Steph S.
Yelp
Rino's of Boca is located in a spot with many turnovers. However, this place is a keeper.
We went early, but the bar was already bustling and lively. Picture an older crowd happy hour dressed to impress and settle in. An excellent soundtrack of Sinatra and "the Blend" had you singing along. At some point, live music replaced the soundtrack. It was a nice touch, and the volume was on point, just loud enough to enjoy the selection and still speak with your friends. A huge staff waited in the back for the place to fill up, and it did by 8 pm. Almost all the tables were filled with people in the know.
Sliced bread came quickly to the table with some eggplant caponata, sweet ricotta, and spicy oil. A spoon would have been helpful, but it's a nitpick on my part.
Our table of 4 shared baked clams (6-8 per order depending on the size) which were briny and tasty. We wished there was more dipping sauce. Again, where was the spoon? An order of Spiedini alla Romano (breaded and baked mozzarella with an anchovy/tomato sauce) was good but I long for my favorite Little Italy rendition from Grotta Azzurra in NYC back in the day with a sauce of capers, anchovy, and wine. It would benefit this establishment to have the wait staff serve you since the tables for four are not large, but the plates are. We had to remove bread and water to make room.
I chose my go-to pounded veal chop Milanese for my main course. I liked that the veal was still tender after all the pounding, and the tri-colore salad on top was plentiful and rightfully bitter. I wish the salad were a bit less dressed. The dressing tasted pre-made, similar to Ken's style, which I'm sure it is not, but I think it could use some improvement with a simple olive oil and lemon style rather than a sweet "balsamic" thing. Next time I'll ask to change up the dressing.
I would have liked to have tried pasta in a 1/2 portion as another course before the entree, but they don't offer that option. In fact, they made it known the chef doesn't like substitutions. A special soft-shell crab on top of broccoli rabe couldn't be altered with a different vegetable. As a former chef, I understand, but a good establishment shouldn't be so rigid.
The dessert was pleasant. Their tiramisu was extremely moist and most definitely homemade. The Tartufo was pistachio, covered in a nice, perfectly sweet chocolate shell. The pistachio ice cream was weak in flavor. Double espresso was the smallest I've had, barely filling the teeny cup it came in. We asked if we had made a mistake and ordered singles, but their doubles are just really, really small.
Our waitress, Jolie, was very pleasant and helpful. All the servers and bussers seemed to be enjoying their jobs, efficient and unfrazzled, which was nice to see on such a busy Friday eve.
I saw that the owner Rino made his rounds to plenty of the customers but never reached our table. We felt left out even after only being open for two months, and they already have their favorite customers.
We were two couples that ate three appetizers, three main dishes, one cocktail, one bottle of wine, two double espressos, and two desserts. Each couple paid $200. There is valet parking.