On September 28, 2024 my friend was celebrating his bday. We were a party of 12. The service was great. The waiter was super friendly and fun. He would joke around with everyone. It was kind of small inside the restaurant but still comfortable. We were inside but they also have outdoor dining. My pasta dish was pretty good. I didn't notice anyone complain about their dish. I did think the entrees were plated nicely so they all had good presentation. I would have to come back again so that I could better evaluate the food. We were there close to closing but they were very friendly about it and did not try to rush us out. The best parts were definitely the service and hanging out with friends. read more

I love this place!! I really enjoy the quaint ambiance, friendly service and unique way they prepare their delicious plates! I always enjoy their specials and my husband can't get enough of the carbonara! read more

What a great little hole in the wall Italian restaurant! We were early and had a cocktail at the bar, it was good! Our party got there and we were seated right away. Asked about a red wine, of course the waiter pointed out a bottle for $125, no thank you. Then he recommended a Italian red which was very good! At $55 I had the seafood risotto, it was delicious. My wife had the veal, she enjoyed it. My BIL had the veal chop, you would have thought it was a pork chop! That big, he loved it! Of course I finished with a lemoncello! read more

Chianti Reserve - After dinner lemoncello - Italian Near Me - Pleasanton, California

If you are hankering for a good Italian restaurant, this is the place to be! I have been coming to this restaurant and so far, everything has been on point! Service is always exceptional and warm. Perfect place to have a quiet meal with family and friends. This place is highly recommended when in Main Street. Don't forget to order their tiramisu. It's just heavenly! read more

Chianti Reserve - Italian Near Me - Pleasanton, California

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Had the most beautiful dinner here the other night with my husband and mama. The service was wonderful. They took such good care of us, turned on the heater for mom. We immediately had waters, warm bread and placed our drink order, which also came out quickly. The owner Michaelango was SO sweet and hilarious! My mama had the chicken parmigiana with pasta on the side, my husband had the asparagus stuffed chicken (which he said was one of the best dishes he's EVER had) and I had the gnocchi. Everything was absolutely delicious, the setting is comfortable and cute and the staff is fantastic. We absolutely will be back!! PS: if you sit outside you get the bonus of watching all the cute doggos walk by! read more

Service is very good. The food was excellent. All four of us loved our dinners. I had the calamari steak. It was so tender. Really enjoyed it and can't wait to come back. read more

The quality of the food has gone really worse. Only good thing is that the staff were nice. Tiramisu was fine but DO NOT ORDER their "Chocolate Mousse Cake", it is literally costco bought chocolate tuxedo cake heavily priced. Really disappointed with food quality. read more

What a wonderful restaurant!! The food is fabulous! I have been there many times and no one has ever said it was anything but the best. The best thing about Chianti is the staff. They are so friendly and welcoming that it's just like going home for a family dinner! It's a cute venue with fabulous food and amazing people. That's just about impossible to beat. It's my favorite restaurant in the Bay Area and always will be! read more

Decided to try this place despite the mixed reviews because they had some interesting sounding dishes. Probably a 2 - 2.5 star review, but giving them the benefit of the doubt. Caesar salad - reasonably fresh lettuce, boxed croutons, no discernable cheese, no anchovies, little flavor in the dressing. Beet salad - fresh spinach, 5 or 6 small pieces of beets and the same with the goat cheese, a smattering of very small walnut pieces, decent dressing. Shrimp gnocchi - good sauce, shrimp were fine, seemed like frozen, very gummy gnocchi. Carbonara - mostly cream, very little cheese, egg or pancetta evidence or flavor. Bread - 2 slices of sandwich bread. Chocolate mousse cake - very weird and inedible. Limoncello cake - ok. The portions were large and the prices reasonable, but the overall experience seemed like a restaurant that is circling the drain and skimping to try and save money and probably losing more customers because of it. I'm sorry, but we won't try them again. read more

