Tresetti's World Caffe

Modesto really does have it's gems. (the other two are Concetta right down the street from Tresetti, and on the other side of town Familia Juarez for authentic Mexican). This is easily one of the best restaurants in the central valley. The wine selection and adjacent bottle shop are amazing. The French Onion soup is super good. It is a five star place for me but I give it only four-stars because it can be a bit inconsistent. I travel for work and actually stay in Modesto if I am working within 30-miles just for the this and the other two restaurants I mentioned. The bar area is casual and if you want a more formal dining experience the dining room can give you what you want (but casual is still OK).

I enjoy the service, the wine, however;  the appetizers, finger foods, or bar food should be tossed out.  My friend and I were so disappointed when we came in AGAIN to find that the food had not improved.  Wine is great.  Prices are okay.  The food should not be called food.  Example:  the fish tacos are basically one skinny fish stick cut up into pieces along with a little chipotle.  Ugghhhhh.  We should have learned the first two times.  We tried and found it very forgettable.

Got an invite from one of my bff's along with a ticket to "The Piano Guys" concert at the Gallo in Modesto.  Tresetti's has a prix fixe menu for $30 that includes soup or salad, a choice of entrees and a dessert, good deal!  I wasn't down for dessert; only wanted a simple entree and salad.  I had a hankering for pasta since I wasn't really interested in salmon or chicken, my standbys.  I asked the waitress if they offered a marinara and she said yes; what I actually got?  More of a tomato sauce with not a lot of flavor.  I wanted a linguine but the only pastas available, fettuccine and a penne.  I opted for the fettuccine, a bit overdone, and in no way al dente.  15 minutes later....stomach cramps, oh my!  
The restaurant is "cozy" and very cute; our waitress did not have a good sense of "personal space" and then threw me under the bus when one of my companions called her over to see when we could order our dessert.  The waitress replied as she pointed to me, "well, she was busy (refering to the fact that I was in the powder room)". Will I return? Most likely not since I rarely visit Modesto and the dinner was not memorable accept for the tummy pain throughout the most awsome concert I've been to in years!
BTW, the raspberry lemon drop was the best part of my dining experience.