trattoria alla toscana

first visit to this place a few years ago was a real highlight and we have had it marked for a return trip ever since. finally made itbackand once again it delivered. the antipasto platter, ravioli in sage butter, fish of the day, chicken marsala, veal scallopine, classic crème caramel and profiteroles were all excellent. a bottle of soave and a bottle of chianti classico riserva, both were very good matches. the service was friendly, efficient and at times entertaining, in the nicest possible way. if you like this style of eatery i reckon you won't find a better one in nz. if you have been to italy as i have, you will not be disappointed. looking forward to the next time.

i went there for some good italian food and was disappointed with my meal. the owner (i am assuming) was not that friendly and i rather expected that friendliness and food should go together. i shall not be returning and there was nothing amazing about their food! think i will have to gobackto sorrento's l' antica trattoria for that sheer dining pleasure i am after!

amazing food! i went there last night, and it was a feast for the senses. i am not a foodie, but my gosh
had the gnocchi, the profiteroles, the antipasto platter and it was great. am goon gobackwhen a friend arrives from overseas. the prices were expensive, but when you taste the food, it's definitely worth it. look forward to going there again. service was excellent as well.

very disappointing meal. pasta was revolting. when sentbackit was returned to us with lite change and not re done as it still had our bite marks in it.

prices were $22-$35 so wasn't good value.

waiter excellent but not backed up by good food.

we wont be returning.

had the worst service we have ever experienced at any restaurant in nz and we eat out regularly. booked for two people for 7pm. table wasn't ready so our waitress sat us at a table she told us was 'awful' while we waited '30 seconds' for our table to become free. took 15 minutes. ordered pizza bread, entree size seafood fettuccine and main size chicken fettuccine. waited an hour and asked where our pizza bread was. after 10 minutes the waiter camebackand said there had been a mistake and our orders hadn't gone to the kitchen. he asked who took our order and we explained it had been the head waitress. they were trying to blame the young waitress who was clearly new but much better than the other two senior waiters. long story short, our mains took another half hour to turn up. no one apologised. we got the entree size chicken fettuccine instead of the main. no one came to ask for more drinks orders. our 'pizza bread' that we had ordered came after our mains and was garlic bread! a disaster all round. and to top it off, the waitress argued with us when we were paying as we refused to pay for the main size pasta, as we didn't receive it. she said we had as it was clearly on the docket. unbelievable. will never gobackagain. ever. shocking. service suggestion - have one person looking after each section so the waiters know which step in the process each table is up to - no one knew what was going on and two other tables complained while we were there.

my wife and i were transportedbackto italy last night when we enjoyed wonderful food, excellent service and warm, friendly recognition from the owner. the gnocchi with a gorgonzola sauce had wonderful flavour, the filetto (fillet steak) was not only the most tender i have eaten, but it had more then usual flavour. my wife thoroughly enjoyed the seafood fettuccine which she shared with me - again great flavour. the meals were generous and the whole evening thoroughly enjoyable. we have lived in italy, dined throughout the entire country, and nowhere was the food better than at trattoria alla toscana. we will return! frank & rose

five of us went for dinner last night and were fortunate to sit outside and have a deal voucher. we started with a shared antipasto platter and garlic bread which were tasty and a great appetiser. husband then had mussels starter, although he doesn't like them normally, and said they were so tasty he will order them again! for mains, two of us had fish, husband had steak, sister in law had fettuccine and mother had lasagne. the meals were all excellent but left a wee space for a delicious dessert. meals were reasonably priced given the quality and the wine was a good price too. very attentive host and we will bebacksoon.

took my partner here on sat. evening for his birthday. we were both very much blown away by the service and the fantastic food. the ambiance was simple but classy. we shared a delicious green mixed salad which exuded freshness and both tried the specials for the evening. my partner had the oven roasted flounder with roasted potatoes and veggies. wow! it was extremely tasty and we both enjoyed every last bit. my only small complaint would be that there were not enough potatoes ;-) they were simply delicious and i really would have enjoyed eating more of them off my boyfriend's plate. tehe. i ordered a special with homemade fettuccine pasta with salmon and asparagus in a white wine sauce. yum! it was just the right amount of pasta as well. sometimes i'm overwhelmed when i go to italian restaurants and the amount of pasta is the entire size of the plate. even if you can eat that much, you really shouldn't. since we were both so pleasantly full after dinner and not too stuffed (and of course to help celebrate a birthday), we had to-die-for desserts. my partner had the panna cota which was decorated to perfection with fresh fruit and i had something similar to an eclair but forgot the italian name for it. it was simply divine! really enjoyed our evening and will most definitely bebackwhen we are next in napier! all the best...