Pros: Greeted at the door by friendly greetings. Polite wait staff and bussers kept the water glasses full. Green dipping sauce for the bread doesn't look appetizing, but it does taste good. Extensive beverage list. The food wasn't so bad that we couldn't finish the main entrees. Cons: The parmiagana dishes we ordered were drowning in marinara sauce and the breading was quite soggy, the dishes seemed almost over-breaded? Sourdough bread wasn't fresh... Minestrone soup had a light green color and didn't have much flavor. Isn't minestrone supposed to be reddish? It was almost like a chicken soup without the chicken. The sides : seemed to be frozen vegetables and the polenta wasn't eatable. Price - I'm sorry to be so critical of a small business especially since they have polite staff, but the food was way overpriced for the low quality. read more

I hate giving small businesses a terrible review but this was just that. It was my son's birthday and we decided to take him here in hopes for some good food. The service, the food, everything was terrible. The waitress cleared our plates before we were done, as if they were in a rush to close. The chicken was overcooked and rubbery. I had to send it back and chose a simple ravioli dish. Nothing was fresh. Even the pork chops my son ordered tasted terrible. I am truly disappointed in this place. To top it off they didn't even let us choose dessert to sing to my son. The prices are steep, not worth the price. read more

Cute Italian restaurant located in Pleasanton in a downtown-y looking area. (Is it downtown?) Food - Pretty good, wasn't sure what to expect. I ordered spaghetti and meatballs, it was named something different and more Italian-y on the menu but that's all I knew that was familiar to me. Came at a great portion and a decent price. My boyfriend ordered beef ravioli with pesto sauce. At the end of the meal, I was really curious about their cannolis so I tried that as well. The spaghetti and meatballs was very delicious. I loved the way it tasted, the meatballs were very flavorful. My boyfriend's ravioli was alright, but it wasn't anything mindblowing. I was also surprised that they only have him 4 pieces. Not sure if this is the typical portion of a ravioli entree but, I thought it was very little compared to how much spaghetti I got for the same price of the meals. The cannoli was 9.50 - they were small. I really enjoyed them, but I'm not sure if I enjoyed them enough to order them again for 9.50. I think that price is a little too much. Service - Excellent. Our servers were very kind and generous, they made sure our food came out all at the same time. Our waters were constantly refilled. We were always checked up on. I have nothing but good words for the gentlemen who hosted us. Environment - I liked the vibe of the restaurant, I thought the music playing in the background was a little amusing. They had Despacito playing but it was like a classical music arrangement of that song. Just a ton of pop songs played in a classical style was pretty funny. The bathroom in the back is for only one person at a time, but there is a room that connects the seating area to the bathroom. Kind of like a hallway.. But it's a room instead(?). It can be confusing at first. Overall, I enjoyed my spaghetti and meatballs here! Not sure if I would order the cannoli again unfortunately. I'd come back if I was ever around this area again and craving Italian food! read more

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It was a random December Wednesday night and surprisingly Downtown Pleasanton was pretty lively. It was chilly and getting late and my boyfriend and I were seeking something warm and comforting for dinner. Chianti seemed like a cozy spot on Main St so we decided to stop in. Greetings were friendly and there were other parties still dining around 8 that might. We got a choice of seating and right away fresh bread and pesto were served and water glasses filled. I got the pasta primavera which was loaded with fresh veggies and topped with their marinara sauce-simple but flavorful. My boyfriend got penne arrabbiata with added chicken. It was very nice ambiance and a nice way to unwind on a weeknight. No pictures since it was getting late and it wasn't time to longer. But, this is the type of place where it would be nice to do so. Cute find in the downtown dining scene. Review #75 of 100 review goal in 2021 read more

Takeout was just okay. I thought portions were small. Only three shrimp on the gnocchi, chicken Marsala was about half a small chicken breast worth. Sauces weee tasty. Caesar dressing did not taste home made, tasted bottled. For the price I didn't think it was that great, probably wouldn't come back. read more

Place was absolutely awful!!! We should've kept it moving when we saw it was empty! When we first got there I asked if we could have bread w/olive oil and balsamic, they brought out two pieces of sandwich sliced sour dough lol super weird and low budget. I ordered bolognese with penne pasta and I literally tasted like spaghetti Os in a can, soooo bad I could only stomach two bites. My son who is 2.5 loves any kind of pasta took one bite and spit it out on the plate hahaha. My husband ordered the lobster raviolis, came with 4 average size raviolis, he ate three. The waiter was nice but the owner was kinda weird. When we asked for the check he asked if I wanted a box and I said "No" mind you it was a whole bowl full of pasta. He could tell we weren't happy at all, not once asking how was our food or why I didn't want to take a full bowl of pasta home. The check was $100 lol he took our card and exited to the left reaaallll quick to charge it, came back and didn't say a word lol. You know that feeling when you just spent money on nothing....like robbed? That's how we felt after eating here. read more

