This is a place that never fails to disappoint. Every time I decide to give the place a chance, I wish I hadn’t. I had not intended to come here today either, but the good restaurants in the neighbourhood were all full.
Rina looks good from the outside. Clean. Chique. “Traditional” design. That’s clearly their business model: look good to invite tourist who happen to pass by. They can get much more business from that than from providing good food or good service.
However, a first warning sign is the waiter whose main task is to stand by the entrance and invite random passers by. In a tourist area, bad restaurants often get more business that way than by providing good food.
The waiter placed me at a table that was clearly visible from the street to give other people the illusion that they had a lot of customers. I promptly got a menu, but no information about the dish of the day. I made up my mind in about ten seconds, and then had to wait for about ten minutes, before the took my order. They did not offer me anything to drink while waiting, so I sat there and became increasingly thirsty. I went for an artichoke salad. It was already clear that they did not know what they were doing, so I did not dare to try any of their wines but instead chose tap water.
The artichoke salad was served with olive oil and vinegar in bottles at the table, but no salt or pepper. I had to ask for that.
The dish itself was very dry. It contained no interesting spices or taste experiences, just cheese, salad, tomatoes and a hint of standard vinegar and oil. The artichokes were stringy and quite difficult to chew.
Once I had finished the salad itself, a waiter rushed up and removed the vinegar and olive oil and the bag with bread rolls, so I would not be tempted to continue with bread alone. I was still chewing on one bread roll.
One waiter came up to me, and I asked to pay before he got the opportunity to offer a dessert or a coffee. He immediately came with the bill and at the same time brought the little machine to pay with credit card, so I was not given much time to sit back and enjoy the finished meal.
I put down the half eaten piece of bread I was still chewing on, when I retrieved my credit card. As soon as I did that, the waiter snatched that piece of bread as well, so I would not be able to finish it.
When I left, I saw one of the waiters follow yet another passer by, trying to engage him in a conversation and trying to entice him to sit down for a meal. I did not say anything. But it will be a long time before I give Rina yet another chance.
Going Somewhere Nice 