Radda Trattoria

This is our second time eating here — first time was very good, second time extremely disappointing. The pasta itself was mealy, like they used too much semolina or didn’t fully mix the dough. The sauce was vinegary. The meatballs tasted like they left the seasoning out. I really liked this place the first time I came for dinner, but I won’t come back.

This was the first time I went out with a large group since returning to the states and I forgot how slow service becomes with that many people. I got a distinct sense of the whole large table means automatic gratuity attitude from the staff.
As for food we shared some salads to start with that were very simple and kinda bland. My main course was boar ragu, which was fine but I wish I stuck with my original idea to have seafood pasta. They have only 5 beers on the menu and when I asked about a light pilsner to pair with seafood they recommended peroni. I know it makes me a snob but no way am I going to drink peroni in Boulder, one of the greatest beer cities in the USA. So I decided to be a team player and drink red wine with everyone else but it skewed my order. Other mains were hit and miss, my fathers dish came out cold and he had to send it back which took forever. When his spaghetti arrabiata finally came back fresh made it was really good but he had filled up on sharing already. For desserts the highlight was tiramisu but we didn’t get to try the lava cake which was sold out.
In the end they hooked up our check in a major way due to the mistakes, but for my sisters graduation dinner we were looking to spend big money on a great meal and instead got a great deal on a mediocre meal

Absolutely appalling experience! Horrible food, lousy service and both the men and womens restrooms were filthy! My boyfriend ordered linguini with wild boar… there were two huge globs of uncooked pasta. Our waitress never returned to ask how our food was so he gave the bowl to the hostess. No apology, no one said anything about it! Radda used to be a great place, we had not been in several years, apparently new owners are at the helm. Gross and sad, we will not ever return!

The old Radda I knew and loved before changing ownership two years ago is completely gone– along with the inventive menu, friendly waitstaff, and good prices. This used to be our go-​to dinner place, but after one bad meal after the next and a huge bill, we have stopped coming here. I recommend the Med for good food at a good price.

Italian restaurant that can be pricey for small portions. Expect to pay about $ 40 – 60 per couple if you order drinks with your meal. We always leave feeling hungry, despite apps, pasta and salad. The staff is nice, which is why we come back every now and then.

Went here with my wife, mother, and a family friend. Food was not good, and quite expensive. Radda salad was very disappointing. I had been here a few years back and remember enjoying it quite a bit. Something has changed.
Had a reservation but still had to wait a while. That wouldn’t have been a big issue if the food was better. For this price, definitely not worth it.
Inside was soooo noisy. We sat outside, but I wouldn’t want to do that once it gets cold.
Will not be coming back.

Something has gone terribly wrong at this restaurant. Hardly any dressing on our salads. The truffle fries came out lukewarm. Pizza crusts were undercooked and toppings were added after they came out of the oven. Sauce was flavorless and cheese barely melted. Just awful. Never going back.

Gave Radda one last chance… Like its sibling Mateo, I give up. After many great experiences at both restaurants over the years, the ownership seems to have forgotten that they own restaurants. The food is overpriced, service is not so great and quality of ingredients is poor. With so many other great choices, I wonder how much longer this establishment will stay in business.

More like 2.5 stars, with the ½ star for sentimental reasons alone. I’m not sure what exactly has taken place at Radda over the past 3 years. This used to be a really outstanding eatery that I enjoyed frequenting in the past. My partner and I decided to give Radda another try on First Bite Boulder, since we both shared amorous feelings for this neighborhood spot.
Our dining experience confirmed why we had stopped going to Radda. The service was nothing short of awful. I’m sure that I would had gotten better service at Olive Garden. We were ignored for most of the evening and details were forgotten like bread, and sides. which reminds me– The bread! The bread at Radda used to be perfect– thick slices of crusty Italian country bread. Now I regret saying that the bread is a bland flatbread that tastes like Pillsbury. Why would Radda ditch their once perfect bread? I’m not sure what chef would serve to patrons the caprese that we were given. The tomatoes were green, rock hard and not ripe. They were barely edible. The lack of quality in the ingredients was shocking. A restaurant should not feature dishes were the ingredients are not appropriately ripe or not in good shape to be showcased. A restaurant’s food should not be painful to eat. We had also ordered a bottle of wine and the stemware that was served with the wine, felt cheap and diminished the enjoyment of the wine. I was surprised that Radda does not have nice stemware for the wine service. Another strange culinary adventure, was the panna cotta. It was served thick and gelatinous like flan at a mexican restaurant. not panna cotta at all. The panna cotta joined the inedible category of the caprese.
With other great Italian restaurants in Boulder like Pizzeria Locale, Bacco, Arugula, & Dagabi (spanish) you are better off spending your money elsewhere.

