Evviva Trattoria Rochester — Restaurant in Rochester

I have been to the Rochester location twice and here is what I have discovered. Each employee I dealt with, from host/hostess, wait staff and bartender were wonderful and friendly. I thank them all for their hospitality. First I had arancini. Created in Sicily, arancini is a street food for workers on the go. Large rice balls stuffed with meat, cheese, etc. and deep fried. The name derives from the shape, that of an orange (arancia). I’ve been making arancini for 30 years and am constantly trying to find something as good as mine. The US started treating arancini as appetizers, golf ball size, or smaller, for easier cooking and better aesthetics. Evviva does the same. Their smaller unstuffed versions lack flavor and are fried with panko, not traditional Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. If you simply called them fried mini rice balls, they would be fine, but for arancini they are off the mark. Two entrees, chicken parmigiana and lasagna with bolognas. When assessing a restaurant, I always start with the basics. If they can’t do those well, they don’t have a chance at much else. I received an enormous portion of spaghetti which well overshadowed a tiny fried chicken breast. Normally chicken parm consist of a layer of spaghetti, usually a 3-4 ounce portion, with a large breast or two laid atop, covered in cheese and sauce (gravy for my paisons). Evviva’s was accompanied by an unusual dollop of very creamy whipped ricotta and a nice pesto. Excellent, yet out of place. I prefer pan fried chicken, but you’ll rarely find that in today’s restaurants as it i time-consuming. The sauce tasted fresh and simple. Tomatoes, a little salt, some basil and maybe some olive oil. Simple and fresh. If the chicken portion wasn’t so miniscule, I would have been pleased. The lasagna was a medium portion that was covered in the Evviva’s rendition of bolognas. I assume it was their tomato sauce with cream and ground meat added. A far reach from traditional bolognas which is cooked for hours, with onions, carrots, celery, building layers of flavor and usually containing white wine or sherry. Theirs was one of the worst attempts I’ve encountered. For dessert we had cannoli. It’s vital that cannoli are filled just before serving, to keep the shell crunchy. Evviva did this to perfection. Instead of using mascarpone they used their whipped ricotta, adding enough powdered sugar to make it sweet, without being too sweet. My compliments on this. A few days later I stopped back for their pizza. I discovered issues with their menu. Ignoring the fact, they list three risotto dishes under “Pasta”, their pizza offerings are very inconsistent. 16-inch Margherita is $21.50. However, you can make your own 16” pizza with an additional cheese blend for $18, as I did. Add pepperoni and it’s $20 or buy their pre-priced pepperoni for $21.50. This is a huge menu mistake, showing the senior management team did not take this task seriously. I am aware they are new and learning at all stages of the restaurant, so I give no bad marks to the oblong pizza I received. Darker on one side than the other, nothing that made it unpalatable. The crust was surprisingly good. A nice chew, good yeasty flavor. What did astonish me was the lady sitting behind me received an order of chicken parmigiana with a cutlet 4 times the size as the one I had a few days earlier. Then, the lady next to me also received her chicken parmigiana and hers was half the size as the one sent out behind me. She did, however, receive a Mount Vesuvius portion of spaghetti. So here’s my soap box on consistency and expediters. Expediter is arguably one of the most important roles in a restaurant. They are the buffer between the kitchen and the waitstaff. They are the last line of defense in making sure the customer’s order/ticket was processed right. Making sure the customer who didn’t want cheese didn’t get cheese, ensuring the kids meal has the right veggie, MAKING SURE ALL DISHES LOOK THE SAME OUT OF...

UPDATED NOTE:

I have had a response to this post. Did what you said about contacting them. And I never heard back at all from them!! So I guess your CS also will get a Zero Stars for not getting back to an "Unsatisfied Customer!!"

Hi, I decided to give a review of our 1st experience with your "Italian Restaurant." When you 1st come into a fairly large restaurant. You see a huge bar. But here is where or why the negative review. 1st, there should be a lot more booths with the Italian Feel and Flair. Using Round Tables as well. Since you have a small amount of booths. Everything else is regular tables. High Tables that both of these are not comfortable. Everything is lit up so bright as if it were a Christmas Tree with Bright White Lights. Not at all an Italian feel to the restaurant. And then you have today's kind of music blearing out of the speakers. Whenever you go to a "Real" Italian Restaurant. It's comfortable, relaxing with an enormous feel like you're in Italy. The music is low-key, comfortable seating. Menu should actually have pictures to show the food you are ordering. The food is expensive, so your clientele deserves that feel, comfort, and everything I spoke of. The service and waitress was excellent. I have the Chicken Parmigiano, which was very good. The bread you put out first was good, but 2 pieces for 2 people is lacking. And you should offer garlic butter. Not everyone cares for just oil. My lady had the Chicken Marsala. And tryst me it is her Favorite Dish. But you failed miserable. This wasn't Chicken Marsala. This was the worst CM ever!! It lacked the Marsala Wine. You couldn't taste it. And it was loaded with too much butter. That you easily see it on the noodles. You put Onions & Slightly undercooked Bacon. That we never seen in a CM. Olive Garden has a better CM than what you put out. And they aren't an Authentic Italian Restaurant. You are supposed to be. Hopefully, you take our advice and perhaps make some changes as suggested to be that "Italian Restaurant" we had expected. It's a restaurant that's like a sports bar that serves Italian like food. We know it might sound harsh. But you needed to know and want you to succeed here in Rochester. But the CP was good. Let's see what you and the owners do with my feedback. And your potential future customers can expext. Thank you, God Bless. And have a Merry Christmas and a...

We were there a few days after opening. They were not seating everyone as they cam in, despite empty tables, as to not overwhelm the staff as they were still learning. The wait was 30 minutes, as they told us, and once we were seated, the speed and quality of service was outstanding.

The bar area is very nice, with multiple TV's and lots of seats.

All of the food was fabulous - especially the Italian Street Fries and the Brussels sprout pizza. We have been waiting for this place to open for months, and were not disappointed. It will be a regular stop for us! An Italian restaurant, especially a good one, was long overdue for Rochester.

Update after 2 more visits: Had a 5:30 reservation for last Friday, seated at 5:30. The service was prompt, My Veal Saltimbocca and the wife's salmon were phenomenal. We had the Street fries again, which were such a hit the first time, and although they were excellent, the portion was almost 1/2 of what we got the 1st time. Excellent visit, so we decided to go back Sunday with 2 other to whom we have been raving about this pace.

5:30 reservation, seated at 5:30. Although I fully realize how hard it is to maintain a high, consistent standard in the restaurant business, this visit was quite a letdown from the first 2. While still busy, there were many empty tables. Had to ask for silverware, plate and rolls. Beers took forever to get. Street fries again were a small portion, and the meatballs seemed very dry. Our 2 guests liked their eggplant parm and seafood, but my Orecchiette with Sausage was underwhelming - small portion with some sausage that was not worth the cost. My wife had the gnocchi, which was eh. Service was much slower than before and for the first time felt the meal was not worth the relatively high prices.

I hope it was a matter of an off night and selecting the wrong options, but we were hoping this would be a consistently excellent go to option for us, not just another so so place a the ridge. ...