Rinata Restaurant — Restaurant in Minneapolis

I don’t even know where to begin. We choose this place based upon all the good reviews and I can’t for the life of me understand why anyone would feel good about spending their hard earned money at this dingy health hazard. From the moment we arrived it seemed somewhat promising with its quaint location and welcoming host man. We were seated just around the corner from the bar and were told someone would be with us shortly and took our drink orders. After about 20 mins a young woman came to the table and said she would check on our drinks and didn’t even introduce herself as our service person. We were given no recommendations and felt very uncomfortable. We ordered the Bruschetta which was horrendous but our bad on not fully reading it was a Brussels sprout, onion, goat cheese mixture and not the heirloom tomatoes we read so many fabulous reviews about. We then proceeded to try the garlic bread which was burnt to a crisp. Would have loved to try the bread and olive oil mix that every one else had but it was unfortunately never brought to us. We then ordered the spaghetti which had a decent sauce but soft mushy meatballs and extremely over cooked noodles. A cold bolognese that was the best thing we ate. I would maybe eat that again if we ever venture back. House wine was great, always nice to see peroni on tap. Overall this place was in serious need of a deep cleaning, staff training, and a palette reevaluation. I hate to even leave such a review but I truly would hate to contribute to anyone else trying this establishment when there are so many wonderful options in our area that are a much better use of your time...

If I could leave more than 5 stars I would. I eat out on a regular basis and I would say most of the time I’m kind of disappointed in the food quality and flavor as I’m a decent cook myself. This has never once been the case at Rinata. Let me start by saying Sino (the server we have always had) makes the experience alone. He is warm, friendly, excellent on finding the right entree for each individual yet doesn’t check in every 2 mins. As a former server myself I would have to say he gets a 10/10. We were just in for date night which is 4 courses plus bread for $50. Where else can you get fresh, made from scratch food for $50 for 2 people. It’s the perfect amount of food to have you leaving full, but not super heavy in your stomach. My boyfriend ordered the spaghetti and meatballs which I assumed would be kind of bland. Not at all! It was full of flavor and the meatballs are very generous sized. My favorite dish is the fennel sausage bruschetta. It’s sweet Yet savory and nothing like any other bruschettas I’ve ever had. Sino takes the time to describe the dishes in full detail and really helps you understand them without being annoyed by the questions. The ambience is sweet and quaint and we’ve never had trouble finding parking. If you’re looking for a nice dinner out with a warm environment, excellent food without the expensive price tag this is the...

Service - 5 stars, amazing waiter, great service.

All menu items are as is, no smaller portions

On the half price wine... look up any bottle on the menu and divide it by two... now google the shelf price of that same wine in a liquor store. Nearly every bottle on the menu is sold at the liquor store for 5-15 dollars per bottle. They are listed on Rinata's Menu for 40-50 dollars per bottle, half price is often twice as much as what the wine is sold for. The 96 dollar bottle is sold for $30 at the store... I see what you did there Rinata!

Cocktails - I highly recommend the ginger old fashioned. Very nice! The dessert cocktails are also good.

Negra Fettuccini with braised octopus, shaved fennel, capers, and tomato. - I'm not going to pretend I am any kind of expert on squid ink pasta or negra Fettuccini, but I have had it two other times at other restaurants and really enjoyed it, would order again. Not so here. I found it very salty, kind of dry, and too fishy. You would obviously expect this dish to taste that way, but it was too strong for my taste.

Papperdelle with braised wild boar, porcini mushrooms, onions, garlic, and rosemary - AMAZING. If you have any debate about what to order, and this is one of your options, GET IT. Perfect dish.

Lamb Osso Bucco alla Milanese - also very good! Lamb is well prepared and soooooo tender. Risotto also...