Kelly C.
Yelp
This is a Family owned and operated Pizza and Pasta whose main goal to make and serve the most authentic Neapolitan dishes in Cocoa Beach.
Ambiance - 4 Stars - When you walked in, you are greeted right at the pizza making counter. If you want eat there, they have a dining area with about 16 tables, good for a single person or table of 6 or more. The dining area is small and artfully decorated w Italian items you find at home. A sturdy laundry string with different Italian T-Shirts hovering over you, a mural representing Italian life, and dishes representing Italy.
The staff spoke Italian and you felt you were transported to someone's home who had a fun time bantering with each other.
Server - 3.75 Stars - our server was polite and friendly. However she spoke very fast and had to repeat a couple of times for me on some recommendations which we happily choose from.
Food: 4.5 - 5 Stars
We elected not to order an Antipasta - Starters because of our heavy meal we had at Pita Paradise.
So instead we ordered the following:
An Insalta - Salad: Burrata 4.75 Stars - the Insalta consists of Arugula greens w freshly made Burrata cheese (fresh Italian cheese made from cow's milk with a mozzarella shell and a creamy, rich center), cherry tomatoes, salt n pepper and a balsamic glaze. The cheese itself is creamy and smooth. We like it however some people may not texturally. I prefer mine a little bit more salt but the Balsamic glaze was a perfect balance to the cheese itself. The arugula leafs have a slight peppery taste and the cherry tomatoes were a wonderful accompaniment to it.
Pizza Rossa - Red Pizza - 4.75 Stars
My wife ordered the Capricciosa option. It consists of tomato sauce, freshly made mozzarella, ham, mushrooms, black olives, artichoke, basil and Parmesan.
Staying true to the Neapolitan style for the pizza crust, it is super thin at the center with a wonderful, crunchy, and chewy crust. The center can be difficult to pick up due to its thin crust and the wet ingredients used. She used her knife and fork to properly eat the pizza. The crust supposed to be floppy for a Neapolitan pizza.
Only comment she made was she prefer to have some red pepper flakes to enhance the fresh ingredients. We mention it to our server but she forgot to bring it.
Pasta - Spaghetti allo Scoglio - 5 Stars
If you like seafood, this is the one for you. Even though pasta dishes can be "heavy" to the stomach, this dish was light and very flavorful from the seafood ingredients and very light tomato sauce.
The dish consists of fresh shrimp, mussels, clams and calamari mixed w a light and clear tomato sauce and seasoning. This spaghetti noodles were cooked to perfection - Al dente' and were coated with the flavors of the sea, tomatoes, garlic, seasoning, wine and butter. It has hint of spice due to light coating of red pepper flakes and black pepper. I thought it needed salt and pepper but after I evenly mixed my ingredients together, it did not need anymore seasoning. The seafood ingredients came in qty of three - shrimp, mussels, calamari and clams. The mussels were the favorite due to its salty brine and large size. The shrimps were juicy and sweet, the calamari were chewy but had very little taste to it. The small clams were good and buttery. My only compliant is I wish I had more of the seafood. It was so good! One plate was great for my stomach cuz I would have eaten two plates of this pasta dish.
Dolci- Desserts
4.75 Stars Tiramisu. The dessert came in a deep dish which can be shared by a couple or single if you don't want to share. The espresso coating was layered evenly on top of the mascarpone cream but the richness of the espresso was lost to us. It had good flavor but the depth of a dark roasted espresso was missing. The lady fingers were coated and dipped espresso Neapolitan style.
Note: three things
1. When ordering a dessert, ask for an Espresso with the dessert because is not listed on the menu.
2. Also, all waters, sodas, wine or beers are bottled. Waters, Beers and wine are from Italy.
3. Salt and Pepper are not on the table. Certain cultures want you to taste their dishes before you add more seasoning. It is considered the "chef's trust". You can still ask the server after you have tasted the dish.
Highly recommend the restaurant. As they say, "Mangia, Mangia"!