Where's Gordon Ramsey when you need him?
Everything we experienced here should have earned this place an episode on Kitchen Nightmares. Based on our experience, it is unfathomable to me how it earned such praise from other patrons. Maybe they've just gotten complacent after so many years. (Yelp let me down this time.)
We stopped out front to look at the menu, and the owner immediately approached us like a used car salesman and started his pitch on why we should claim a table inside. The owner then hovered at our table for too long. Most other reviewers found this attention endearing; we found it annoying and a bit awkward. He was also kind of a jerk to his waitstaff.
We were brought "the best focaccia bread in Ft. Lauderdale" - which had no seasoning and a burnt crust. We also each got a plate with three separate piles of vegetables, which I had to spend several minutes making into a salad by cutting up and combining large chunks of tomato and cucumber and spiny romaine lettuce. But at least it seemed fresh.
Neither of us finished even half our meals. The boyfriend ordered the salmon since it is in season. Apparently it was extra fishy despite the oil and veggies piled on top of it and as he put it "You can't fake fresh fish." (He worked on a salmon fishing boat in Alaska so he knows fresh fish.) Oh, and its worth mentioning that the woman at the table next to us sent back her fish as well.
This place claims to be authentic, but my pasta tasted like it could have been from Publix, was undercooked and was mysteriously gritty like sand. (I've had authentic pasta from Arezzo, Italy and it was the polar opposite of this im-pasta-er.) I'm no foodie but I've had several dishes with truffle oil, and this tasted like it was made with a cheap substitute.
At over $20 an entree, this should have been a delicious place that we reserve for special occasions.
BOTTOM LINE: $52 lesson learned.
Eating here is like going to your Italian uncle's house - the uncle with 1001 great stories about the mother land, the Rat Pack and his beautiful grandchildren. Â Oh - and the food is great, too.
The menu has the usual fare - but everything is fresh, made to order and prepared with love and care. Everything melts in your mouth.
Highly recommend for a quiet dinner with friends or family or anyone who appreciates the simplicity of classic Italian food in a warm, inviting, talkative Italian uncle kind of setting.
Café Italia is a really nice, pleasant little Italian Restaurant that has been located in the Roselli Building for the past 15 years or so with its daily dinner operations carefully watched over by its most friendly, polite and personable owner/operator.
The wait staff is friendly, kind, efficient, professional and well trained.
The menu offerings are rather typical of local Italian restaurants offering the usual pasta, veal, chicken, fish and so forth with nothing particularly unusual or exotic.
I had their house salad which contained a good mixture of fresh tomato, onion and arugula with their house what I found to be a very good house dressing. For entrée, the veal Marsala which was served heaping with plenty of veal and mushroom in a Marsala sauce, which though to me was too much on the sweet side, proved to be very good. One thing, speaking of the size of the portions, there is no skimping at Café Italia. Matter of fact I overhead several customers complain that their servings were too large. Naturally I would liked to have punched them in the nose for making such a stupid complaint as maybe too large for them, but not for me.
I may have rated Café Italia three star plus but the owner, who insures the comfort of every dinning guest is such a nice person and so pleasant to deal with deal with, the fact that I tend to be overly critical when it comes to Italian food and because of the more than reasonable prices, there is not way I would go less than four stars.
Absolutely the best Italian food in Fort Lauderdale. Very reasonable prices considering the large portions. The owner is right there to greet you and make sure everything is perfect. Chilean sea bass or snapper - the best! While the physical space is not impressive - the ground floor of the Roselli building - don't judge this book by it's cover. Once you discover it, you'll be a regular!
Review Source:Everything was great at this cozy little Italian place. I had the yellow tail snapper ($23) cooked to perfection with mushrooms, tomatoes and wine. The entrees come with a tasty house salad and pasta marinara. They also bring out very good bread. My mom had the chilean sea bass which she said was great. My aunt had the spaghetti carbonara and it was delicous as well.
We finished the meal with capuccinos, coffee and tiramasu -also yummy. The staff is very friendly and accommodationg.
I have driven by the office building containing this gem a hundred times and never knew that Cafe Italia was holding up the structure. I am on a quest for the best risotto and did a Google search, which landed on Cafe Italia.
I was apprehensive at first, because the front door was locked to keep the strong wind from Hurricane Ike from blowing it open. The owner greeted us and sat us at a table, the only diners at 6:30 this evening. This worked to our advantage because we both ordered risotto which takes at least 20 minutes of constant attention by the cook to make.
I had risotto with porcini mushrooms while my friend had risotto with shellfish. Both were excellent, out of this world!
The flavors and aromas were so delicate and well-stated that I would inhale the aroma of each bite before devouring it. There was just enough broth in my bowl to keep the rice moist throughout, and every bite was as rewarding and delicious as the first. I have prepared risotto about 5 times and each time it comes out different, so now I have a gold standard against which to measure mine.
There is a reasonbly diverse wine list, we had a pinot grigio which complemented the meal nicely.
For dessert, of course it had to be tiramisu, which was delicate, not too sweet. The coffee flavor did not dominate but accented it. The whipped cream imparted a delicious freshness to round out the dessert.
Service was attentive, but not intrusive (we were the only guests there after all). Now, when we were seated I was in a sedate frame of mind, not too talkative. But the (Italian) owner loves to engage his guests in conversation so I obliged and learned a few things while our meals were prepared. His conversation only added to our enjoyment.
So looks are deceiving in this case. Cafe Italia is a gem in the rough. Look for the Pure Platinum "gentlemen's club" to the south, then look north to find the Roselli Building. Cafe Italia is on the ground floor of the Roselli Building. You can't go wrong. We will definitely be back!
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