Restaurant Impossible - Rossini's Cucina Italiana Update

Photo - Twitter

Tonight on Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Ridgeland, Mississippi to makeover Rossini's Cucina Italiana.  Rossini's Cucina Italiana is an Italian restaurant owned by Lori and Tony Spreafico.  Robert Irvine finds a filthy kitchen and feels that the owners have given up on the restaurant.  The restaurant has also put the owners in debt and has put a strain on their relationship.


As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Rossini's Cucina Italiana to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Restaurant: Impossible):




Positive Reviews:

• "Excellent food, staff friendly, atmosphere quiet and inviting. Cost for two is a bit pricey at about $70 to $100 with salads, entrees and beverages but atmosphere reflects that"
• "Food is delicious but is pricey for casual atmosphere. Staff members were wonderful. Atmosphere is relaxed and quiet"
• "Best Italian this side of the pond. Service is always stellar and the owner usually greets you at the door, as opposed to an indifferent nursing school student trying to make enough extra cash to support an adderall addiction. Update - They've updated the restaurant and it's amazing. Best atmosphere in town - and Tony is perhaps the most authentic Italian chef outside Italy."
• "Super nice place. If you want to do a full course meal it's about $40 per person, which isn't bad. You can go casual or it can be a nice anniversary dinner. I LOVED it"

Negative Reviews:

• "Be aware if you write an HONEST review of this restaurant, the managers and owners will write nasty reviews of your business they have never been to. Obviously they can not handle the honest truth about their restaurant, beware."
• "Horrible food and business!!! The absolute worst Italian restaurant ever. If I could give this restaurant zero stars I would. 1 Star is generous. DO NOT GO HERE!"
• "Hands down the absolute worst "Italian" food I have ever eaten. I feel deeply insulted by what I was fed. The tomato sauce had no seasoning. There was practically no veal in the veal Parmesan, that cost $27. The flavor? None. It was the blandest meal I have eaten in my life. "
• "This was my favorite restaurant for years. Then the TV show Restaurant: Impossible came in and ruined it. The menu is awful. They took lots of items off. I finally decided on the spaghetti and meatballs and it was dry. It's sad to see such a good restaurant tank."
• "We have been fans of Rossini for many years and heard that the restaurant had undergone some changes from several of our friends. The old Rossini menu offered a large variety of different entrees and the entree portions were always large. My wife and I recently ate at the "new" Rossini and immediately noted the change in decor with a more open look. The menu was downsized to a single page. Missing were several items that they previously served that were some of our favorites. Calamari is no longer on the menu as an appetizer, and there was not fresh fish available during our visit on a Friday night. The entrees used to include a small salad and bread, which is now ala carte. The entrees are more expensive now as the portions are smaller. Our opinion as well as several of our friends who frequented Rossini is that the new decor is nice, but we preferred the entrees and appetizers before the change."

Other News and Links:

• The Restaurant Impossible makeover happened in August 2019
• Here is the Rossini's website (which is not active) and Facebook page.
• Here are the Facebook pages of owners Lori and Tony.
• Tony and Lori bought the restaurant in 1999 from Lori's father. (Link)
• Here is the Rossini's menu with prices in August 2019 shortly after the makeover. (Link)
• In October, Rossini's added back to the menu seafood pasta, chicken parmesan, and veal parmesan. (Link)
• In November, Rossini's added back to the menu crab cakes and mushroom tortellini
• Here are the reviews for Rossini's from Yelp, Tripadvisor and Google.

Conclusion:

The reviews for Rossini's Cucina Italiana since the Restaurant Impossible makeover have been mixed with there being positive reviews about the food.  There are also negative reviews about the food as well as the prices and the smaller menu.  It seems that Rossini's has stuck to the smaller menu suggested by Restaurant Impossible, but they began adding food items back to the menu based on customer feedback.  The update at the end of the show said sales have doubled and that there is a strict no drinking policy at the restaurant.

UPDATE - Robert Irvine went back to Rossini's for a second time to help them reopen after the pandemic. The episode aired on July 30th, 2020.

UPDATE 2 - Rossini's Cucina Italiana closed in March 2022.  Here is an auction listing in March 2022 that has all of the restaurant contents for sale at auction.

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