Tutto Italia: Dining Review

When you first walk into the restaurant, there isn't that much to distinguish it from what went before and that's no real surprise, as there was no time to undergo a major refit. That's being saved for later this year instead. If you've dined at Alfredo's before, then the decor will be familiar to you and it's a nice feeling to walk into what's essentially a new restaurant, but immediately feel at home in surroundings you know and love.

We dined there in December using the Candlelight Processional package, mainly because we wanted to book a meal at Tutto Italia and, at the time, that was the only way we could. The package included an appetizer, entree and dessert each, so sadly we just had to sample all three courses on offer here.

There's a wide choice of appetizers, with plenty for anyone who doesn't eat meat. Choices when we ate there included an eggplant caponata with Sicilian olives, pine nuts and raisins; insalata mista with arugula and radicchio; carpaccio de salmone; and prosciutto di Parma, ham with thin slices of seasonal melon. Although all of those may sound great, we opted for something different. I went for the fresh mozzarella with vine ripened tomatoes, basil, and Tuscan olive oil, which I can thoroughly recommend. It really reminded me of the wonderful dish I had enjoyed while in Italy on our Mediterranean cruise and that's a great endorsement for any Italian restaurant. My husband opted for the cozze marinara, or to you and me, mussels in a spicy tomato and garlic sauce and, having sampled a bit (purely for research purposes you understand!), I can confirm that was another winner.

Entrees are divided into either pasta "Tutto Italia" or fish and meat dishes (pesce and carne) on the menu, with each of us sampling one category. I tired the spaghetti with clams, cherry tomatoes, garlic and parsley - certainly an unusual combination of ingredients, but one that comes together beautifully. Other pasta options include some more conventional ones, such as penne with crushed tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil; lasagne al forno, a great traditional Italian dish; and tagliatelle with meat ragu Bolognese. More unusual choices include Bucatini Gratinari -- and if your Italian isn't that great, I'll translate: it's Italian Prosciutto ham, peas, Parmesan and cream -- and spaghetti with veal meatballs and pomodoro sauce.

Turning to the meat and fish, the braised pork shank with creamy polenta and root vegetables was my husband's choice, perhaps the only dish that didn't work completely for us, as the polenta didn't go that well with the pork. Under this section of the menu you'll also find fish fillet, salmon "al forno," a traditional Italian style of cooking that means "in the oven", lamb ("agnello") and chicken cutlet Milanese.

About the Author: Cheryl and husband Mark live in England and love to travel, particularly to Disney, and they have made numerous visits to destinations across America and Europe. They recently completed their tour of every Disney theme park around the world, which culminated in their visit to Japan, including the Tokyo Disney Resort. Click here to view more of Cheryl's articles!

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Reader Comments:

Thanks for the review. WSe, too found the food to be excellent but very pricey

     jimmymac on May 1, 2008 @ 12:00 pm

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Updated 2/7/2008 - Article #189 

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