Rino's Italian Ristorante
Salt Lake City, UT 84109-1216
Phone: (801) 484-0901
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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