Turin Restaurants

Tre Galline
Via Gian Francesco Bellezia, 37, Torino
Tel: +39-011436655

Review

Ristorante Tre Galline - three hens - is supposed to be one of the best restaurants in Turin and booking is absolutely essential.

From the locked front door onwards, the tone is one of exclusivity, or perhaps of exclusion. Inside the restaurant is tastefully decorated and quiet like a place of worship.

However, all is not quite as it seems. In a party of nine of which three were not Italian, we noticed a difference in the standard of service. The Italians were all treated courteously and a big show made of serving them from the correct side, while we non-Italians were passed plates across the table. At one point a mistake was made and one of the Italians was passed a plate, but when the waitress realised he was Italian she apologised and carried the plate around the table and served him correctly.

Also, us foreigners, of which two are Italian speakers, were never asked if we wanted parmesan on our pasta, or dessert or coffee - it was just plonked on our food, or plonked on the table in front of us.

The food, consisting of a tasting menu was largely unmemorable - the pasta dish (Agnolotti alla Piemontese, a local speciality) was good but the numerous other dishes just were not up to scratch for such a supposedly distinguished restaurant. And the wine was never poured for us, despite the big show of serving the Italians correctly.

Go to Tre Galline if you want, as in fact the price was pretty modest - around 40 euros per head including wine, although it is expensive for Turin - but the service and quality of the food need to improve to match the pretensions of the restaurants. And the service to tourists is just plain rude!

Tre Galline tasting menu:
Antipasti
Russian salad
Spinach flan with melted cheese
Risotto
Agnolotti alla Piemontese
Roast pork
Desert