Lunch on Christmas Day was very busy. We were able to get seated without a reservation and are very thankful for that. Food was good . Large prawns with vegetables and polenta was delicious. Everything perfectly cooked, vegetables crunchy and tasty. Pasta with sausage very good, excellent marinara sauce. It was not on the menu, but the waiter took such order to accommodate us. Mixed green salad was ok, nothing special, just lettuce without any additional ingredients. I personally didn't care about their dressing. We couldn't get waiter's attention to order dessert and coffee (but understandable, he was really busy) and decided to leave as it was too crowded. Next time, we will try their tiramisu or spumoni. read more

Merry Christmas.. I saw this restaurant longtime since work at this area. Never try. Today by myself. Surprised food was great and best service. I like the idea. Open on holiday help many customers who no time cook. Tried from work like me. Relax enjoy place and food .. Good manager and team. .. I understand how hard to be good team work in restaurant because I'm do the same. .. read more

Chianti Reserve - Good clean. - Italian Near Me - Pleasanton, California

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I really wanted to like this place. It is located in downtown Pleasanton and is so cute to walk around and the restaurant itself is very nice. My family and I decided to drop by and give this place a try. We were the first people in. However the service was a bit slow. The staff was paying more attention to the tv than to us. However as time progressed they did get more attentive. They're amazing with their water refills and checking up on you. We started off with the beet and goat cheese salad which was amazing. We ordered the chicken tortellini, the ravioli with the walnut sauce and the seafood soup. The pasta dishes were ok but did lack flavor. The soup was good if you like seafood then that is a good dish to get. Overall I was left full but dissatisfied. Not sure if I will return. read more

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Love this restaurant .... The food is delicious and always consistent !!!! We always feel welcome immediately upon walking in Full bar with great drinks and a good pour. You will not be disappointed ... so if you have not been there .... GO .... Leslie Wetsel ( first owner of Paradise Beach Grille in Capitola ) read more

So.... the place was.... interesting... The employees were friendly, the food was average but nothing special, and the wine was good. The atmosphere appears nice, however it wreaked of cigarette smoke inside. The place is out dated. The portions were large but nothing special. The dessert was 100% from the grocery store. It came out in 2 minutes and tasted and looked like the moose cakes from the grocery store. Overall, try somewhere else. There are at least 8 Italian restaurants walking distance from here. read more

This is really a substandard restaurant dressed up in a nice area of Pleasanton. Here was our family's subpar experience. We went there for Mother's Day dinner yesterday, the place has good reviews ( totally inaccurate) and here were the issues. 1) Not a single staff member greeted Happy Mother's Day to my wife or mother-in-law. Not even one. The kids were with us so it's obvious they are moms. Incredibly crass people. It's Mother's Day for goodness sake. 2) We were seated at a non-lined table in the sun. When requesting a seat at the an open white tablecloth table in the shade, were told it was reserved. When a group came in shortly after with no reservation ( we could hear ) they were seated at one of the 3 open tables. 3) The service is like McDonald's. Actually McDonald's does a better job. Really that bad. Servers hand you the food instead of placing it at your place setting. 4) Food is overpriced for the value. There are plenty of restaurants with better tasting food, excellent service, and at a fairer price. 5) The bathroom does not lock. Really poor customer service in this area. Do you really want to take someone special here ? IMO the positive reviews are shills. This place might be good for friends of the owner, but most customers will probably wonder who the heck would give this place positive reviews. 2 stars because it's not an absolute dump. read more

