La Trattoria Restaurant — Restaurant in Key West

Looks like an Italian restaurant, smells like an Italian restaurant, acts like an Italian restaurant- yet NOT an Italian restaurant. I should add the caveat, that the staff at this establishment was immaculate- they gave us ample attention and we received excellent service. Now…let’s give a play by play of each of the courses my partner and I were served last night. For a place with a whole martini menu, you’d expect to receive a decent espresso martini, however the drinks lacked foam and they forgot the signature espresso bean garnish. Our next course was tomato bruschetta, which tasted like store bought croutons with a tomato-cucumber salad on top (traditionally bruschetta is served exclusively with tomatoes and garlic, and if they were tying to get creative with this recipe, they got a little too creative). Next we ordered the Funghi Farciti. This was described as parmigiana baked, breadcrumb stuffed mushrooms. In reality the parmigiana was just grated on top and the mushrooms were swimming in a soup that consisted mostly of cream. Our last course was the Gnocchi al Gorgonzola, similarly to the mushroom dish, the Gnocchi were swimming in a soup of cream. The Gnocchi must have been over-fried prior to being cooked in the cream sauce, because they were firm and rubbery. In addition to having an overly liquid viscosity, the sauce was over salted- when you make a sauce out of Gorgonzola, the extra salt is unnecessary. Overall, if you are looking for an “Italian vibe” and mediocre food, this may be the place for you. Again I should reinforce that the servers were friendly, attentive,...

After eating a bunch of authentic Key West meals, my small family (Husband, Three-Year- Old Son, Me) was craving some Italian food. Coming from New York, we know what a GREAT Italian meal is like. We made reservations here - and at first I was a bit leery because since they didn’t have a kids menu I was worried it really wasn’t a kid friendly restaurant (like so many in Key West we actually encountered). Our son is actually very very well behaved and is used to going out to eat in fancy restaurants - so he’s good no matter where we go - like really good. Well - Not only was the food here absolutely to die for - authentic Italian - but they went above and beyond to make my son happy and to make us feel welcome. This establishment was a pretty nice place and I’m sure they don’t have too many kids there usually but if you have well behaved children - don’t pass it up - they were so so kind to my son. The waitress even brought out balsamic vinegar/olive oil in a smiley face shape for my son to dip his bread in. They made him pasta with butter sauce and Parmesan cheese (my son calls it shakey cheese). They brought his meal out immediately - and knowing that most children do have an expiration date when it comes to being out to dinner - they brought us our meal fairly quickly as well. We did NOT feel rushed though - we had cappuccinos to end our meal.

I feel it’s really important to recognize when an establishment does a superb job - and La Trattoria did just this for my small family. Would absolutely recommend this restaurant to anyone craving Italian while...

We made reservations for Monday, February 14th. We got there 20 minutes early. The young lady at the reservations desk said our table wasn't ready and recommended we get a drink at the bar. I got a vodka soda and she got the expresso martini. Both were very good. My wife's phone alerted her that our table was ready 21 minutes later. A minute went by as we cashed out at the bar. We went to the reception booth and told her our name. She said " we almost gave your table away" I was like we just got the message our table was ready at the bar, cashed out and came right to her. She mumbled something under her breath and showed us to our table. We sat there for 15 minutes till our server came and gave us bread. It was another 10 minutes till he came back to get our order. In the meantime 2 couples with no reservations were seated served and eating their food within half hour. We both ordered lasagna. An hour later we still haven't received our food. I asked where our food was he said oh you ordered lasagna which takes some time. I said an hour to make lasagna? 5 minutes later our lasagna come out. It wasn't baked completely the lasagna noodles were not cooked completely and hardly any cheese in side the lasagna. Bar was good, restaurant and service was a total fail. We have been living in Key West for the past 3 years and this restaurant was the biggest...