This used to be an awesome restaurant and one of our regular go-​to places. It would have been 4 – 5 stars back then (5+ years ago.) But then something happened and I do not know why. The food quality and quantity declined, the service was abysmal and the prices jumped up. We stopped going. I had heard it was coming back, read the new Unilocal reviews and saw lots of inconsistencies but with potential. I guess that is how I would describe tonight’s visit.
The service is still lacking. The place was not very busy, with two big groups and a few small tables. We were quickly seated at one of our favorite table locations. Then, nothing. Eventually we asked the host who was passing by if we could get water, bread, drinks. A waitress chatting with the bartender finally came over and took the order. We got everything but my drink. And we waited. We finally caught someone’s attention and got it. After the entrees, the waiter came over to see if we were done and to prepare the check. We had to ask for a dessert menu. We ordered 2. One came, with 2 spoons for sharing. We asked for the other. She was flustered and said she’d go look for it. She asked what it was. When I said the Affogato Gelato, she did not seem to know what that was so I described it, as there were 3 gelato choices. She went and found it.
As for the food itself, it was pretty good, though not perfect. The new bread offering was great, made in house, but small, and they whisked away the plates without offering us a second piece. My husband loved his entrée, linguine with clams. My lamb shank and polenta was good, but just too much cream in the polenta. It felt like a breakfast porridge rather than a savory dinner item. It should have had more stock and much less cream. We shared the roasted brussel sprouts with pancetta and roasted garlic cloves since vegetable sides are ordered extra and it was a large serving. It was very tasty but cooked inconsistently with most pieces just right but with a small group of very undercooked pieces mixed in, as if the bowl had been made up from 2 different batches. The desserts were fine, though the Affogato would have been so much better with chocolate gelato. The choices were vanilla or a caramel that was so lightly flavored, you could barely tell it wasn’t vanilla. My husband really liked the peach tart but I wanted more of a palate cleanser after the heavy polenta.
I guess we will go back and give them another try when we need an out of downtown location for dinner with close easy parking. I just want the old version back though.

Radda is a refreshing change from the ordinary American Italian restaurant. The food is simple and delicious! My favorites are the polenta and meatball, the carbonara, or the gnocchi bolognese. The prices are totally reasonable considering the quality of the food.
Unfortunately while the food is good, the service is spotty. Many of the servers comes off as arrogant, but there always seem to be new ones??? The bartenders have been there for a long time and if you sit at the bar you’ll get great service!

I’ve been at least a half dozen times and always leave happy. I think this restaurant is a great value. Clean, simple Italian food. Today I loved the grilled flat bread, roast brussels sprouts with bacon and pizza with house made sausage. I look forward to the return of their fall/​winter offerings.

Server was nice, pizza was a tasteless undercooked cheese blob. When the sever came by to check in and ask how the food was I said, «eh ok.» This offended them and they walked away, if you don’t want an honest answer don’t ask that question at least address it rather than walking off. I will not be returning.

I gave this place 2 – 3 stars for Mother’s day when they weren’t what I expected. I want to balance it out with how I feel about 99.9% of my experiences there; I LOVE Radda. Love their carbonara, apps, mussels, old fashioneds, and service. It is unfair for me to rate them low for a one time experience. I would however, probably refrain from going another mother’s day.

