Charlie F.
Yelp
Off the bat, the service by each staff member who attended our table was very professional and courteous throughout our dining experience while celebrating our friends' birthdays, such as clearing out empty dishes as the food emptied into our stomachs and lighting the candles for the cakes and coming around the table without our friends noticing.
You guys know how enamored I'm with espresso martinis so I had to order one and this time, it was only one. Even though it was a different spin with cocoa on the rim, the espresso element didn't really come through.
Anytime we see grilled octopus, we don't think twice. The portion size of octopus was on the medium to lower side and the presentation wasn't too appealing; however, the tenderness and charcoal flavor shone though. The sautéed mushrooms and clams as well as the shrimp scampi were pretty standard, but I did enjoy the shrimp more.
We ordered a few pasta dishes too. By far the best was the Positano, which we had to order a second round (you should too!). The al dente consistency of the pasta coupled with the fragrant and herbal oiliness (but not too oily) of the sauce coating each strand stood out. The Gragnano was a bit too cheesy but definitely enjoyed its decadence. And the Capri had a nice bite but wouldn't be a dish to re-order.
Meat and fish dishes were also in order for the night. We were very curious about the truffle-crusted tuna but even though the tuna was very velvety (no need for teeth here), there was absolutely no truffle flavor, whether as an undertone or overtone. One of the waiters came out and displayed our 36 oz. tomahawk ribeye prior to cutting and we were delighted to sink our teeth into a slice. Cooked to a medium rare to rare, it melted with each chew but would've benefited with a dash more salt and pepper. The best meat dish was the braised beef short ribs and if you think you don't need teeth for the tuna, just place a slice in your mouth, lower your palate and slowly rotate against your tongue to allow the juices to coat and soak your tastebuds and the let meat perfectly disintegrate around. Talk about not needing teeth or gums!
The atmosphere was contemporary and tempered but not as spacious as there were some tight corners.
Would return here for a few dishes but would say it's a pretty solid spot if you're craving Italian in the Encore casino.