Santa Maria - Metz

The service was friendly but the food was not that good as expected after reading the excellent comments on trip advisor. Hopefully next time our food experience would be better.

First of all make sure you call at least a day in advance to make a reservation! We were lucky that someone who had made a reservation did not show. Both of the shifts were completely booked. The service was excellent. The staff was friendly and had everything under control. They even took the time to help us pick a restaurant for Sunday (because the majority of restaurants are closed on Sundays). The atmosphere is very cosy. The tables are quite close together but I did not mind at all. The walls are fashioned into wine racks which was a nice touch. If you're lucky and one of the fist to enter, you can get a table outside. We had the linguine and risotto and both were well prepared. If you can't stand spicy food I recommend not using the pepper that they put on top of the linguine. Overall I really liked the service and the food. The only criticism is that during the shift change it was a bit hectic to so it took a while for us to get our coffee.

The food was very fresh, the prices are fair and the waiters were very kind and it was not awkward at all that we spoke no French.

Lovely dinner for two plate du jour of veal/ham wrap with spaghetti was very good, lasagne (with homemade fresh pasta) was excellent, Italian wine was great with our two dishes, lovely cheese board as appetizer and delicious homemade panna cotta for dessert. Luigi and staff were friendly and helpful good English assistance to help us who are short on French.

We were so lucky to get a table on a fully booked Friday night. The food was amazing and accommodating for our kids. They offered the kids a typical kids menu for €6.50. We has a choice of pastas, pizzas and risottos. Very cozy, warm and rustic. Excellent environment. Must go if visiting Metz.