La Trattoria Oceanside — Restaurant in Key West

BAIT AND SWITCH? YOU DECIDE! The bartender at the pool of the close-by Hampton Inn, strongly suggested this place. I asked him if they had Veal Parmigiana, and he said an enthusiastic, "Yes!" I went to the website to verify, since this is my all time favorite Italian dish. Even if it isn't ON the menu, I have had the pleasure of having it specially made for me in other "genuine Italian restaurants." If they had veal dishes and chicken parmigiana, it only makes sense that they could make the Veal Parmigiana as well - -and that's what I base my findings on - -actual experiences in Italian restaurants. We arrived a few minutes early, sat at the bar where that bartended did a fantastic job providing us with the drink my spouse wanted, and my prosecco. Delightful accomodations, accomodating, courteous staff - things were looking FANTASTIC. We were seated, ordered more drinks and when I went to order the Veal Parmigiana, it was no where to be found on the restaurant menu, even though it WAS on the online menu. Called for the manager. Got this song and dance that they 'couldn't make it authentically' in a reasonable amount of time, so they QUIT offering it. I pointed out my reasoning about the veal and chicken dish similioarities to the manager and again, was flat refused my request. I even strongly said that the restaurant menu and the online menu SHOULD MATCH, AT ALL TIMES. After all that, I wasn't going to order anything -- I really had my heart set on the Parmigiana, but my spouse talked me into a different dish. Yes, it was good, but it WAS NOT WHAT I ORIGINALLY HAD WANTED, HAD VERIFIED THE EXISTANCE OF, AND HAD MY HEART SET ON. Their apologetic gesture? A MEASLY FREE DRINK EACH FOR MY SPOUSE AND MYSELF. OOOOP - -DEEEEE---DOOOO - - I was REALLY expecting my entre' to be gratis - -HA! Yeah - -I felt like a sucker - - -and like I had been the victim of the oldest trick in businesses = = BAIT AND SWITCH. Yeah I know, blah, blah, blah, all the stuff that goes into business decisions, and that I was "ONE" person, and and weighing the pros and cons of accomodating me, THIS decision they made made the best BUSINESS SENSE. I thought the best gauge of the business was customer satisfaction? Not...

My wife and I dined here for our wedding anniversary on a Friday eve. We were seated at a window table facing the Ocean. The ambiance was ok, there is a road between the restaurant and the water which takes a little bit out of the 'oceanside' aesthetic. For the cost of the meal the service and food were average. My wife ordered the surf and turf special and I the Cannelloni. Up until that point the experience was pleasant. The meal didn't take long to arrive at our table, however the steak my wife ordered medium was definitely well done. She informed our server who took both plates back to be redone. After 25 minutes without an update and a 10-minute lull of my wife's now empty wine glass, the food arrived. The steak was now medium, and we ate. The Cannelloni was good. My wife mentioned her lobster was very dry and tough. We debated if it was the tail from the first serving. I told her to let the server know, but she had just wanted us to enjoy each other's company at this point. After the meal we sat for a little while waiting for the check. The server brought out a tiramisu desert with a sparkling candle and stated it was for our anniversary. Although a nice touch, we had planned on hitting a famous desert spot right by our hotel room after and now we didn't see the purpose of that, so we had a couple bites of the tiramisu. When the bill arrived, I was disappointed to see they had comped the tiramisu and the surf and turf, only to add the surf and turf back on at the bottom of the bill. It looked to us as if the server comped the special, but the manager might have informed them 'just give them a free desert' due to the special being $65. A manager never visited our table during our time there. I expected no discount or free items, but the experience was a disaster. I had wanted to show my wife a nice fine dining experience for our anniversary, and this was a real let down. We were wishing and talking afterward of other establishments we should have...

Don't wait another second call and make your reservation, then come back and read the rest.....I'll wait.......

OK I've been to Key West 20 to 25 times in my 35 years. I've eaten most every where. Even for a city that has access to the most amazing and freshest seafood in the world I rarely see it executed to the caliber it deserves. For all the pluses of vacationing in Key West the culinary offerings are not on the top of the list.

I've been to Paris, Nara Japan, Busan Korea, Shanghai, Rome, Balogna, Florence, Venice, Vegas, Chicago & Toronto. I know good dining.

I went to La Trattoria on a Wednesday night an hour before closing with minimal expectations. It was late it was cold, I had a scooter and it was close.

From the MOMENT I stepped foot in I knew we had a winner. Someone failed to tell these Italians they were on a tropical island....no cheesy tiki torches, or drift wood boards on the wall that read "Beach Life", just a good ole fashion Italian Restaurant. It was packed and the ambience was very intimate and very nice.

I ordered the Antipasto appetizer....it was an awesome assortment of olives and meats, aged cheeses pickled garlic and more. It was huge and only $14

I had an old fashioned and it was prepared perfectly.

My wife ordered the clams for an appetizer and I dipped the fresh baked bread in the brandy sauce and it made me very happy. That was $10 for a very generous serving.

We both ordered the special Hog Fish. It was DAAAAAAAAAANK, it was very very yummy, the incorporated the capers and lemon zest in a very very complimentary fashion. It was nicely presented.

I was a little shocked at the sticker price of $35 a plate. But my wife reminded me we paid $40 a plate for a similiar Hog Fish plate at A&B Lobster and we weren't nearly as impressed. Mind you A&B Lobster is a much more popular restaurant...but I was much more impressed with La Trattoria.

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