ACCIDENTAL DOUBLE POST - Do not vote
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Aside from the pizzas which are available everywhere and for the most part pretty good, I haven't delved into other Italian food a great deal in the near 3 months I have lived here. So when the opportunity came to head over to a recommended establishment, myself and a couple of pals decided we would give it a go.
It's not a huge place, but it is a nice-looking place that is for sure. I'm guessing that they don't normally expect to have a large number of customers because they have a lot of decorative features that are taking up a lot of space that could be used for additional tables, but this is something I appreciate after living in New York years ago where most restaurants, including Italian ones would have you sitting almost shoulder to shoulder with strangers.
Thankfully, and just by chance, the 3 members of my crew all wanted different things and none of us opted for pizza since that item is so common basically anywhere in the city that it seems a bit of a waste to order it at a "fancier" establishment like Torino.
Personally, I am not very adventurous when it comes to Italian, so I went for the spaghetti carbonara and at first it looked like a small portion. However, there was more than enough of it and there was plenty of bacon inside the tower of pasta. The amount of sauce used was perfect: There was just enough of it but not so much that it seems like you are eating a mac n cheese.
The steak and potatoes was an enormous portion, but after trying it we all agreed that it was a little bit disappointing and almost felt like a schnitzel rather than a steak. Maybe we read the menu wrong but also, getting less-than-awesome steak in South East Asia isn't terribly surprising since and great steaks you will get here almost certainly come from Australia or New Zealand. The menu didn't indicate where the beef was from and that is a pretty good indicator that it is local - since everyone will be sure to tell you if it is imported.
The lasagna was the main reason that we came here as it was highly recommended by a friend who did not join us. He claimed it was the best lasagna in all of Da Nang and while it was good, I certainly hope that he is wrong about that because in our opinion it was a bit dry. It wasn't terribly expensive so in that regard I suppose it was about as good as you can expect seeing as how it actually was a pretty massive portion.
Now whether or not this is expensive is really a matter of opinion. Generally speaking we expect to pay dramatically less for really anything here in Vietnam and that is just how the economy works. We are no doubt paying extra for the nice ambiance of the store itself, but for all the people involved, this was quite a bit more expensive a dinner for all of us. $1 is around 25,000 VND so for example the lasagna was around $7 US. While this would no doubt be considered "cheap" in other countries, it is actually the opposite here in Vietnam. If you were trying to save money, it is very easy to eat out for every meal and pay less than $2-3 including drinks (not booze though.)
So overall, I think that I probably would return to Torino but I wouldn't consider it a hidden secret of any sort. With the one exception being the very comfortable interior of the restaurant, I would say that it felt basically the same as every other Italian restaurant I have ever been in while living in Asia.
Combine this with the fact that compared to other options it is actually rather expensive and I am very likely to only come to this place for a celebration of sorts. If you find yourself in Da Nang, Vietnam (and you really should once we are all allowed to travel again,) and you are craving some Italian, Torino's location, service, and atmosphere make it a decent enough choice - but to suggest that it is outstanding would be a lie.