Andiamo – Hilton AtlAnta Airport

I’m on the fence on 3 or 4 stars. Nice atmosphere & our waitress was a knockout and very friendly. I wish there were more vegetarian options. They did accommodate my special order. Small overpriced portion though. There was a delay in a hostess arriving to seat is but it all worked out. The pizza from the appetizer menu was really good.

I should have checked reviews but hadn’t eaten all day. Overpriced slop is all I will waste my time saying about this place. That the place was empty should have been a clue. Very disappointing. I had what they call Ossobuco but it was nothing like I’ve had before.

This is an italian restraunt inside the hotel. My wife and I got some appetizers and dessert. Everything was WAY over priced. Food was decent but if I had to do over again I would not waste my money.

It just seemed over priced and nothing to warrant it

One advantage to a hotel that’s under renovation is that you get a really cheap rate. But having had bad experiences with this type of situation, I have to warn that you’d have to know what you’re getting into (think I have a review on this hotel already — I’ll update it). The other advantage is that you get freebies. For diamond and gold members, a free appetizer. The first night I was there at their restaurant (not the coffee shop), I sat at the bar while waiting for my wife to get her hair done, and chatted with Thelma. It didn’t start off well (not Thelma’s fault), but the first THREE wines I wanted by the glass, they didn’t have. That’s gotta be some kind of record. More on the wine later. Also, they were not close to ready even at 5:15, when they were supposed to open at 5.
The bar is expansive, but unusual in not having a TV. I had their antipasto, which this «authentic» place mysteriously called «antipasti» on the menu. If I didn’t like Thelma so much I would have messed with her and asked when my plate arrives by asking «Where’s my OTHER antipasto?» Their version of this dish (singular, not plural) comprised many, well, authentic delectables: olives, prosciutto, salami, art. heart, grilled vegetables (although the pepper still had the skin on it). I liked it despite the fairly steep price (not as good a value compared to the $ 10 spent at, say, Terramia here in Altamonte Springs). Since we were going to the Joshua Bell concert, we thought, when my wife joined me, that we might as well eat there. Guess that’s one reason those «free» appetizer coupons pay for themselves! Plus, there were some intriguing items on the menu.
My wife had the calamari as her free app ($ 10), as we contemplated our main course. Decided to fore-​go the lamb, as we found out it’s only half a rack (for $ 36!!!) The steaks looked intriguing, but we settled on the osso bucco ($ 32 or $ 34) and the black truffle cheese ravioli ($ 26) instead. The former was perfect — fall-​off-​the-​bone tender, with no sacrifice to taste. Very often, lazy cooks will boil this first (like some lazy cooks prepare ribs) instead of properly slow-​cooking it. Result is, the flavor is only in the sauce, not on the meat any more. So such problems here, but MAN, it was filling, especially with a creamy risotto as a foundation, and the olive oil used to prepare it, unnecessarily generous. Still I came close to calling for that little spoon with which I can scoop out the marrow. Come to think of it, why didn’t they serve the dish WITH the spoon?
The ravioli is not your usual square or round variety, but a hand-​wrapped one that had the look and feel of a wonton. There wasn’t much evidence of the black truffle being present, but the shrimps that came with it (5 good size ones) were nicely done. We sampled a wine that we weren’t familiar with: have YOU heard of a grape called Nero D’Avola? It’s a Sicilian red wine grape! Having a couple of glasses of this was an offer we couldn’t refuse.
I do have a couple of other peeves. First: the menu they have on line is NOT the current one — many items are out by a few bucks, and the selection is different. You know how much this ticks me off. As well, the next night, when my wife had the garlic shrimp appetizer, she was in for a surprise. First of all, show of hands, how many reading «garlic shrimp — $ 12» on the appetizer menu would assume a hot dish? Yup — that’s unanimous. Well you’d be unanimously disappointed, because at Andiamo, that’s just code for … (wait for it) — a shrimp cocktail! The cocktail sauce is there on a ramekin, sitting in the same plate as 5 limp, cold shrimps, which are sitting in a pool of some slightly garlicky oily substance. To be fair, the shrimps weren’t limp — quite crunchy actually, But such a disappointing execution and presentation (not even a wedge of lemon or a sprig of parsley). Also, at $ 12, those were pretty small shrimp. I think even in a pretty fancy restaurant, you can only get away with charging a dozen dollars for 5 shrimps when they are U-​15 size.
So, yeah — two blemishes against what was otherwise a pretty good dining experience. I find that up-​scalish hotels often boast pretty nice kitchens, since they have to keep up the quality of the banquet business, as well as cater to snooty business travelers. But the locals for some reason eschew them for the chain restaurants. So I’m going to use this review as a call to action. Locals: venture out of your comfort zone and andiamo to a restaurant of some chain hotels from time to time, will ya!