This is a beautiful restaurant in a great location in downtown Pleasanton. My boyfriend and I stopped here for dinner on our way to a Cirque show at the Bankhead Theatre in Livermore, after discovering the restaurant on restaurant.com. We enjoyed starting our evening over a shared bottle of wine and wonderful service from the two men working. Our server was especially attentive and brought us out some delicious bread and dipping oil. Following the wine and bread, we each had a delicious Caesar salad. Kind of disappointed that mine had two anchovies on it when I asked for extra, but the salad was delicious! Still not even as close as good as our entrees. My pasta seafood and Fred's chicken parm were both hot and delicious! Service was terrific all the way to the end as well. Romantic spot if you're looking for that, but perfect for a casual outing with friends/family as well. read more

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Very disappointed and here's why: - Service extremely slow. We sat at our table for close to 5 minutes before we even received water... - No flavor in the Halibut special of the day. Couldn't even treat carpets or white wine which was an integral part of the dish - Homemade beef ravioli were downed lamb based red sauce therefore competing with the beef ravioli flavor - expensive for the 'portion' size one received read more

Quaint neighborhood restaurant in downtown Pleasanton with a homey ambience. Food was good but nothing to write home about. Salmone Affumicato - Our favorite dish of the night. The pear goes very well with the smoked salmon. Great favors combination. The portion is huge for an appetizer. Gamberoni - The dish had a generous amount of prawns and scallops but they weren't the best quality. The creamy pesto sauce seemed to be missing something.The pesto sauces I'm used to are usually more aromatic and flavorful. Vongole e Cozze - My friend had that dish and she seemed happy with it. Limoncello Mascarpone Cake - I wasn't a fan, perhaps I had the wrong expectations. I was expecting an airy and refreshing cake, like the light texture of the mascarpone in Tiramisu. Because of the limoncello, I was also expecting the cake to be citrusy and have a kick from the alcohol. Both were missing. This cake tasted very similar to American cheesecake and was too dense for me. Will be trying something different next time. All in all, food was average and there's hit and miss. I wouldn't mind coming back but there are definitely better Italian options in the neighborhood. read more

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Tasty! Service was great and the food was equally as amazing. I got the spicy pasta and had a salad to start with! 10/10! read more

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I have dined here many times and I have always ordered a meat dish. Always good. On this trip, I had the lamb shank. It was very good, tender and tasty. I just wish the polenta was warmer. I had a Paseo Robles Zinfandel that was very enjoyable and paired well with the lamb. My dinner companions had the minestrone soup and really enjoyed it, but the spaghetti not so much. The flavor of the meatball just didn't hit him right. Maybe it was just his particular taste buds, but he liked the house chianti went well with the sauce. The staff is very professional, attentive and knowledgeable. This place has an old school Italian feel with the hospitality to match! Tiramisu - excellent. read more

Chianti Reserve - Italian Near Me - Pleasanton, California

Would give them 0 if possible.. Racist experience. two families .4+2 in total. We should have left when they said, we only have 1 high chair in restaurant . Surprising for big place but that's fine. We arrived at 830 PM on Saturday evening and placed an order for appetizers. He was correcting our American pronunciation to Italian accent for every item in front of us. We ignored/joked as no big deal.. He didn't like us getting 1 soup to try out among us. It is in fixed quantity only. So, not sure why matters Once we got appetizers, wanted to place an order for Pasta first for kids. I think, Host didn't like that. His exact words :: Is that the only thing you are ordering for everyone? (disappointed face).. Us : No. We might order something later just want to get order done for kids first. Him : I can wait sometime and come back for you to place all order at once. I don't want to be keep coming more often. (We had just got appetizers and mind you none is ordering except us) Us: What? Why? Him: See, you are the only one who is going to place any further order here. Kitchen guy is also sweeping floor and tired. You only have very few minutes . Why are you not ordering,etc etc. We asked him what did we do wrong for your such behavior. He was like, what did I do? i behave in same manner with everyone. We heard him taking order of another table when we came and he was very polite. This is just snippet. Restaurant closes at 10 P'M. Host doesn't want to cook food for us at 845 PM while we enter at 830 PM. Pretty weird!!! And, he never told us , we are closing, kitchen blah blah blah.. If you don't want Indians and/or vegetarians in your restaurant, just put a board outside and we won't visit. Shouldn't be insulting someone for visiting a restaurant to eat food.. Whatever food we got was decent but that's beside the point. our last visit for sure here.. read more

