Andiamo Ristorante

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

After ordering a bottle of wine the waiter was incapable of opening correctly, I had to have 2 glasses changed because pieces of the cork were splintered off into the bottle. Our waitress came over and leaned lazily on on a chair at our table and proceeded to "read" the specials to us...I would have much rather had them printed in front of me if someone cannot take the time to remember what the specials may be that day. After looking over the menu, my wife and I decided to ask about the Chef Tasting menu and was explained by our waitress that it was chefs choice and was a "mystery..."...no thank you. We decided to share and appetizer and were going to order a Primo Piatto- 1st plate, and a Secondo Piatto- Secondo Plate when our waitress looked us dead in the eye and said "Thats a lot of food for you two." So then she told us that the portions were large ( which is why I guess the price was so great) and that we could order half orders of our 1st plate then get our entrees. So dont expect to order like a regular Italian restaurant and get a menu coursed out. Our waitress even asked me how I would like it coursed out...WTF?!?! Our appetizer of mussels was horrible. There were 3 empty mussels and 3 that the shells were split in two and chipped. I told the waitress that I didnt understand how they could break in half and still be served on the plate then the manager came over and said that the chef probably tried to pry them open. I cook seafood for a living...why would you try to pry open a mussel if it didnt open naturally? If it didnt open naturally you dont serve it. That means that the it was dead previously for who knows how long!!! After that the 1st course and 2nd course were par...still large portions that couldnt justify the price unless they were using gold as and ingredient, dry braised meat that was supposed to be lamb ( which was not described as it should be on the menu) and the toast for my wifes seafood soup was burnt black on one side so it left and bad taste in her mouth the rest of the evening. Bottom line there are much better places to spend that much money in where food and service are taken seriously. Maybe I just had a bad experience but I dont recommend his place.

CH

Christian Lopez

I came here after reading so many positive reviews. It was my significant others birthday so I wanted to take her somewhere nice and this establishment was recommended on multiple platforms. I guess I got the one off experience. Ill just go over the evening here - - Pulled up into a mostly vacant outdated strip mall lot at about 7:20 with reservations for 7:30 made via OT (I had put in the notes about the birthday). - Stood at the entry area for about 10 minutes before a kind kid came by and had us seated. I mentioned the reservation but the place was pretty empty so no real need there. The decor was outdated and reminded me of a cafeteria from the 80s. - A few minutes after being seated, a pleasant woman comes over and wishes us a happy birthday. - A few minutes go by and our waiter Fabio comes to recite the specials. Smiles, nods and takes off. - Were given a good 20 minutes to look over the menu before our waiter comes by again. There were 4 or so occupied tables (he wasnt just hanging out, he looked to be the only one around). - At this point were contemplating going elsewhere but buckle down and hope for amazing food. Starter consisted of these chip-like vegetables, main courses were ravioli and zucchini pasta. - Parm chips were good (emphasis good, nothing spectacular here) until we came to a nice long strand of white/gray hair. It appeared to be the nylon strand of a brush but it definitely wasnt welcome on the plate. Picture seen here. - Both dishes were... lacking. The flavors were decent enough and portions were adequate... there wasnt any WOW to them as most reviews seem to emphasize. From sit to finish was approximately 1.5 hours for just us two. Ive traveled through Italy and understand the whole slow serve ideology but it was mildly frustrating. - Waiter brought a piece of birthday tiramisu post meal (I hate to gripe about it but man it was bad; it was also free so that was nice). All in all I wouldnt return - I appreciate and support local business and Im glad that a lot of people enjoy this place, I was just overwhelmingly disappointed, especially given the circumstances of the visit.

JE

Jennifer N

Went here last night after a toss up on Italian restaurants. At a glance the menu is a little pricey compared to most places, but it is most definitely worth every penny. I rarely admit places are worth the money. So strange it is in a sketchy part of a strip mall, but goodness its a Northwest Austin gem! Everything about this place is amazing, its so easy to get to, there is parking, no need for downtown fuss of Valet and looking for street parking. The employees are extremely nice. We had Joe and he was amazing, explained the menu and answered any questions that we had. He has great suggestions. The photos are the wall are amazing, makes you want to hop on a plane and go to Italy. Now to the food, the food was beyond out of this world. The soup is so delicious, sounds silly to get soup but you MUST MUST try whatever soup they have. The bread, I mean the bread goodness the bread was my favorite how weird. But the bread is unlike any other bread, there is cheese and spinach rolled up in it! What an amazing idea!! We ordered the spaghetti and gnocchi and chicken. Everything truly was cooked to perfection, so handcraftedly amazing! Of course we ordered dessert, the gelato was spot on and the profiteroles were melt in your mouth delicious. I cannot rave about this place anymore. I am so sad I just found out about it after living here for 14 years, but I will now become its new best friend! FANTASTIC!!

AN

Andrew Cockerell

This was my first dining experience at Andiamo Ristorante and it wasnt like I thought it was going to be. It has some positive things going for it, such as friendly staff, an authentic feeling Italian atmosphere and delicious, quality food, unfortunately, the quantity of the food paired with the cost of the dining experience was a bit of a letdown. I cant complain about the price of the food because, even after looking over the whole menu, I chose to buy what I did. However, as great as the meal tasted, the price for the amount of food I got should have been far, far less. My friend who was with me ordered their pricey ravioli dish and literally got 4 ravioli squares on a large plate; again, the amount was not worth what we paid. In addition, the first basket of bread the waiter brought to our table was complementary, but since we were still hungry after nearly finishing our entrees, we asked for another basket of bread and we were charged $5 for it. Our waiter did not tell us wed be charged for it, either. We wouldnt have ordered it if wed known that. Andiamo Ristorante offers an appealing dining experience, but you have to have to be willing to pay a high price if you want to leave feeling full and satisfied. While I enjoyed trying the restaurant and what it had to offer for the first time, I probably wont be going back.