Met my husband here for lunch today. Overall the place was slow, so our service was right on time. Drinks were flowing, The wait for our food was short, and everything was brought out at the appropriate time (rather than the Chili’s style-​bring your entire order out all at once, from the apps to the entrees to the desserts).
We shared a bruschetta, I ordered a Radda salad with toasted hazelnuts and and a white truffle/​citrus dressing (YUM). We also shared a salsicce pizza complete with house made fennel sausage.
The only minor complaint I had was that the Tiramisu was rather dry.
I think this is an excellent place for Brunch/​Lunch, and that it is appropriately priced. I would definitely revisit Radda.

I could be particularly biased because i am close friends with the GM, but I’ve never had anything but magnificent food and service at Radda.
The charming rustic interior belies the restaurants location in a plaza. The food, creative Tuscan, is presented with care and style. From staples like gnocchi bolognese to more creative (Maize risotto) all pastas have been terrific. Recently tried the tagliata which was paired perfectly with the recommended red.
When looking for Italian in Boulder, I have never had better than Radda.

Bad food & bad service. I’m very surprised that people think this place is great, maybe I went there on an off night.
I had a pizza, that was not good, barely any sauce dry and bland.
The waitress was terrible and I rarely Unilocal about service, but she was bad.

It was a nice day outside so we sat on the patio. Each table gets their own water pitcher. The service was good, I think Boulder doesn’t rush, I was in no hurry.
We went for lunch and we shared a mixed green salad. They toss bread chunks in it, not croutons, and it was very light in the dressing. I ordered toast with jelly and the risotto. The toast was very buttery and came with jelly. The jelly was so tasty, I think it was raspberry, huge chunks of fruit. The risotto was so good. Creamy, not over or undercooked, made with snap peas. The peas still had a slight crisp. A nice size portion for lunch.
He had a pizza. It was wonderful, thin crispy crust, light on the mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and great sauce. One of the best marg pizzas he’s had. It’s served with pepper flakes and a good parmesan.
The prices were good. Next time I would try a different salad. A great find.

This was a wonderful recommendation from a friend who lives in Boulder. We had late reservations at 9 pm on a Friday night but we were both starving.
This place can be a bit deceiving since it is in the middle of a shopping plaza, but once inside you are pleasantly surprised. The atmosphere was very nice, a little noisy for my liking but smaller restaurants can be like that.
Our server was wonderful, she was quick to tell us about the specials which sounded fabulous. Warm bread arrived at the table and we proceed to dip in the table EVOO to taste, very yummy. I ordered the potato gnocchi with bolognese and my counterpart ordered the chicken with potatoes. Both per fabulous. The gnocchi were like little puffy clouds of yumminess and the chicken was very moist and tasty. We both ad two glasses of the house red wine which was a nice compliment to the meal.
Overall a great experience and wonderful dinner. I would definitely go back to try more of the menu.
**Give the place a try, you won’t be disappointed. :)

I’ve been to Radda a few times, the last being a major disappointment. Previously, I’ve enjoyed the bustling atmosphere, the wine-​by-​the-​glass selection, and the delicious meatball dish. Both times I’d previously visited, I had a great time, and loved the meatballs.
This last time however, was less than stellar. I brought my parents for lunch to a practically empty restaurant. Our server tended to disappear even though there were only 2 tables and 2 people sitting at the bar. My meatball dish, which had been changed from what had been listed previously, was so awful I had to send it back. First, the meatballs were tiny, dry and inedible. The lentils and chard they had included were so bitter than they completely overwhelmed any taste of the meatballs, but again, the meatballs were so bad they weren’t saving. If I were radda, I’d go back to the bigger juicy dish they had previously on the menu. Why change a good thing?
What was the most frustrating was that when waiters/​waitresses usually should have swung by to check on the meal, we waited at least 20 minutes to complain about the dish. Finally my mom, after trying to signal for quite some time, had to get up with the dish and complain to the bartender. Really really disappointing.