Dal Contadino Trattoria — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

Maybe they were having an off night. the hostess was great. She was able to get us a table for 2 without having a reservation. Then, My wife and I sat down. The server was noticeable rushed and impatient. Wanted us to order our water , wine, appetizer and meal all within of 2 minutes of sitting down. I tried to order a glass of wine and was immediately upsold to a $140 bottle of Amorone I had the be pushy to stay with my order of a glass. We tried to order the bruschetta and was heavily encouraged to go with the blossoms. Well we said ok and guess what. 2 appetizers showed up. Really didn’t want two. And by the way. After being hurried to order to the point of being uncomfortable. The 2 glasses of wine show up well after the apps are served even with me asking and guess what else. No bread till we ask. well in the first two minutes the seldom chance I get to have dinner with my wife with the kids at home the mood was spoiled by the server. Then the food and beverages are mis timed, Then the server never comes back to the table and the glass wine is gone and I have my main with water. This could be a fun place. But we got Murphy’s law. Tried to have dinner for 2 and we just wanted to leave. To make it worse the server acknowledged she ignored us the total time we were there. When she brought the bill... Really No reason to comment on the food. As it was probably ok. But with the service and introduction to this restaurant as poor as it was ; it had no chance. I have been a Fort Lauderdale native for 30 years now and this was the first time we stopped into this restaurant around the corner from my house. I really have never given less than a 4 star ever as a review. This was unfortunately the lowest dining Experience we have had in a long time. Should be a one star....Not sure if us actually buying the whole bottle at $140 would have changed the way we were treated. Hopefully the crew can serve their next guest better based on my accurate and constructive look back on this evening. .....Be patient. When a guest tells you we need a few minutes. Let them have a few minutes. Let the guest order what they want. Don’t bait and switch them and over serve and over charge apps. Bring the wine before apps appear on the table. Offer bread , as you are an Italian restaurant with olive oil on the table. Come back to the table at least once to refill a wine glass. Don’t apologize for bad service when you drop off the bill. Realize when a couple goes to dinner as 2 there is a really good chance they are paying a sitter. The last thing they want to do is constantly battle with a pushy server, be over charged...

One of the worst dining experiences I have had in quite some time. I’ve been a longtime patron of this restaurant. My family has been longtime patrons. My friends have been longtime patrons. After my experience last night, not only will I never back, but I will go out of my way to encourage others to avoid this place as well. It’s a far cry from the restaurant it used to be. Our last two visits were very bad experiences (both times with Paolo as the waiter), but last night was beyond unacceptable.

Arrived on time for our 7:00 pm reservation and were seated by 7:09 pm. By 7:39, we had not received water, drinks, bread, or even enough menus. I called over the manager Mario and explained to him the situation, and he seemed to care and take action. However, it only got worse from there. We placed our order around 7:45 pm.. an appetizer and four entrees. Appetizer arrived by 8:05 pm. Around 8:15 pm, after our appetizer had been finished and about 30 minutes after placing our order, our server Paolo came back and asked us to verify our entrees. Obviously he had not put our order in yet, which alone was very disappointing.

He came back around 8:25 pm, 40 minutes after we had placed our order, to tell us that they actually ran out of one of our entrees. Given this was 40 minutes after we placed our order, we voiced our frustration on how it could take that long to reach that determination. We chose a different entree. About 15 minutes after that, almost a full hour after placing our order, he returned to tell us that they actually ran out of a second entree that was initially ordered. I explained this was completely unacceptable and he apologized. The manager was a mere 15 feet from our table while this was all going on.

We explained how unacceptable this entire evening had been. They offered us a desert on the house, which at this point was a slap in the face. We could not get out of this place fast enough. You’ll get better service at Olive Garden!

This was one of our favorite restaurants and on a list of recommendations we’d give to friends and clients coming to town. Not only will we never be back, we will make sure to tell everyone to avoid this place at all costs. Way too many good Italian restaurants in Fort Lauderdale to give this place our...

If you are Italian like myself, this is not traditional Italian food, taste or quality. I assume the owner can advertise it as such in the Ft. Lauderdale market and thrive due to the scarcity of authentic Italian cuisine connoisseurs. I imagine their family came from Italy a few decades ago, but please do not let this fool you, as this place is still Americanized. The food was poor quality and generally bland and flavorless -- from the appetizer to the dessert. The worse was the Ravioli Carbonara, which I would equate to the quality of an Olive Garden. The dish came with five ravioli; I ate 1.5 and asked the waiter to please take it because it did not taste good. The waiter kept the dish on the bill at the night's end. He said he asked the manager but that they "don't take meals off the bill even if they don't taste good because this is not a chain restaurant but a mom-and-pop shop." I asked him to return, and they scrubbed just $10 from the bill from a $28 dish I barely touched. Please do keep in mind we were a party of four who also ordered wine and the most expensive dish on the menu, Bisteca alla Fiorentina, which was also inferior in taste and quality. Suppose you have ever had the opportunity to eat a Bisteca alla Fiorentina in the authentic Tuscan style. In that case, you will find the dish at this restaurant to be a disaster and a scam. Clearly, the owner did not care because the customer service was substandard, he does not know how to run a business. Oh Gosh! I almost forgot, the tiramisu was an utter shame; the waiter boasted this was one of the best desserts because it was made in-house, but the owner of this place has NO IDEA how to make a proper tiramisu. Again, this was Americanized to the bone, from the ingredients to the quality and taste. What they sold to us is not REAL tiramisu; please stop lying to people. Overall, I would not recommend this restaurant and will not visit again. As I said, if you know genuine Italian cuisine, you will find this place disappointing. If I could give them zero...