Monday, June 4, 2012

NOSH REVIEW: AMORE VICTORIA RISTORANTE

Consuming calories at a restaurant is a birthday tradition with my friends. We celebrated at Amore Victoria Ristorante located at 1601 West Lake Street in the Uptown area of Minneapolis. It was my first visit. The entryway was rather crowded and the tables extremely close together due to a renovation in the front room. We Minnesotans have a large personal bubble. I really don’t want to hear the sound of someone chewing their food at the next table. It was too close for comfort since we were seated at a table too small for our group. We had a reservation, there were empty tables nearby, and the host or waiter should have added another table on when they realized that six people were at a table for four. www.amorevictoria.com

We started with the Calamari Fritti, crispy calamari. The bands were soft and the legs crispy in a light batter. The sauce was unremarkable. Rosa de Pesto had a strong pesto flavor in a large portion. Grazies sweet Basil Sauce was a lighter pesto with delicate homemade noodles. Pollo con Penne e Shitake was salty. Needed more mushrooms and would have been better with bow-tie pasta. Lasagna was the best entrée. Excellent flavor and a good-sized serving.

My friend received a tiramisu for dessert. She really liked it. I didn’t try it because I am not a fan of coffee flavor. I did eat a piece of delicious chocolate cake. Soft texture and creamy mousse filling. Disappointed that the dessert menu did not include prices. The décor is a bit dark and there doesn’t seem to be a theme. Mood lighting made it difficult to read the menu.

Service with a smile. Waitron was friendly but he was very slow. Several of my friends only drank water and their glasses were not refilled. It would have been amenable to have a pitcher of water placed on the table. Bread was nice but it was served cold. The fresh Parmesan cheese was excellent with the bread but the olive oil was a rather bland brand. Overall, the prices were high for the portion size. Happy that there are windows in the kitchen. The staff needs to see the world and it improves their working environment.

Two and a half forks out of five, aka so-so.

Carpe Diem.
© 2012 Ima B. Musing

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