Rossini by Chef Rocco — Restaurant in Florida

As a Culinarian, Food reviewer, and Seasoned Chef, I’ll be very detailed but blunt in this review.

Service: I was asked to seat myself, my waitress was clearly new, but being “trained” by another woman. (The restaurant had a total of 5 tables seated and or dining) It took more than 5 minutes for my drink order to be taken.

After my drink order was taken it took another 12 minutes for me to recieve my drink. (Which was just lemonade)

The waitress asked if I was ready to order, so I started to place my order. I ordered an appetizer of Mozzarella sticks and started asking some menu questions, And then the other waitress who I believe to be the woman that was training her, raised her voice interrupting me while I was ordering, to say “I need to make sure your doing this right, have you told him about the specials?!! Meatballs for $1? You gotta say these things! And the soup of the day!” The younger waitress stated I was in the middle of ordering and they both just stared at me. It was very uncomfortable and honestly one of the worst service experiences I’ve ever encountered. Not only that but the food itself took over 40 minutes to come out.

Food.

Mozzarella sticks, overcooked Hard, too much breading, shape is very inconsistent.

The flavor / seasoning is okay. 2/5

Garlic bread (comes to the table for free)

Stone cold in the middle, warm on the outside They prep it too far ahead of time, and reheat it improperly. I would’ve preferred they never brought it to me. It ruined my palate.

0/5

Cheese ravioli

Stone Cold on the outside, piping hot on the inside.

Plate hot to the touch.

They use a microwave

The texture of the ricotta. Is too powdery. It’s premade ravioli. They do not make them in house.

The sauce also screams that it comes from a can. Just by the taste, the texture of the onions, and the bright red color. It’s not a natural dull red from homemade tomato sauce.

The noodles are not made in house. That much is obvious from the get go.

0/5

Atmosphere looks like they wanted to open as soon as possible, it’s very low effort. But it’s efficient.

They are also constantly playing music from some sort of speaker by the front or bar that sounds awful when seated in the back, it ruins...

When it comes to Italian restaurants, I'm easy to please.

Just give me a good homemade meatball. Goes without saying that it isn't frozen. Not so dense you can bounce it. Doesn't have to be stuffed with spaghetti to impress me.

That's my baseline, and from there the restaurant gets to build my trust. But you'd be surprised how few good meatballs there are out there.

With apologies to all the meatballs I've missed, the Pioneers' Barones know they had me at meatball from day 1. Bill says that Gina's are good, too.

But now another member joins the Meatball Hall of Fame.

Rossini, now By Chef Rocco, on the edge of the mall at 18101 Murdock, is now owned by Chef Rocco Scarpino, formerly of Scarpino's Classic Italian in Bradenton and originally from the Amalfi Coast, known for its seafood and lemons.

Apparently also for meatballs, if Chef Rocco's is typical. Perfectly seasoned, in a chunky, rich sauce, two of these make a meal in itself. (And on Tuesdays you can get one of them for a dollar!)

I also went for an appetizer for lunch--a family-filling peasant dish called "greens and beans," a hearty bowl of spinach, Italian sausage, garlic and cannellinis in a family-secret, lemon-rich broth. Delicious and just as homey as all the folks running the restaurant and regaling us with stories like we were family. Dave, Angelo, Chef Rocco and his fiancee all came out to keep us company, like we were at their kitchen table.

Bill had Italian wedding soup and carpaccio, plus the basket of bread that comes with whatever you order. Happy camper there, too. I'm not including photos because his meal got eaten too fast.

As if we hadn't been comfy enough, Dave brought us a taste of their signature homemade limoncello cream (remember those Amalfi lemons?). And for dessert, Angelo arranged for a delightful cream puff carved up like a swan. I ate its head.

Come eat, enjoy, and meet the people. You...

Stopped here for dinner after a movie at the Regal in Port Charlotte and couldn't be more delighted that we did! The service and food were both fabulous! I had the veal scallopini. My friend had one of their salads and a mussel app. We tried a chianti and a pinot noir and both were very good. My portions of veal, mashed potatoes and green beans were perfectly cooked and delicious and there were no leftovers. The dinner left just enough room for the after dinner cappucino we enjoyed and the complimentary limoncello and small anisette cookie provided by our host. If you have a larger appetite, you could easily do dessert and an extra glass of their excellent wine choices. The restaurant owners (and chefs) are from Italy and boy, do these gentlemen know how to cook!! And one of them also entertained the guests with his guitar and vocal renditions (he is very talented with a beautiful voice and offers cds on your way out). He also wandered by every table to make sure that every guest had a wonderful experience. The only disappointment was the lack of cannolis on the dessert menu. Hopefully they will add those. But there were plenty of other delicious desserts to choose from.

The venue is not fancy from the outside (it was previously several restaurants and a drive through pizza place), but inside are beautiful paintings, window dressings, and the linens one would expect from an upscale eatery. The restaurant is cozy and lovely and the setting is intimate with about 12 to 15 tables, so it makes a perfect beginning or ending to a date night movie. Prices were in line for restaurants in the area (dinner for two with a glass of wine and after dinner coffee each ran about $100 with a 20% gratuity) I will definitely be going back and...