Il Matteotti

This place was horrible. I was accompanied in my visit by a world-​class chef, his cousin-​also a chef, a family member and an Italian friend. We placed our order and waited an hour to be served. The Italian friend checked on the order, and it turned out the server forgot to turn in the ticket.
When the food finally arrived, it was cold and pretty much tasteless. My pasta dish was watery. After much complaining subsequent to the meal, we were met with a mere shrug. No offer to comp any portion, no free dessert, nothing!
Avoid this place. There are many other places in Udine to eat. Don’t make our mistake!

We were taking a stroll around Udine and our hunger got the best of us outside Il Matteotti’s door. So we just sat down. Whatever we’d get would sate our hunger, right?
Our waiter was a little snobby at first, probably because we reeked of American, but as we tried our horrible Italian and made selections from the menu, he seemed to approve a little more, and ultimately his service was just right.
The food, though? It would’ve held up with terrible service. We had (shared tastes of) a white asparagus dish, red radish ravioli, a steak in peppercorn sauce, and an ‘updated’ take on frico. Everything was delicious. It was the kind of preparation that takes care to make the food shine without completely overwhelming the natural flavors. It was fiercely proud, but it wasn’t trying too hard. We oooh’d and ahhhh’d throughout the experience.
The recommended wine was perfect, and when I asked for olive oil for the delicious bread, the waiter brought a fragrant olive oil (Fior Rosso) along with the standard table stuff.
It wasn’t cheap; with the wine, it was € 30 a piece, but it was worth it. I plan to return to see if a second visit meets the bar set that afternoon. Heck, I’d be happy if it gets close; we still think about that lunch.
(Our compliments to the chef!)