"I walked here from Zgoda st. one evening as a winter chill was settling across the city. I have long been a proponent of Shakespeare's claim that "hunger is the best sauce," and I hoped the long stroll would work up an appetite. It did, but to no good end. Oh, where to begin? As noted above, this place claims to serve the finest Italian fare in Warsaw. This, and much of the rest of the flattering review, is false. The interior conforms to a kind of pseudo-Italian stereotype, akin to Bacio but with less flair stuck to the walls. White stucco and wood beams predominate--the overall effect is like going to the Italian area at Epcot Center (if you've ever been you'll know this is not a flattering analogy). I ordered some homemade pasta from a pasta chef that apparently skipped his pasta-making classes once too often (perhaps he specialized in green Jello?). It appeared on the plate as a messy, unorderly smear, and was just overcooked enough to be unpleasant without being overtly soggy. The sole garnish to this dish was a lonely sprig of parsley which only emphasized its lack of creativity. While dining I was subjected to the soundtrack from "Married to the Mob"--Volare!, Mambo Italiano, etc. ad nauseum. I thought of Joe Pesci stabbing the man's throat with his pen (watch Goodfellas if you are puzzled) more than once-- a strange and terrible side effect of the music. Desert (Tiramasu), which I ventured into hesitantly, was somewhat better but seemingly a little stale. The coffee was not strong enough to defend itself as my meal wound down to end not with a bang but a whimper. The wine-by-the-glass situation here is poor, with a single mediocre choice from South Africa. I was only able to "enjoy" a single glass, as my server did not return once during the meal to take another drink order. One of the best bits of advice regarding criticism that I ever received was to always craft a shit sandwich (sorry for the unpleasant gastronomic metaphor): the good bits first and last, with the ugly stuff in between. Unfortunately, the bread of Venezia's sandwich is as thin as their (yawn) foccacia. My total bill with a glass of wine, pasta, desert and coffee was 78 PLN--Frankly, I'd rather have dined at McDonald's." | Matthew Griggs
Poland
Nov.15.2005
Overall rating 1/5 |
