La Trattoria
2401 PGA Blvd. (Harbor Financial Center)
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410
561-775-0186
Open for lunch and dinner
11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
www.carmines.com
Part of the growing roster of Carmine’s eateries, La Trattoria disappoints. It sits adjacent to Carmine’s Gourmet Market, a trove of epicurean delectations that set the bar for our expectations.
Three of us ventured in for dinner one Saturday. The menu is expansive with seafood, pasta, pizza, and a variety of meat dishes. I ordered Pappardelle “Carmine's,” a wide fettuccini noodle served with chopped tomatoes and broccoli rabe. Another diner ordered lamb chops and the third, Linguine “Zia Pia,” a combination of clams, scallops and zucchini.
While waiting, we sampled bread served with olive oil, the first disappointment. The server poured a concoction of dried (huh?) basil and whatever else onto the plate, followed by oil. The mix proved to be as tasteless as the bread. Then came the Caesar salads (a la carte) that earned an “A” for the anchovies, but flunked in garlic; we couldn’t taste any there or in the olive oil. Hey – La Trattoria is Italian, right?
Bread and salads are first impressions. Neither impressed here.
Both pasta dishes were more uninspired zuppa than anything else and the lamb chops, well … ho hum. We shared chocolate cake for dessert – the final nail in this meal of mediocrity.
Perhaps the pizza is better.
Service: good. Valet and self parking available. Moderately priced. ©2010. Jane Feehan. All rights reserved.
Tags: Italian restaurants, Florida, Palm Beach Gardens,lunch, dinner
