Trattoria di Napoli — Restaurant in Perry

Went for a birthday. Our orders were fairly basic - bolognese, chicken piccata, chicken parm. The bolognese sauce was so dry, it was in chunks and had...no sauce at all?? Tasted like something out of a can that had been cooked down until it was nearly turned to powder with big chunks of some kind of meat. Some dry parsley was sprinkled on top? To be fair, the pasta had been cooked correctly. The chicken piccata was a piece of overcooked, deep fried, breaded chicken in a gelatinous sauce that had zero lemon. Capers came from a jar, so they were fine. The buccatini pasta was...under/over cooked?? It was gloopy and I had to scrape it off my teeth. The angel hair pasta that came with the chicken parm was the same. The chicken was overcooked and there was an inch high pile of gelatinous mozeralla on top. We were using our forks to remove uncooked remnants of pasta off our teeth for a good part of the meal. Cannolis were kindly offered at the end of the meal and they were made from ice cream cones with a grainy substance inside - we asked if ricotta had been used and were told "definitely not." Soooo, still don't know why it was grainy?? They tasted...awful. This would all have been not much more than just a "bad" meal, except that the prices per plate were $30 (acceptable price if it was edible). For an "Italian" resto, the pasta should at least have been cooked right?? Why was the chicken breaded and deep fried and so hard?? I had trouble cutting it with the butter knife I had been given. Honestly, I've had better food at Olive Garden for much cheaper, and I don't eat there, because I don't enjoy their food. Wasn't expecting Italian food, but this was...truly awful food. Inedible. We all took a couple bites, but couldn't eat it. The smell of the bolognese was...bad. Burned? Gone off? Not even sure. Just bad.

I could mention that service was not great; they just don't seem to know what they're doing? I prefer to be left alone, but if they do that, then you should be able to get their attention when you need something. We were having to wave and call him over the clatter of the room to get him to come over so we could order and he often walked right by us as we tried getting his attention (weren't offered refills, didn't clear away used silverware from apps, left unused dishes on the table until we handed them to him, etc). The pizza oven is pointed at the main dining, with the door opposite it, it got so hot, we were fanning ourselves with napkins and anything we could find. We were all sweating buckets, and drinking what drinks we had (which never got refilled). It feels like they don't know how to provide restaurant service?

It could be a cute little place in a nice spot, but serving inedible food for a minimum of $50 per person (if you get maybe a drink or app), it's mildly offensive. Even the apps were not great. Otherwise, this could be a fun spot to get apps and drinks in winter (they did have a really decent cocktail - almost no alcohol in it, but tasted fine). But I wouldn't even go for that.

I don't generally leave bad reviews, but this was truly abysmal food at crazy prices (for...

First time visit! We loved it! Here’s a breakdown:

Service: 10/10 Mikenzie was our server and she was great! She was very attentive and took extra steps that made our meal so enjoyable! We came a little earlier than our reservation and were sat immediately. Food came out quick, but not rushed.

Drinks: 10/10 Michelob Ultra on Draft: no complaints! (Just a mich ultra so not much to say here) Bubbles and Bramble cocktail: sooo delicious! Probably one of the best cocktails I’ve had. Not too sweet, but was kind of like a fruity mojito. Highly recommend!

Appetizer: Mozzarella Cheese Sticks 7/10 Very delicious and definitely recommend, especially if you have a large group. Maybe not ideal for a party of two because it comes with 3 huge sticks. Could have had slightly more seasoning, but overall very enjoyable. The marinara that came on the side was great and we think it was probably homemade.

Pizza: Pizza Di Carne 10/10 Absolute show stopper. This was probably the best thing we had overall. The pancetta was chef’s kiss. Get it, you wont regret it. It’s 8 slices and definitely large enough to share.

Pasta: Arabiatta 7/10 Full disclosure, I have never had this dish before so I have nothing to compare it to. I liked this, but I probably wouldn’t get it again. It was not bad by any means, but i think I would have liked a different pasta better. The only actual technical issue with it was that the pasta was slightly undercooked. The chicken that I added to the dish was great. They also offer freshly grated parmesan which was a nice touch.

Dessert: Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake with Raspberry sauce (8/10) Very good cheesecake, great texture. My boyfriend felt like there was too much raspberry sauce, but I loved it. If that’s something you are iffy on, I would recommend asking for it on the side.

Overall Score: 9/10

We got a lot more food than we needed, but honestly we were just excited to try a new place (and we’ve been on a diet for a while haha so went a little crazy). I definitely think everything was a shareable size unless you eat a ton. When we come back, we want to try a different pasta, but will have a hard time branching out to a new pizza after the perfection that the Pizza Di Carne was. I think for the average couple, just two entrees or one entree (split) and one appetizer would be enough! We will...

We have been to Trattoria Di Napoli several times now. The struggle to find Italian food in Middle Georgia is real. There is another place in town that opened a few years ago and we refuse to go there anymore. Three bad experiences and we were done! So when we heard TDN was opening in Perry the excitement began to build.

So far so good… with any new restaurant, they are working hard to find their stride. Their service has been very good and our servers have been excellent so far. You have to put out a good product, but service is also critical to success and repeat customers.

For the most part, their food is very good. Several different pasta dishes have been tried and we have liked every one of them. The pasta is cooked perfectly which seems to be a challenge at other restaurants. Not here… they have it done! The sauces are tasty and full of flavor. It would be nice if they offered fresh bread and olive oil / balsamic at the tables.

Their mozzarella sticks (more like logs) are the bomb diggity! They even come with a nice side of sauce to dip them in.

One thing we have struggled with is the pizza. We are very familiar with Neapolitan style pizza and pizza in general. We are self proclaimed pizza snobs, so our bar is kind of high. They have an amazing custom build pizza over that I would love to take for a test drive. I am not sure what the issue is, but our pizzas have been “doughy” and don’t seem to be cooked enough. It may be the temperature of the over, improper hydration or a yeast issue, but we just don’t like it. Some people tell us they like it, but others feel as we do. Pizza making is a skill and takes practice and refinement to get it just right.

TDN has a very well stocked bar. They also make a super delicious Limoncello Margarita.

Overall, you owe it to yourself to give this new restaurant a try. I think you will be very happy you did. We sincerely wish and hope that TDN continues to grow and be...