IL Pescatore — Restaurant in Orlando

The atmosphere is quaint, a little dated and could definitely use some upgrade, but inviting overall. Service was very good, efficient and quick but it was not busy at all so I am not sure how it would be on a busy night. The server was cordial just not much of a personality or energetic. Now the food was decent, but we could tell most of it was previously frozen before cooking. The calamari was extra chewy which we know means it was previously frozen. The ravioli - spinach and cheese - was mushy and the spinach had a frozen tasting tinge to it. Not sure if the whole ravioli was frozen, but most likely it was not made on sight, certainly was not fresh, at the very least the ingredients were all frozen except maybe the cheese, but we bet they were frozen as is and purchased out of the restaurant. The mariana sauce was bland, not sure why spices are a missing part of italian cooking these days in too many restaurants. Ravioli should not be mushy, it should have some spring to it. The Pollo Alla Scaloppine was under-seasoned but the sauce had a decent bite to it, just lacked variety in spices so it did not have the range it should have had. The three chicken breasts were small and not pounded down enough, were a bit on the tough side, and when cut into, shredded instead of cut like a correctly cooked piece of chicken, which means it too was frozen and likely pre-packaged individually, which is a big disappointment. Even the mushrooms seemed either frozen or canned, not fresh. The restaurant seems to present a home cooked fresh meal, but it wasn't, it was a typical cut corners kind of preparation with commercial ingredients and things that do not need to be frozen. Obviously the prices do not fit the quality, and it's too bad bc likely 10-15 years ago, it was worth it before they started cheaping out and cutting corners. Thing is this is a pretty common practice for most long running restaurants, who become complacent and seem to stop caring do much. I would only recommend this place to someone if they like Olive Garden quality food but want to pay a little more and pretend they are getting an...

Came for late lunch today with my 2 daughters. All the staff are friendly, helpful and greet you. The restaurant is nice and cool, which is appreciated on a hot day. I ordered the special, which was alfredo with broccoli, and was permitted to share it with my younger daughter as we both can't finish any plate at a restaurant. My older daughter ordered plain cheese pizza. The Alfredo tasted good, different than the usual flavor. The sauce maybe was a little too rich for us as both my daughter and I started noticing indigestion pretty quickly, so we only ate a little. I'm sure not everyone will have the same experience, we have sensitive digestion. The salad was good and I enoyed it, and the garlic bread was good. I didn't have any of the pizza, it didn't look like my style of pizza (a little greasy, which my stomach can't handle), but my older daughter liked it. My glass did have a small bug in it, which was unusual for a nice restaurant but I guess could happen anywhere, I unfortunately didn't notice it until after I took a drink of my water, but our server apologized and brought a fresh glass quickly. Which brings me to the area I'd like to see improved! Please get a water filter. I understand water is given at no charge for the customer so maybe it's not a priority, but this city water here is undrinkable when unfiltered. My daughter actually said it was the worst water she'd ever drank. I had been to this restaurant years earlier and had the same experience so I didn't even try their tap water and ordered a bottled water, which the 3 of us ended up sharing. This was my grandmother's favorite restaurant and we ate here today in her honor after having visited her grave today. (She always got their spaghetti with meat sauce).If invited by a friend/family member I would come back, and try a pasta with red sauce...

24 Jun 2023. 8:30pm First time visitor to this wonderful, family-owned restaurant. We discovered it simply passing by. We always prefer family-owned restaurants over franchises/chains. The restaurant is very quaint. Reminded me of the cozy Italian restaurants I used to visit when growing up in Queens and Brooklyn in the 70s and 80s. We ordered the Stuffed Eggplant and Chicken Marsala, came with dinner side salads and garlic bread. The food was as good as the pictures look... And the pictures look VERY GOOD 🤣 We always try some of the sauces by themselves before anything else. That's our litmus test for good Italian food. If the sauce isnt great, the rest of the meal won't be either. The red sauce was not overly salty and was nit too sweet. Had a good tomato flavor and was slightly on the acidic side ✅ The Marsala sauce was not overly salty, had a rich darker color and strong wine flavor ✅ and, the mushrooms were visible and sizable. Nothing worse than advertising that a dish contains mushrooms and then finding lots of little l, hard to see bits and pieces. See the pics. You get MUSHROOMS here. Our server was great.... He was friendly, attentive and prompt. The only suggestion I have is to ensure the Stuffed Eggplant is hot in the middle of the layers. The top and bottom were hot, presumable from the oven heat. But the center was room temp. I didn't want to complain, because I was hungry and I didn't want to wait before I could dig in 😏... a simple thermometer check could prevent this in the future. Never the less, the quality and flavor is excellent and we will definitely be back to try...