away on holiday we were looking for a fine dining experience as this is how we like to eat. on arrival the service was attentive however the owner taking bookings on speaker phone each time it rang in the middle of a quiet service was rather rude to customers.

we probably should have ordered italian however i felt like a steak, medium. the steak was still in a jelly uncooked state right through and unfortunately no one bothered to comebackor near the table to ask how our meals were whilst we were eating. it was not until i had finished the sparse vegetables, one piece of broccoli, one piece of cauli and 3 carrot wedges on my plate, before i could advise them.

if this is what napier calls fine dining, we wont bother going out!

more than any other italian restaurant i've experienced outside of italy, this restaurant captures the fine, distinctive mix of tastes that so epitomizes italian cuisine. it is not so obvious if you've never been there. (italy or trattoria alla toscana) it is obvious. trust me.

we started with a bottle of prosecco and had a bowl of local green lipped mussels in a neopolitan salsa that took mebackto my first visit to italy 26 years ago. to the best of my ability to ascertain, this was an elegant mixture of olive oil, tomatoes, lemon, garlic, and white wine. the ciabatta had a velvety texture, tasty, and very helpful for dipping. the mussels were big at four inches and were juicy, plump, tender morsels of the sea which, when bathed in the broth made me sad that there were only ten in the bowl. next, came a bowl of house made ravioli with mushrooms and ricotta cheese in an orange tinged lighltly creamy, white wine sauce for trinj and a house made pappardelle with mushrooms and smoked salmon sauce for me. the only thing i could say about both pasta dishes bursting with an exquisitely blended palette of tastes while simultaneously maintaining their subtle distinctness, was you have to try this yourself if you're in new zealand. or maybe even if you're not.

a bottle of 2007 hawkes bay alpha romus merlot/cabernet sauvignon wine came out and as we started to make a dent of it, the secondi came out, a sixteen ounce florentine t-bone steak. this was not lamb. this was not a hamburger. this was a 16 ounce t-bone steak cooked in a traditional florentine style, with garlic, olive oil and rosemary, which i have been in love with since my first bite years ago. yo, baby, yo. as i cut into it and watched the purplish, juices come out of the meat and seep onto the plate, i could almost smell the wondrous meaty smell-----but of course i can't. i can't smell. even so, as i took my first bite of the succulent beef, i thoughtbackto a time in tacoma.

i smiled as i took my first bite. i looked at my wife as she took her first bite. we smiled at each other. this was real. this was not lamb. this was a beautiful cut of meat, beef steak or bisteca, cooked to perfection. the taste, the texture, the juiciness, the tenderness, the feel of it in the mouth, the way it played on all of one's senses. this was a wonderful thanksgiving dinner. oh, baby! the wine did a service to the dish.

a cheese plate followed which was nicely accompanied by walnuts, apricots, kiwi, melons, some more wonderful ciabatta and some crackers.

then came dessert. the profiteroles came out soft and drizzled in chocolate filled with a sumptuous light cream. perfectly done. the sadness that comes with the end of each course is quickly overtaken at the giddy pleasure that comes from the next wondrous caress of the taste buds of the following course.


all in all, a great thanksgiving dinner in new zealand.

chef is genuine italian and his wife and maitre 'd is a kiwi lady with loads of experience, having lived in italy for several years (where, i found out, they met).
service is brilliant and food is absolutely delicious and fresh.
wines are lovely, and the complimentary liqueur for comingbackthe 2nd time was a lovely touch!
we'll bebacknext time we're in napier.

we ate there last night. just wonderful. food was excellent in taste, timing, portion size and presentation. staff are always wonderful, and the head chef is the friendliest chef i've come across. absolutely recommend this place. one thing we find needed to change is music,it is beautiful,but far too loud,
will be more appreciated, if it is softer.
thanks for the great experience! we will bebacksoon.