Why You Should Avoid Ordering Risotto From (Some) Restaurants

Northern Italy's claim to fame, risotto, is one of those regional Italian foods everyone should try at least once when dining out. The creamy, savory fare is a paragon of traditional Italian restaurant cuisine. It may present as a simple plate of rice, but hidden in plain sight is an elegance that's satisfying down to that last bite. Well, most of the time, anyway. When an establishment is doing everything right, you're in for a treat. However, if the chefs are taking a shortcut with the dish, disappointment is headed your way.

Jessica Montanelli, a Tuscan-born Italian food blogger at Cooking My Dreams, explained that at many Italian restaurants, the chefs give themselves a head start when making risotto. "In restaurants, it's usually par-cooked," she said. "Meaning they cook it halfway and finish cooking only when it's ordered, to have a perfect al dente texture, and creamy consistency like freshly made." If it helps the food come out faster without sacrificing quality, fantastic.

However, you should avoid restaurants where overambitious chefs take it a step further and make the risotto ahead of time. At that point, whether it's reheated in a pan or chef Mic is doing the brunt of the work, don't expect to see exceptional fare arrive at your table. "Risotto can never be fully made ahead because once it's fully cooked, it will quickly turn sticky, the grain will get grainy and mushy, and you will never be able to get the right consistency back," Montanelli said.

Risotto is a fairly finicky dish. While humble at its core, achieving the perfect texture — crucial for any risotto worth its salt — requires practice and finesse. Jessica Montanelli noted this when describing a few things that can go wrong with it when folks don't give it the meticulous attention it deserves. "Risotto is simple to make, but it's also xvery easy to overcook it, make it too soupy or too dense, and in general, one misstep can ruin the whole batch," she said.

Those are all mistakes that can ruin a risotto when it's made to order. Even if it doesn't live up to expectations, at least someone attempted to make quality fare. Chefs who prepare the dish ahead of time and reheat it to serve have thrown in the towel.

Still, when dining out at an Italian restaurant (or any culinary establishment, for that matter), we don't often get an inside look at how the kitchen executes its cuisine. And unfortunately, that is really the only way to know if you should avoid a bad Italian restaurant that is serving pre-made risotto. "If risotto is reheated, you'll notice right away," Montanelli said. "But you won't know until you order it." That's just the way things are. You have to give a restaurant a fair shot to impress before deciding whether it's worth patronizing again or a business to avoid the next time you're dining out.