Rino's Italian Ristorante
Salt Lake City, UT 84109-1216
Phone: (801) 484-0901
- Price:
- $$
- Hours:
- Daily 5pm-10pm
Editorial Review for Rino's Italian Ristorante – by Lisa Johnson
The Scene
The atmosphere is charming; sit on the patio and reach right up to pick grapes from the arbor above your head, or sit inside and enjoy music and the stained glass, art and antiques that decorate the interior. The food here is especially tasty during the late summer and fall, when the owner uses fruits and vegetables from his garden in Bountiful.
The Food
There's a great fresh veggie appetizer tray and a dish that consists of a sweet, ripe melon wrapped in prosciutto. Traditional Italian offerings include pastas, soups, veal, chicken, fillets and scampi; sauces are delicate and delicious. There's fun wine list features large pictures of each bottle of wine you consider. The owner takes great pride in his food and will chat with you as you dine, making recommendations and explaining the specials. Don't forget to save room for dessert. The bread pudding and tiramisu are rich and delicious.
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User Reviews for Rino's Italian Ristorante
05/18/2007 Posted by bobwhite34
Who LOOOOVVVES this place? Older people who don't try anything new and who think Chuckarama is a gourmet restaurant. Skip it. Or microwave some spaghetti-Os and eat them in your grandma's living room. Same effect.
Pros: Consistent
Cons: Food preparation and originality
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
12/09/2006 Posted by gringo_stu
From the various reviews on this site and a hankering one night for some really tasty Italiian we ventured out to Rino's. From the moment we walked through the door the signs were ominous. A lot of people say the decor is rustic and homely. Maybe these people are realtors with a particular aptitude for distorting facts. I'd personally call the place ramshackle, kitsch (unintentionally) and in need of renovation. On this particular visit we were crammed into a tiny back room with barely room to swing a small kitten. At the outset I made clear to our server that I didn't like cheese and could she steer me clear of anything I may pick that contained it. She duly noted this and indeed recommend I avoided the first dish I picked. I opted for the spaghetti in simple marinara (how will they handle the basics I thought). When my salad arrived covered in cheese I wasn't overly impressed. I know the salads are made up en masse and hurried out of the kitchen asap, BUT for the prices charged at Rino's you would expect a little more care and attention to detail. My entree featured undercooked spaghetti. My wife suggested it may be al dente, if only so. It was simply undercooked. Maybe the sauce could rescue the dish? I was bowled over by the sheer lack of taste to the sauce. I tried my best to detect anything other than tomatoes. Very one dimensional with little to no trace of herbs. I sincerely hope that the tomatoes were indeed fresh. Much is made of the fact that the owners grow their own vegetables, this is to be lauded. However, based on this dish I would not be surprised if canned tomatoes were used. The sheer levels of salt in the dish alone suggested this may be the case. At these prices one woold certainly expect a LOT more. Whilst the service was fast and friendly, it would certainly not be classed high end. The menu featured steak and lamb topping out at $32! At this price level I would take my money to Spencers, Bambara, Takashi et al.
Pros: Decent free bread
Cons: Poor food quality, overpriced
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