L'Aromatario - Osteria e Affittacamere

On the advice of a knowledgeable person we decided to book a table at L'Aromatario. The first member of staff was very unfriendly, probably because it was his first day at work and he didn't understand English very well. Due to his very young age (I estimate him to be around 18-20 years old) I suspect he is very inexperienced and I blame the owner for not having trained the staff. The second servant also understood poor English, after which the owner took over at our request. At first she was friendly but that changed when we pointed out the behavior of her staff. For example, the sommelier was closely acquainted with guests at another table - and he decide to keep on entertaining them for up to 10-15 minutes while paying no further attention to other tables. The wine that the owner served with the starter was fine. In the second course, the wine only came after we had finished the dish. The main course was a regional dish called Brasato al Barbaresco. We had eaten that main course at 6 other restaurants and there it was fine at all. Not at L'Aromatario. At L'Aromatario the Brasato was of very poor quality. The meat was undercooked and we had great difficulty cutting or chewing it. The owner showed no interest in us and the youngest member of staff was instructed to remove the plates. After I asked for the owner, she approached somewhat annoyed and asked if the food had tasted. When we both answered no, she indicated that it was impossible because the meat had been cooked for 8 hours. We both responded that at least another 8 hours should be added. In short, a big deception and really not recommended. We were most disappointed that she didn't make any offer to accommodate us. That is why we made a counter-proposal ourselves for a - in retrospect still far too high - price. We experience it as very unprofessional that the owner speaks negatively and very loud about us in Italian after we paid. She probably didn't realize we understood her just fine.

We tried individual courses and the tasting menu at L'Aromatario. In the latter, despite the given menu, one course could still be changed (Tajarin instead of Plin), which we appreciated very much. Our favorites were the Vitello Tonato and the Tajarin with Ragu. The service staff was extremely attentive and courteous throughout the evening and showed expertise in the wine selection. In general, the atmosphere was very warm and the brick walls made for an authentic overall experience.