Can anyone tell me anything about a new restaurant called Trattoria Dino on Tamiami Trail East at Airport Pulling Road? Is this a family oriented restaurant? Can we bring a 3 year old there? How is the food and pricing? Thanks

It is Pri Fixe dinner at $275 per person. Children under 18 will have to sit in Cathy's section.

*tHe hApPy wAiTeR*

Please, serious replies appreciated.

I saw your post earlier and was curious about this "unknown" place in Naples. So as I went out on an appointment, I decided to swing by and check it out. As I suspected Trattoria Dino (actually I think it says Dino Trattoria) has taken over the location of a series of unsuccessful Italian restaurants, the last being the very bad Roberto's. It is in the strip shopping center than includes Albertson's.

I'd say it is primarily a family-type place. Think Olive Garden without the "fine decor or extensive menu". The menu is posted and rather simple -- five or six appetizers, five or six salads, four pizza, maybe 6 pastas ($12 to $16) and about 6 main courses (the most expensive being filet with sauteed spinach at $19). But the big deal is apparently a three course special for $ 18.95 which is a choice of two salads, unlimited servings of three pastas of the day, and a tiramisu.

It is not a "Naples Trendy" restaurant, and I can't think of a more logical sit down restaurant to take a 3 year old. Just now for lunch there were about 10 people eating. Sorry I can't say anything about the quality of the food. But I'm curious how you heard about this place.

Thanks Patrick. For some reason, I knew you would come through! A friend of ours who used to be the Maitre d' at the James Beard House and who owns an adorable trattoria in Astoria called Amici Amore is the new owner of Trattoria Dino. The Astoria restaurant is great. He brings his traditional Montenegro touch to many of the dishes. He moved to Naples last month to start this venture. My brother's family is going to Naples next month with their 3 year old, and I want to send him to Dino's. I wanted to hear an unbaised opinion first without risking insulting a friend. This may be a restaurant to watch. Dino has talent and experience. If you should stop there for a bite, tell him that you were sent by Randy & Ellen up in NY.
His manager, Frank, does not know us at all though.

Oh, forgot to add that the Tiramisu is absolutely fantastic. My favorite dessert on his NY menu. If he has the ravioli with sundried tomatos on the Naples menu, that dish is a winner as well.

Interesting. I wouldn't have guessed that the place would have such an interesting "pedigree". It probably lacks the "style" and "pizazz" that most Naples diners are looking for, but who knows? I didn't study the menu very closely, but it seemed more "standard" fare than anything like a sun dried tomato ravioli.

My trying it out may have to wait a while. I'm only in town for a couple weeks between trips before heading off to NYC for a month stay.

I have a feeling that he will start out simply and add on from there. He is just getting settled with his wife and 2 small children as well. Coming to NY for a month! We should try to plan a Fodorite get together! Maybe Howard would venture down for a visit as well.

Tonight I rescued my mom from her assisted living facility for a meal out. "What would you like?" I asked. "Pizza, we never get that here".
So off we went to try out Trattoria Dino.
Her pizza was OK, about 8" diameter, fairly thick crust, but far more than she could eat. It was a Quatro Stagione, and we asked if maybe they could mix the ingredients rather than doing it in the four separate sections. It came in the usual four separate sections anyway, which was probably a good thing as one section was thick with sliced tinny tasting canned black olives. Good thing they weren't scattered on the whole pizza.
I had a rucola salad with sun-dried tomatoe vinagrette and shavings of Parmesan, plus a "surprise" of walnuts all over it. This was the best thing of the night. I also had cappelini with seafood -- overcooked pasta, watery and tasteless tomato sauce, three of the driest, toughest most overcooked shrimp I've ever seen, and some decent mussels and clams.
My partner had pasta fagioli soup -- again rather tasteless except that it had a decided "scorched" taste to it --apparently the beans had burned in the bottom of the kettle. Really not good. He also had vealscaloppini with porcini -- actually veal covered in a thick brown gravy filled with finely diced bitter porcini and tons of those wretched canned black olives.
We tried the tiramisu -- ok, but not even the vaguest hint of coffee or espresso flavoring.
Favorite conversation of the night:
"What wines do you have by the glass?"
"A red and a white."
"What's the red?"
(Puzzled waitress)"Red wine."
"Yea, but what kind of wine is it?"
"Oh, it's from a bottle. I think it's from Italy."
We tried it. It should have stayed in Italy!!!

Second favorite conversation:
"I'll have the arugula salad."
"The what?"
"The arugula salad -- rucola."
"Oh, the baby spinach."
"Well the menu says rucola and even translates it to Engish as arugula."
"OH, yea, rucola is Italian for baby spinach."
(me trying to be agreeable)"OK, well I'll have that then."
The salad was rucola or arugula -- not spinach.

We won't be back.

Sorry, bugswife, but we tried.

Patrick - I always follow the Naples restaurants and your suggestions. You have given some excellent advice in the past and sent me to some terrific places! I'm sorry that this one wasn't a winner given the owner's apparent exciting course on life. It sounds as if you and I both were hoping for a successful new venture. Thanks for checking it out as I to was wondering about Trattoria Dino after bugswife 1's post.

Yep, Paul. I, of course mentioned this restaurant to my friend, a server at Pazzo. He had already heard the very bad reports of Dino Trattoria.

Topping for bugswife. Is this the thread you're talking about in which I "trashed" this restaurant. Could you explain how I could have been more fair? I think you need to realize that when you ask for opinions they aren't necessarily all going to be glowing. I'm sorry that these are your friends trying to open a restaurant, but I'm not about to lie about the place.

Perhaps it is the tone in your posts that I am misreading? I think that to say the wait staff was inexperienced might have been enough, without going into verbatum detail of your conversations.

adding to above. The verbatum conversation as opposed to a possible response that the wait staff was inexperienced is my definition of 'trashing'. It may not be your definition, and so we disagree.

Yes, bugswife we do disagree on that point. I really believe that details make a big difference. Saying the wait staff is inexperienced doesn't mean much of anything. I've had great servers on their first day of work -- that has nothing to do with the situation I was explaining here! Explaining the conversation that showed this particular wait person had not been instructed as to the difference between arugula and spinach, and had not been taught a thing about wine is far more revealing to other readers. Just saying that the waitress was inexperienced isn't even necessarily a bad thing at all! Big difference between lack of training on the part of a restaurant and a waitress being new! Surely you have to agree with that. I suppose you also think it would be fine for someone to say "the food wasn't great" instead of describing the details of what was wrong with it? I totally disagree about details being the important part, not vague generalities. So I guess we will continue to disagree on that point.

But let's be honest here. You are being overly sensitive because these are your friends I was talking about. I don't blame you for that. In reviewing this whole thread I now get the idea you were trying to get your friends some good publicity, and the whole thing went horribly wrong. I'm sorry that it hits you personally. But my review is surely no more blunt or "trashing" than at least two-thirds of all posts here about restaurants.

Ooops. In re-reading that last post, I hope it doesn't sound like I was saying that the publicity was your original intent in posting. I simply meant that it seems it could have been hopefully good for your friends, but since my review was negative, it didn't turn out that way. Sorry about that.

Patrick - no problem. I wasn't looking for publicity for him at all. I was just curious as to what type of place he had bought into since we love his restaurant up here. Wanted to determine if it was worth a trip to visit. He had also asked us to invest in restaurants with him several times and we declined. Was hoping I made the right decision, now I know I did.