Small restaurant menu looked good and the dishes we tried were good. The bread for an Italian restaurant appeared to be sliced American white bread. Not good Italian bread. Enough about the food The bar was right next to restaurant and they were showing a sports event. With every winning shot there was loud cheering from the bar with no regard for people dining. I came out of there with a headache even though the food was good Won't be going back there because it wasn't a good dining experience read more

First time and last time at this restaurant. This was the worst ltalin food l have ever had for the price they charge. The bread was regular slice bread cut in half and served cold. The Halibut was very chewy. When l told the server he attempted to defended it and said he will talk with the chef. He claimed his ltalian style icecream has pistachios, but it did not. The place was not crowded for Friday night that could be because others had the same experience. Do not fall for their fancy web site. read more

Rob says "Do not pass by. Enter and enjoy the energetic, courteous staff and enticing Italian cooking. " Took a group of coworkers out for dinner here. Due to a busy schedule we were a bit late and the staff was more than understanding. I had the veal saltimbocca which I highly recommend! I think it's a hard dish to get the flavor correct with veal but it was fantastic. The staff was very attentive of our large group, plates were delivered quickly and they even had Amaro for an after dinner drink! Molto bene!! We hade a great time - mille grazie! read more

Chianti Reserve - veal saltimbocca ... sooooo yummmy! - Italian Near Me - Pleasanton, California

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TERRIBLE! COSTCO RESELLERS. Empty restaurant because their food lacks quality. I should've read the reviews before coming but I was so hungry. First we got warmed up sandwich bread with olive oil. That should've been my first red flag. We carried on and ordered entrees. Chicken parm and eggplant parm practically inedible. The polenta had a weird taste and did the breading and sauce. The tortellini probably came from the pack at Costco. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST DESSERT! IT IS FROM COSTCO. The tiramisu is the cup one from Costco and they has the audacity to charge us basically for the whole pack. DO NOT COME read more

Chianti Reserve - Costco tiramisu vs the tiramisu they sold us - Italian Near Me - Pleasanton, California

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Excellent food, friendly service and great location. Charming atmosphere to enjoy a meal with friends and family.

Food was great and our server was very personable and welcoming. Wish I could say something positive about the Owner/Manager? He yelled at the wait staff and kitchen workers in front of the customers, and it's a small place! Really felt bad for them and after spending $160+ on dinner it ruined the overall experience. Unfortunate that someone in a supervisory role is so unprofessional. I won't go back. read more

Service was questionable at first, our host didn't seem to want to acknowledge us, and thought perhaps he was having a moment. It didn't seem like he wanted to wait on us and gave us minimal eye contact as he answered our questions. He seemed friendlier to the next couple who arrived. We decided to overlook the attitude because the menu looked promising. Plus being an interracial couple, it isn't the first time we've felt unwelcome at random restaurants. Sometimes a city's vibe can be off and we do give it a second chance before drawing our conclusion. Anyway, I turned into "Bella" once my fish arrived with all the gratitudes from our host. He had a completely changed attitude. It was like a completely different Individual was waiting on us. Maybe he was just having an off moment and shook it off. One star for full lunch menu, unlike other places and filled with a large variety of entrees. Thick sliced s/d w their garlic pesto olive oil dipping sauce was good. I was set on having some type of fish pan seared. I ended up trying the red snapper w polenta and sautéed spring veggies. The snapper was light and delicate served w capers in a red olive oil sauce. The veggies were a little over seasoned but were not over cooked, still al dente so that was a plus. The polenta was good. Hubby had the Tutti Marre -seafood blend over pasta in a huge bowl (calamari, crab, mussels, clams, & salmon) he said tasted good. We finished off w tiramisu and a cappuccino, this tiramisu I haven't seen served anywhere we normally frequent. It looked and tasted more authentic than we've had anywhere and the cappuccino must've been made w freshly ground espresso beans served piping hot. Third star earned. Decor both inside and outside (which is where we dined) needs updating. The outside decor is faded and needs some refreshing. Also some strategically placed fans would help w keeping the irritating flies and bees away. Not sure if it was bcuz of the warmer than usual weather. Service means everything to the dining experience and this place just didn't give a great first impression. The bus person who cleared tables and refilled water wasn't detail oriented (forgot to give me a teaspoon with my cappuccino and didn't offer a refill nor check on us again except to clear away our dishes) but was overall polite and probably just new to the job. We will not likely return to this establishment, and it doesn't appear the menu or specials change much after looking over their stats. We belong back in our friendly cities we love and continue returning to. Thanks but no thanks old Pleasanton, but the vibe has always been chillier than any other surrounding tri-valley city. read more

