Benfinita - Modern Italian

On December 24th, we went to this wonderful restaurant in downtown Louisville, and I truly regret not writing this review sooner because the food and the experience were absolutely incredible. The fried calamari was wonderfully crispy, and it was clear that all the food was fresh; the salad and the lasagna were amazing. I had pork chops, and for dessert, we shared a panettone that was absolutely heavenly. The customer service from our waitress was wonderful, and we had the pleasure of meeting the restaurant manager, Mr. Parnica, who was incredibly attentive and treated us with admirable courtesy. He told us about how all the food is prepared like they do in Italy using his Nona’s recipes and I must say that our experience was unique everything reminded us Italy. It's one of the best restaurants I've been to in Louisville so far, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to go. The food and the experience were simply wonderful. Thank you Niko for making our Christmas Eve unforgettable.

The space is nice, but loud so conversation was difficult. My husband appreciated the tvs because his football team was playing. The service was subpar. Our waitress was hard to track down. Drinks were ordered at the same time and none of them were brought out together. My wine took an unacceptable amount of time to get to our table. Long past the time the others were brought. I’m pretty sure she forgot about it. The bread basket they bring out to start you off is very light on bread. We asked doe more and they didn’t bring more but if they gave you enough the first time we would’ve been satisfied. Ok. On to the food. All of it was good. The pizza, eggplant parm, spaghetti and meatballs, etc.

This place is amazing. Simply amazing. We were sitting at another bar pondering what could be when a little google search of restaurants near me unveiled this wonderful gem. After drooling over the menu and drinks, we excitedly made reservations for an hour later so we could run home to change into fancy dinner clothes (because why not?). From the greeting at the dinner, to being escorted to our table, to the drinks, the scrumptious main course, and the dessert...all could not have been better. The service was above and beyond - not pushy but very attentive. The food was other worldly! We started with the perfectly fried arancini - so delish! My friend had the ossobuco and I had the gnocchi. Both were wonderful - but the flavor of the ossobuco was insane. To finish, we each had a dessert. He had a rich and velvety tiramisu and I celebrated my birthday with an amazing slice of lemon torta. I WILL BE BACK and often. This place might be my new favorite. And, do yourself a huge favor...get the espresso martini. It's the BEST! Thank you Benfinita for a lovely evening and treating us like the only people in the restaurant, it was truly an experience.

Service was actually great — shoutout to Jaylen for being an absolute angel through the chaos. Unfortunately the kitchen must’ve been playing Uno, because they skipped my order like 3 times. Pasta tasted like it lost the will to live. Honestly would’ve preferred a $1.50 box of Barilla and called it a day. Chicken? Surprisingly solid. Cake? Bless whoever made that. Atmosphere was nice and classy — white tablecloths so clean I felt like I shouldn’t be breathing near them. Overall: cute spot, but tell the chef to switch to Costco pasta and we’re in business.

The manager of the establishment was very friendly as was all the staff. The ambience of Benfinita was well appointed. Music was not too loud. The seats were comfortable. The table is spacious. The food was exquisite all freshly prepared. I appreciate it how each different dish you could truly taste all the spices and ingredients that were in it we will definitely be going back again when we visit Louisville again. It just was a very welcoming atmosphere.