Rinata

We visited Rinata on Sunday, October 30th. I had been wanting to visit for awhile since they are listed in the Entertainment dining book and it was a new addition for 2011. They are also in the 2012 Entertainment book. 

We arrived on time for our reservation and were seated promptly. They had a four course dinner special for $20 per person, which sounded great. Apparently this is a Sunday special they offer every week. It took awhile before our server stopped by to greet us and take our drink order. In the meantime, someone else poured our water. Once the waiter appeared to take our drink orders were asked a few questions. When he delivered our drinks we placed our food orders. Then, the waiting started. The waiter said he was going to bring us bread and we waited 15 minutes and it had not arrived, so I asked for it. Then it was another 20 minutes before our first course arrived, which was bruschetta with white beans and pesto. It was very tasty, maybe a bit bland and at this point we were very hungry. 

The next course was the salads, and we waited another 20 minutes for them to arrive after the appetizer dishes were removed. I forgot to take a picture, because I was so hungry. This happens to me a lot. I'd blog about more places if I remembered to take more photos. We both ordered Caesar salads and they were quite good with a caesar dressing that tasted like it was made from scratch. I wondered if there were anchovies in the dressing. Hopefully, because I think authentic caesar is supposed to have anchovies in it. 

There was more of a delay after the salad plates were removed, but I do not recall exactly how long. I had the butternut squash ravioli. This was a great dish. The ravioli was fresh and cooked perfectly. I liked the brown butter sauce as well. I'd been craving butternut squash ravioli and this hit the spot. I had looked at their menu online in advance and planned on ordering it all along. I was lucky it was included as a choice on the $20 special. This was worth the long wait. 

John had the fettuccine puttanesca with shrimp which was spicy due to chili flakes in the tomato sauce. It was delicious and had just the right amount of spice. I was impressed with the large number of shrimp in the dish, I think there were at least seven or eight in the serving. Overall, both pasta dishes were really good. Fresh pasta, fresh ingredients. Worth all the waiting? I'm not sure. Either way, the pasta was way better than anything you'd get at a chain in the suburbs. 

The tiramisu was excellent. It was cool, but not cold, the cake was very light and fluffy and the cream was light and rich. I'm not usually big on dessert, but this was really good. 

I really liked the food at Rinata, but the service was extremely slow on our visit. It took over two hours for the four course meal. I was not expecting to be in and out of there in an hour, but I think two hours was excessive. I saw tables that arrived after us, leave before us and they had the four course meal as well. I'm not sure what happened to our orders; we were told the kitchen was backed up while we were waiting for our salads and no explanations were offered after that. The server offered me a complimentary glass of wine with my entree due to the wait, which was nice. I was still hungry, but I was in a better mood at least! I'd like to give Rinata another chance, but it may not be anytime soon. But for a place listed in the Entertainment book, it was good since some of the places in there can be very hit or miss. 

Discounts: Rinata is in the Entertainment book and we received $14 off our bill, in addition to the $20 four course special. It was a great value. The four course meal for $20 is a great value in itself. They also offer half price bottles of wine on Sundays until 6:30pm. 

Rinata

2451 Hennepin Ave 

Minneapolis, MN 55405-2605

P: (612) 374-8998

www.rinatarestaurant.com