Davio's Italian Steakhouse: The Best Restaurant Experience I Have Ever Had
My first restaurant review!
Have you ever had a restaurant experience that was so great, you think about it for weeks after you’ve left? One that you go home and tell everyone you know that they should go and experience because it was that great? Prior to this past weekend, I don’t think I’d ever experienced that. Yes, I’ve had some delicious food, eaten in some of the most fantastic restaurants with some of the most fabulous company, but they’ve all just been good. Nothing so substantial that every aspect of it blew me away. Usually, you get great service, but subpar food or not worthy of a 20% tip but the chef deserves his compliments for crafting something so excellent. But at the same time? Never. At least not around where I live or any of the places I’ve been to (maybe I should start looking to eat at better restaurants… am I the problem?)
Anyways, this past weekend, to celebrate our anniversary, my boyfriend and I went to Davio’s Italian Steakhouse. The crazy part is we originally had put in for a reservation at my favorite Italian restaurant but due to the weather, we wanted to stay a bit closer to home, so the drive was safer, and boy am I glad we did. Upon arrival, you are immersed into this beautiful, dark lighted ambiance of a restaurant with a stunning bar right up front. The staff is dressed exceptionally well with the servers all in white coats. There is no hustle and bustle, but you can tell there is a flow to things. No one comes close to bumping into one another, they move with ease, and everything seems to be moving like a well-oiled machine.
We were seated at a table close to the kitchen which is an open layout. You can see them preparing in front of your eyes (if you’re standing up, the booths are so high that when you’re sitting, you can’t see which is nice. It doesn’t take away from the coziness and privacy of your own table.) The host handed us our menus and advised of which had the cocktails and wine in it and went back to the front. Browsing the menu for a good drink and appetizer is the most fun part of any meal in my opinion. You have a vast array of choices, what would taste good with what? How can I get the most out of my experience with flavors? I opted for my usual favorite of a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, and he chose a Riesling from Germany. Both excellent choices and paired quite nicely with their tuna tartare. I am a big fan of tartare so when I saw that it was an option, it immediately was a possible choice for the evening.
After having our appetizer delivered, which was absolutely stunning in presentation, we took our time savoring every bite of it. Any type of tartare in my opinion is about the experience. Eating it slower and enjoying the taste and texture in every bite. It came with an avocado base with citrus ponzu and herb pasta chips. As much as I want to try other things next time we go, I can’t deny that I would absolutely order that again.
When it came time for our entrees, you may be surprised to hear we went to a steakhouse and neither of us ordered steak. But it was worth every cent we paid for our pasta dishes. I ordered the hand-rolled gnocchi with mushrooms, truffle butter, and basil and he ordered the penne with applewood smoked chicken, walnuts, cream fusilli, grilled prawns, vermentino, lemon, and olive oil. Isn’t that a mouthful of a description. When I say it was one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had, that would be an understatement. I am someone who will always opt for the pasta dish no matter where we go. I swear by the fact that it is always the best option. Needless to say, I have had a lot of different types of pasta in my life, including in Florence and Rome, and this was still one of the best dishes I have ever had. The richness of the truffle butter and the savoriness of the mushrooms, I could eat it ten times over and still not be sick of it. His was perfectly seasoned, the right amount of creaminess in the wine sauce, and the penne was cooked to perfection. You wouldn’t think that this meal could get any better than that.
Something special about this restaurant is that when it comes time to order dessert, they roll over a cart of all of their options for the evening and show you each one in front of you, so you know exactly what you’re getting and then they go to the kitchen and prepare you a fresh one.
When trying to decide what we wanted, we were between a few different options. They had a Valentine’s Special which were two mini cake samples and a mini tart. They all looked so decadent, but we ended up going with the chocolate cake and the apple cheesecake.
After waiting for our dessert to be brought to the table, our server surprised us with the sampler as well with a “Happy Anniversary” written in chocolate on the plate. It was absolutely delightful. He went out of his way to do something special to make our experience that much better along with giving us two glasses of champagne as a complimentary toast for our special evening.
Having been a server myself, I know how important it can be to make sure that your tables feel welcomed and happy when eating in your establishment and our server went above and beyond for us.
We ended the night off with two cups of decaf coffee and some wonderful conversation about our experience and how happy we were with how the evening went. I can honestly say I will be thinking about that experience for years to come and will most certainly be back for another meal.