Chianti Reserve - Italian Near Me - Pleasanton, California

The food was pretty bland. It seemed like something someone who doesn't know how to cook would cook at home. I had to send my chicken back because it was pink inside. The service was quite bad too. First they took a long time to come to the table; then they told us to hurry because everyone had a short time to use the table due to reservations. Then, we didn't want desert and they acted shocked; like we had to have desert. Then the check came and it only offered the option of leaving an 18% tip and up. The custom is around 15% You can leave more if you want, but the custom is 15%. I would have left more but the service and the food were quite bad. read more

I'm surprised this place has such low yelp ratings. I feel like this spot is a hidden gem, amongst the many restaurants in DT Pleasanton. It's literally hidden away, but right on Main St across from Alberto's. I made reservations via open table. I was promptly attended to and given the option of indoor or patio dining, I chose the patio experience. It was a beautiful evening. The service was friendly and efficient. I went with the special fresh fish- sea bass with polenta & a garlic white wine caper sauce for the win, absolutely DELISH. I also ordered the "scallop" appetizer, which ended up being butterflied prawns? Kind of confusing, they were still good. I was just hoping for scallops. I ordered two glasses of wine a Sauv Blanc & a Pinot Noir- the wine list was not super extensive, but my wines were decent, no complaints. All in all, this place has SO much potential!!! The food is a 10, so good. I would definitely return. They have great fresh fish, which is up my alley. They're right on Main St in Pleasanton, perfect location. It's for sure not a bad spot to give a whirl. I've been to just about every restaurant on Main St, this is among my faves. read more

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Love this restaurant! Friendly waiters who are actually Italian-- makes the experience so much more authentic, with even Italian music playing in the background :) food is absolutely divine, have been here about 5 times and it's always great. read more

This place is a sorry excuse for Italian food. The bread is sooooooo dry and tasteless. Also the food is meh! The caprese salad was so-so -- the tomatoes not juicy and not garnished well. The service is ok but save your money and go to literally any other Italian place. The service was also ok-ok read more

I love Chianti's in downtown Pleasanton. The service is exceptional. The food is fresh. I've been going here awhile and every time it's something wonderful. The specials are delicious. On this day we had the caprese for an appetizer - such wonderful flavor. Then we had our main dishes - we tried the specials. One was a pasta with red sauce and house sausage - delicious! The other a loin. Both dishes were just amazing. Ok, I'm bad at remembering their wonderful descriptions- that's on me . They were understaffed, but you can tell how much they care for their customers. They were explaining the situation and still they were great about refilling drinks and bringing bread to the tables and bustling to get the food and drinks out. Can't say enough about the professionalism. We will be back. read more

Chianti Reserve - Italian Near Me - Pleasanton, California

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I had taken my adult children for an over-nighter to Monterey/Santa Cruz. On our way home, mid afternoon, we decided that it was time to eat a great meal. We happened to be driving through Pleasanton when we made the exit in hopes of some great food. Well, we certainly found it!! We entered the establishment and the restaurant was very beautiful. The tables were gorgeous, nice tablecloths, attractively set napkins, goblets on the tables as well. We may have been slightly too casual. Regardless, our family was greeted and seated within a minute or two. The server, MIKE, was absolutely amazing!! He offered suggestions, was very attentive and social as well. I have to be honest, THIS WAS POSSIBLY THE BEST ITALIAN FOOD WE HAD EVER CONSUMED. The pasta was extremely fresh, the bread as well, obviously cooked to order. The desserts were so incredibly delicious. The afternoon experience was truly worth every single penny! I would highly encourage you to visit the restaurant. Mike, you are wonderful! We will return when in the area. Thank you for the unforgettable experience. read more