Il Contadino Ristorante

Delicious food, a little pricey but worth it and I'm def going back next time I'm in Florida ?

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Key Lime Pie

This is what I can say about the restaurant, food was really good, personal service by the owner Mike. ….. if you want to experience your own personal chef you will be delighted. Enjoy the service and the food “exceptional “.Dinner for two with a bottle of wine one appetizer and two dinners at $200. But worth the money

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Penne Vincenzo, Caesar Salad

Owner chef Mike is a very nice guy. I had a "special"of the evening that turned out to be a gargantuan, thick piece of breaded veal smothered in cheese and sauce. Weirdly, it was served on rice. Salad first was a hot mushroom salad. That turned out to be a tossed salad with some tasteless sauteed mushrooms with a O and V dressing. Also a huge portion. Dessert - i ordered the canoli. It was huge. But the shell was rock hard and the filling runny. Tasted ok though.On a positive note, the wine was good. And the music great. Martin, Sinatra, Darin-- standards at a good volume going on all night. Plus the restaurant has the feel of a 1950's60's Italian joint, and I love that. I would go back. This time I would order something very simple.

We found a hidden treasure tonight!! What a fabulous dining experience by chef Michael!! Home made recipes! Eggplant appetizer delectable!! Mussels delicious!! Veal Marsala to die for!! Atmosphere quaint! This place is a gem!!!

Best Itai food I have since I was in Italy! Just Phenomenal. Intimate unassuming restaurant took in out family of 5 and blew us away. Michel is the owner, chef, and waiter. Pasta Vincenzo, chicken Parm, chicken Marsala, penne vodka with chicken and shrimp pasta devoured and shared among the whole family. The bacon ceasar salad and the eggplant stack appetizers all were soooo good. Well done Sir!, We will be back next time we are in town.

Horrible food, mediocre service. I had their short rib and pasta special. The short rib was not cooked in sauce, very fatty, and burned on one side. The pasta was in a red sauce and I am being kind calling it a sauce. I have had thicker tomato juice. My wife had their lobster ravioli in cream sauce special. She couldn’t even eat it. Would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. Horrible, horrible, horrible!!’

Kid-friendliness: Not kid friendly at all, no booster chairs, no kids portions!

Fabulous Italian Restaurant, from the exterior it looks quiet, however, as soon as you are greeted by the owner and Chef Michael, you are at home. If you are looking for the real authentic Italian experience, Il Contadino is the spot! Chef Michael greeted me with a smile and a suggestion for an appetizer...followed by a wine suggestion. The WINE WALL is unbelievable!!!

My fiancé and I were looking to celebrate a special occasion and this restaurant seemed from the outside like a cozy place for us to have a quiet meal.Boy! We were SO DISSAPOINTED. We started with an antipasti: “caprese di buffalo”. How can you screw something as easy as that! A 5 yo would have made a much better job presenting this dish, the tomatoes had zero flavor and we have had much better cheese from publix, that’s for sure.Now onto the entrees. And while we understand that the host/waiter/chef had no power over flavor of cheese and tomatoes. How can you make a dish with chicken, tomato, prosciutto and cheese become absolutely tasteless? Maybe we were lucky! at this point probably better off not the be able to taste anything.My pasta was essentially just a canned tomato soup with overcooked pasta. Clearly he just opened up a bag of frozen peppers and threw them in there.Bottle of wine absolutely overpriced for an OK wine. Our pockets hurt.And let’s not even go to what the place looks like. It’s dark, dirty, dusty with boxes and things laying around all over the place. Do not make the same mistake we did, we should have left right after we walked in.How does anyone in good conscious would call themselves a restaurant and charge the prices they do for garbage. This is clearly a rip off. How do they get away with that?

Excellent food and excellent waitresses. Always love coming here.

My husband and I were initially going to go to the restaurant next door to here for dinner, but we were drawn into Il Contadino by the music and ambience. Our experience with Michael, who was the only person working (waiter/chef/owner) was amazing. It was a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle. The food was great, wine selection was astounding, and it felt like an authentic New York Italian restaurant. I have absolutely no complaints.

Delicious and great views. I always just get the calamari and have loved it every time.

Had a nice evening meal. The fish dish I received seemed off and the staff were quick to offer an alternative. Wait staff was very good. Food was average. Key lime pie desert was excellent!!

We wandered into this small restaurant at an off hour. The host declared the place open and offered us an outdoor seat. He was the only person on staff we saw that day, and we began to suspect he was the matrie’d, busboy, server, cook, and sommelier all in one. Although the place is decorated Italian, he had early 80’s disco music on loop. We were given a basked of overdone and possibly slightly stale focaccia. It’s slightly cardboard texture gave way when soaked in enough olive oil. We ordered the Grilled Cabbage Caesar salad to start. The cabbage was indeed grilled. The croutons were from a bag, the Parmesan cheese was not Reggiano, but Kraft grated in a green canister, and there were no anchovies to be caught anywhere on the plate. The Broccoli Rabe was awful; limp and soggy from excess olive oil, with minced garlic out of a jar piled high, instead of whole garlic cloves freshly sliced. Small details are glaring deficiencies here. We announced that we were done with the Broccoli and the proprietor took it back without a word or a question. It was not on our final check. We rounded out the meal with Chicken Contadina style, with tomatoes (from a can), sliced carrots, sautéed spinach. Mediocre at best, but given it was middle of the day, accommodating. We would not go back.

I never write reviews but I had to warn future patrons. Easily put: do not waste your money or your appetite at this place. My girlfriend and I were looking for a nice meal in Pineapple Grove. Roses daughter next door had an 1.5 hr wait so we decided to give this restaurant a try. I got the short rib over spaghetti and my girlfriend had the “branzino.” Horribly prepared, lacking flavor and culinary experience. The food was not quality and we were charged around $45 per entree. I have never felt scammed like this before. The waiter and also chef and maybe owner? Never asked how the food was or cared that we clearly were not happy even after we only ate 25% of our meals. We got the Bill and complained. He ignored our requests. The inside smelled and looked like it had not been cleaned or sat in, in a few months (dusty and old). Boxes everywhere. There was even a small camping stove inside the restaurant with onions on it that seemed old as well. Bathroom was also dirty.Avoid this joint and save your money. You are better going to McDonald’s or ordering a pizza from a chain.

One of the worst dining experiences in a very long time. The owner was the only server for the entire restaurant. No other waiters, no busboys, and certainly no host/hostess to seat you. By my count, at least 10 diners left after being seated with no service available. Our entrees finally came out after nearly 1 1/2 hrs ! All 4 entrees were room temperature - at best. We all suspected the dishes were pre-prepared during the day and simply plated later. The only positive was the wine list which was a saving grace to this disaster ! Never again