I walked into Rino’s of Boca Raton expecting a standout Italian meal. The room is sleek, the lighting is moody, the prices are confident, and everything about the place screams upscale. This is the kind of restaurant that tells you—before the first bite—that you’re about to have a memorable night. We were so impressed with the décor of Rino’s.
Then the food arrived.
Nothing I ate was bad. The appetizers were fine. The sauces were fine. The chicken and veal were fine. Every dish landed squarely in the forgettable middle, which is shocking given how hard Rino’s leans into its elevated image. For these prices, fine doesn’t cut it. Also, none of the food was served hot. Everything was lukewarm.
I kept waiting for a moment (any moment) where a dish made me stop and say, Wow. It just never happened. The flavors were muted, the preparation was average, and the plates felt like they were designed to offend no one rather than impress anyone. It was Italian food with all the personality dialed out.
The service was polished and professional, which only makes the lack of quality food more apparent. The only consistency was that course after course was mediocre and not memorable.
Rino’s nails the atmosphere. It nails the vibe. It nails the pricing strategy. What it doesn’t nail is the food!!
In a town packed with Italian restaurants, being forgettable is worse than being bad. I left Rino’s full but already struggling to remember why I went in the first place.