rev:text
| - OK is sort of the perfect description of this place. It's fine...it's not great!
We went here on a Saturday night. It's literally a block away from where we live and we have somehow never been. We finally decided to go for it!
The atmosphere is fine. It's nice and clean and much larger than you would realize from the outside. The decor it a bit cheesy with faux Roman sculptures.
Service was very good. The waiter was quick with our drinks and food and was helpful with suggestions.
Now to the food. My husband ordered the veal parm and I ordered a pasta with chicken. We ordered brushetta as a starter. I noticed from the menu that, while a lot of selection, many of the pasta dishes were a bit uninspired. A lot of very basic dishes. Pasta with mushrooms and red sauce, or pasta with shrimp and pesto, etc. I really enjoy creative combinations and flavours when I go to an Italian restaurant, because quite honestly, I can make the basic stuff at home...for a hell of a lot cheaper.
That said, the pasta dishes were solid, if nothing special. My pasta was well cooked, but the chicken tasted like something you would find in a McDonald's salad and the mushrooms were good, but that was the basis of the dish. My husband's was basic, but veal parms usually are. He did note that there was a LOT of sauce on his. There was, but I like that personally, if there is bread to dip into it...but no bread was served to our table, other than the bread from our brushetta.
The brushetta wasn't great. The tomato mixture on top was good, but the bread wasn't properly toasted, so it got soggy and couldn't hold its shape. It kept falling apart when you picked it up.
The desserts really brought this place back for me. I had their homemade creme brule and it was really excellent. On the menu it tells you which are made in-house and I would highly recommend getting one of those.
Overall, it was quite expensive for pretty basic Italian food, so it didn't stun me. I'm not opposed to going back, but it's not my first choice. My major reason for going back will be for convenience, because it is so close to us.
|