Trattoria da Vinci

10/16/08

Great food. Terrific Service. Beautiful room.

by StCroixJoe at Citysearch

Four of us celebrated a birthday party on a Wednesday night. We had a reservation and probably needed it. Most of the tables were filled.

I had the seafood Gnocchi. It may have been the best meal at the table but my wife would argue that her Mushroom Ravioli was better. My son was pleased with his Saphron Chicken Risotto and my daughter was also happy with her dish. The portions are large, we took parts of two meal home.

The menu is so interesting we were planning our next visit before we left. The prices are very reasonable for the extremely high quality of the food.

• Pros: Great service. Parking. Food and ambiance
• Cons: Tight parking.

06/19/09

Wasn't a Fan

by vouk0003 at Citysearch

Maybe "I" messed up because I ordered soup & salad for lunch, not pasta. I didn't even get to order all the way before the waitress interrupted me & finished the order for me. I guess I was pointing at what I wanted as I was saying it, so she figured she'd save me a few words???? The waitress dropped off the food & disapeared without asking if I needed anything. I got the Blue Garden salad & their special soup of the day. The salad was supposed to contain "fresh vegetables", which apparently consisted of ONE small cube (think taco bell size) of tomato, plus 3 of the same size carrots. The salad was supposed to have blue cheese, which consisted of a few crumbs. The salad was supposed to have pepperoncini, which it did---about 3 rings. You get the point---the salad was lousy. I will give them credit for the soup, which was decent. Of course, when I finally got to ask the waitress for some crackers, they told me they don't have any. OK....Overall, I would not eat here again.

• Pros: Some decent options on the menu
• Cons: Service, Quality of Food

03/04/09

Great Lowertown Takeout Service

by shannia82 at Citysearch

This is the first time I've tried Trattoria da Vinci, and it was a takeout order. I live in Lowertown and have had enough bummers of overpriced meals. I tend to do a lot of delivery during the week, but it gets old paying the delivery fee and tip only to find they didnt get the order correct.

I decided to call Trattoria da Vinci after finding their menu online. I emailed them while I was at work to ask their prefferred method of preorders. Wonders of wonders, they emailed me BACK within a couple of hours. So I gave them a ring and ordered 3 entrees:

Spaghetti & Meatballs, Canneloni Ripieni, & Ravioli di Pollo Alla Sorentina.

I asked them to have my order ready at 6pm. I arrived at the restaurant 10 minutes early. They greeted me and apologized that my food would be ready in 9 minutes and asked if I would like to wait at the bar. They offered me a soda on the house while I waited which I accepted. I spent some time admiring the lovely atmosphere.

I received my food exactly on time.

The food survived the walk home. They plastic wrapped each box so the food didnt leak. The additional box had a nice chunk of presliced bread. Soft, warm, delicious--not Olive Garden breadsticks! There were 3 2oz containers of a delicious garlic spread. The spaghetti was the largest of the 3 entrees. The pasta was cooked al dente and the sauce tasted very fresh. The 3 meatballs on top were generously sized. The Canneloni Ripieni was the hands down favorite though--comfort food at its best. Two large crepes: cheesy, meaty, tender on the outside and just a bit brown crisp on the outside. Ravioli di Pollo Alla Sorentina was perhaps the smallet entree among the three and the most expensive. 4 large raviolis with lots of garlicky sauce. But the tasted of the smoked chicken with mozzarella was truly divine.

So hand down, a delicious meal and yummy left overs at Trattoria da Vinci. I look forward to trying their pasta bar and drinks.

12/14/08

Fun Place with Great Food

by mryuck at Citysearch

This place has great service, atmosphere and some of the best Italian in the twin cities. The location is slightly awkward but it's worth the effort to find parking.

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Parking

02/13/08

Not so great customer service

by allfh at Citysearch

This is my first time on this but I just wanted to state what had happened. I have been here twice the first time I thought that it was a pretty decent place to eat. Then last week I changed my mind due to customer service..I had made reservations for Trattoria da Vinci and when we got to the restaurant at our reservation time they said we cancelled but really they just heard the wrong name so that was the first thing that went wrong, after waiting (because they cancelled they wrong name) no shorter than 15 minutes maybe even longer they said they could be seated but at separate tables. This was for our friend?s birthday and we did not want to be split up but they said that was the best they could do. We politely said that was not going to work and the manager got rude with us and said it was our fault.

11/01/07

LOVE! ATTENTIVE SERVICE AND EXCELLENT FOOD!

by libbiepup at Citysearch

This evening, my husband and I decided to give Trattoria a try. It is wonderful. I like the feel inside the restaurant. The service was attentive and the food was superb! I am lactose intolerant and they went out of their way to accomodate me. The chef even created a special dish just for me! Thank you! Everyone should give this place a try!

• Pros: great food, great service
• Cons: parking

04/10/07

Jazz + Italian = A great Friday night

by tcfoodie68 at Citysearch

Can you really beat great Italian food mixed with Jazz? I don't think so. I have been to this St. Paul mainstay quite a few times. Never been disappointed. The place could be cleaner and neater. But I have always had a great time.

(I am new to the idea of internet venting so bear with me, I generally just write my thoughts down in a notebook and discuss them with my friends. I may wind up going through my more recent notes and putting it all out there).

• Pros: Music and dinner
• Cons: Cleanliness, messiness

11/14/06

Hidden Jem

by silvergreen at Citysearch

We came here for a birthday dinner party and could not have been more pleased. We had such great service that I cannot wait to tell people about it. Even the manager came by our table to check in on our dinner. The food was great (highly recommend the creat your own pasta) and the wine list was excellent. We've been going here for about 2 years not and have not been disappointed, not once.

• Pros: All around goodness

Ambitious fare a step ahead of the usual Italian dishes, delivered by servers who tell you the biz.

by Contributor at Citysearch

In Short
At the lunchtime pasta bar, a long line of St. Paul office workers snakes around the restaurant. At dinner with live jazz, the mood is as relaxed and romantic as the women in the Leonardo da Vinci prints hanging on the wall. For lunch, the recommended pork loin-and-spinach panini is juicy, savory and garlicky. The chicken ravioli is above average, but the star dish is the Parmesan-crusted trim lamb chops.

02/28/06

Valentine's Day Delight

by droth7684 at Citysearch

My wife and I completely enjoyed our dining experiance we will return. The wine, apps, entree's, dessert, wait staff ambiance everything was top notch. Thank you for a wonderful evening.

• Pros: Staff, Food, ambiance