and she said they had a Moscotto which is what I was looking for to begin with. Obviously the male server is not very knowledgeable about their wines. We were then served bread that was cold, stale, and hard as rocks. It was so hard that I could’ve used it as an object to knock someone out. We asked the daughter to bring us some soft bread and she replied “you already have some bread on the table”. My daughter had to physically show her how hard the bread was before she agreed to bring us softer and fresh bread. On to the appetizers….For appetizers we ordered two Zupetta do Molluschi (steamed mussels, Manila clams, and shrimp with tomato sauce, garlic, parsley, etc.). Not the greatest but edible and also had two shrimps in each bowl. We also discovered raw garlic in the appetizers which were clearly just thrown in the sauce. For the main course, I ordered the Linguine all’s Vongole (long flat pasta with Manila clams and white wine sauce). When it arrived, the sauce looked like they boiled frogs in broth. I almost got sick on my first bite. The clams were extremely sandy and fishy (definitely not fresh). The sauce had no flavor, no garlic, just HORRIBLE. I ended up sending it back to get the same dish my sister had. My sister ordered Tagliolini Al Granchio (long flat pasta with crab meat and tomato sauce). My sister was also very disappointed with her dish. The sauce had absolutely no taste and it appeared that the crab came out of a can and they just dumped it in the flavorless tomato sauce. We asked for grated cheese and black pepper to give the dish some flavor. My daughter ordered the Cavatelli Mare E Monte (short pasta cavatelli, shrimp, imported porcini mushrooms in a cream sauce). Her dish had frozen shrimps which consisted of about two full shrimps (cut up into 4 small pieces). The mushrooms were clearly canned button mushrooms and had a gelatin texture. The daughter of the owner did not even try to redeem herself after knowing I sent a dish back. This was a horrible experience on what was supposed to be my special day. My daughter paid $250 including tip for food that was anything but “homemade, authentic Italian food”. We are Italians ourselves and know what authentic tastes like. This was definitely not it. This restaurant is a high robbery, STAY AWAY AND SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!! Even Carrabba’s, a chain restaurant has way better tasting food than this place for half the price. Ristorante...

The most authentic, Northern Italian restaurant in the Treasure Coast area. It’s a fine dining ambiance, where the servers treat you like family. The food is made a la carte, made to order and to the table. The chefs cook with love, with a deep appreciation of their heritage. All ingredients are fresh, as well as their desserts. The owners, Cristina and Francesco will always remember their cliental and make them feel at home. When I say it’s authentic Italian, they offer the varieties they grew up with in Lago Mongiorno and offer a colorful, extensive palette of wines with classic presentation. If you’ are a lover of art, food and ambiance this is the spot for you. The servers do well to remember their customers, always catering to them with genuine expression. My significant other and I ordered an appetizer special, Scarmorza and their Insalata D Mare (seafood salad) and were in love with the fresh flavor. We moved onto the lamp chops (lollipop styled, delicious!!!) and Robespierre (highly recommend!) and were quickly impressed with the essence of fresh thyme, the gentle heat and learned that the herbs were actually home grown. Our server assisted us in choosing a bottle of wine from Veneto, as we were curious by the various options. It complimented our dinner, and for dessert we shared the famous Ricotta cake. Highly recommend eating here, would come...