I've been here twice before, once with a friend for happy hour drinks and another time to meet up with my son and daughter-in-law for dinner before a show. I had excellent experiences both times. Today I stopped in for a bite for lunch and the excellence continues.
The ambience at Sienna is contemporary with low lighting and Caribbean infused jazz playing just loud enough in the background to create a cozy, inviting and, dare I say, romantic atmosphere. The bar is fully stocked and they carry a modest selection of craft beers. It's finally getting warm enough now outside that they were able to open the front wall (garage door style) of the restaurant exposing the place to the sights and sounds of Market Square. They even offer sidewalk seating for those early enough to snatch up a table there. I, however, wasn't so fortunate and took a seat at the bar.
After taking a stool I was promptly and cheerfully greeted by the bar keep with a glass of ice water. I glanced at the menu and hesitantly decided on the Open Face Chicken Parmesan Sandwich with a side of pasta salad. I say hesitantly because I haven't had a good chix parm in the Downtown-CBD yet.
It took less than ten minutes for my meal to come out and I was oh so pleasantly surprised. In front of me was a juicy plump chicken breast covered in delicious Italian inspired marinara sauce (that was obviously in-house made) topped with a generous coating of provonello all sitting on top of a lone slice of focaccia. A pinch of basil sat capped off to the side on the provonello as if to say, "we believe in attention to detail". It's been a long time since I had chix parm that simply looked this good. If the presentation gets an "A", the taste of this here dish gets an "A++"! The side pasta salad was a nice touch. It was dressed lightly and paired perfectly with the parmesan.
My total bill came to $11.77 plus tip. If you've dined enough in the Downtown-CBD you know you can spend a lot more for a meal of this quality. I really can't say enough good things about Sienna Sulla Piazza.... Excellent service, comfortable atmosphere, delicious meal all for a more than reasonable price. Five stars just doesn't seem enough.