I Bambini

A couple of weeks ago I had a serious craving for really good, homemade-tasting, italian food. And I'm not talking about the chains like Olive Garden or Carrabbas. They'll do in a pinch, but I was looking for a restaurant that looked and smelled like an Italian restaurant, and had delicious flavorful food. Unfortunately, I Bambini did not fill this need.

Upon entering, I was quickly seated to a booth along the wall. The inside had a generic restaurant feel -- it almost felt like a cafeteria. Though there were photos along the wall, all my eye could see were an endless sea of white walls. The booth was spacious, and our table had a white table cloth (perhaps accentuating the white in the room).

The menu was huge. I was almost overwhelmed with the choices. About 30 different types of sauces on the first page alone. After a long time of reading the menu, I settled on the veal parmesean -- one of my favorites.

The salad that arrived was decent, but not extraordinary. In fact, it seemed very ordinary. And the italian dressing, had another flavor that I wasn't expecting -- I think it was ginger. Needless to say, I didn't finish my salad.

The bread that was brought to the table was warm, but slightly over-cooked, which left the bread with a hard and crunchy under-side.

Finally, the veal arrived, and again I was underwhelmed. The veal was tough, and the tomato sauce lacked flavor. And it just wasn't my dinner that had problems, my wife ordered a Special chicken dish, which was also bland. The food felt as if it came from a cafeteria -- food that was mass produced to the point where it lacked any flavor or character. This was not the type of food that I was expecting from a locally owned restaurant. In fact, I wouldn't expect this from a chain either -- the food was just too poor quality for the chains to produce.

Score:
Atmosphere: 2/5
Food: 1/5
Service: 3/5
Total: 6/15

Conclusion:
I cannot recommend this restaurant. I can honestly get more flavorful food with a bottle of sauce and a box of noodles from the grocery store.

Restaurant Info:
I Bambini
2785 Charlotte Hwy.
Mooresville, NC 28117
704-799-9522‎