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| - This place has potential.
My first experience with Naples 15, and it was for the fixed menu Valentine's Day dinner. Excitement was high as we walked toward the establishment and the air was filled with an intoxicating aroma from what I could only assume was the wood-fire oven. As we walked through the door, we were hit with scents of garlic and basil. We were sure to be in for a treat. That's where things began a gradual decline.
We were seated at the table and informed of the Valentine's Day menu (of which we were already aware from research on the Internet, but I had assumed we could order off the regular menu). The fixed menu included two glasses of champagne per person in the price. For an upcharge of $60 dollars, we could have ordered a bottle of choice red or white wine. We decided against this option and opted to enjoy a cocktail with dinner.
Started off with a slice of the Margherita pizza that was amazing.
Second course was a single scallop provençal baked with herbs and olive oil, that had set the meal on a delicious progression.
-at this point, we had finished our complimentary glasses of champagne and asked the waiter for a drink menu... which was a wine menu... with no other choices for beverage. Still not sure if a patron could order anything to drink other than wine.
Third course was a Caprese Salad that was uncomplicated but tasted good.
-before the fourth course was brought out, we had to remind the waiter that we would like to order a glass of wine, which arrived fairly quickly.
Fourth course, I went with a Lobster Ravioli in a cream sauce while my wife went with the Five Cheese Ravioli with procini mushrooms and fresh cheese. Both were phenomenal, and I found myself skimming my plate with a fork to get every last bit of sauce.
Fifth course was the most disappointing. I went with a dish that consisted of various shellfish and paccheri pasta (pasta shaped like large tubes). My wife went with the ziti served with a slow-cooked two-meat ragu. My wife's dish was unremarkable and reminiscent to her of canned beef stew. My first bite of shellfish pasta was fishy. I understand seafood pasta will taste like seafood, but this was overwhelmingly fishy. As I continued to eat, I had gotten a mouthful of grit and the occasional broken shell. There was one smaller peeled shrimp on my plate along with one larger unpeeled shrimp. The smaller shrimp was like rubber and I had to get my hands dirty to clean and peel the larger shrimp. To cap it off, inside the last piece of pasta there was a little, sad, gray shrimp head staring at me. Not exactly my idea of rustic.
Finally, dessert was described on the menu as flaky pastry topped with roasted pears and a cream sauce. What we got was three Costco-brand creme puffs in a bowl (that were still frozen in the middle) topped with a slice of strawberry and watered-down condensed milk. My wife best defined it as cereal milk left over after a bowl of Lucky Charms. I ordered a cappuccino to enjoy with dessert that I actually finished before our final course arrived.
At the end of the evening, the Chef came out to the dining room and cut off the top of a bottle of champagne to pour for everyone at the tables. He then offered roses to all the women in the restaurant, followed by shots of Amaretto for everyone.
Overall, it could have been a better experience. I don't know if we will ever return. But if we do, it will be for carrying out the pizza. This feels like a restaurant that is going through an identity crisis. If entrees are going to range from $15 to $40, drop some bread on the table with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Shave some parmesan cheese table-side. Scrub the shellfish so the patrons won't get mouthfuls of sand. Make me feel like I am walking out of the place with a positive dining experience, and not that I just had dinner sitting at high school library chairs in the ground floor of a strip mall.
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