Having the whole family together for the first time in a while was cause to celebrate, and since we happened to be at Patriot Place for a New England Revolution soccer game the choices were somewhat limited. We opted for Davio’s for two reasons. First, Cheri and I had eaten there a few weeks ago and liked it very much, and also it was a Northern Italian steakhouse, and that reminded us of our recent trip to the Italian lakes. (you can read more about that trip here)
We arrived a few minutes early and were promptly seated. The ambiance here is casually elegant, with
Casually elegant
white tablecloths and crystal stemware to go with Patriots and Revolution game jerseys. Here the sports fans who want an elegant meal mix with those just here for dinner, or dinner and shopping, and it all works. There is no pretension here, at least from those we interacted with.
The open kitchen
The kitchen is open and busy. Wait staff are plentiful, and while they are very attentive they are not overly so, and they kept a nice balance throughout our meal. On top of that the food was excellent as well. Wine choices are plentiful, with Northern Italy well represented of course. We opted for a 2010 La Spinetta Langhe Nebbiolo, which was quite nice with cherry and tar along with floral notes. It was really a pretty classic Nebbiolo,young still but showing some of
La Spinetta Nebbiolo
that elegance to go with the long finish. We would buy this for the cellar (and actually probably will).
For food we started with the mussels, which are done in a basil, mustard creamy sauce with plum tomatoes. The mussels were small and sweet, as well as plentiful. This is one of the better mussel dishes I have had. We also sampled the Calamari, which was perfectly fried and light. Some found it too salty but I thought it was on point. Add in the kobe meatballs as well, and these were exactly what they should have been. One person had the radicchio salad with orzo, and he thought it was somewhat bitter, although that opinion was not unanimous.
Mussels
Dinners consisted of filet mignon, spaghetti with shrimp and hot cherry
Kobe meatballs
peppers and the veal tenderloin with prosciutto and tomato basil risotto. They were all well cooked, well seasoned and delicious. Many clean plates adorned the table at the end of our meal. We did not indulge in dessert, even though there were many worthy choices. Coffee and espresso topped off the evening, at least until we entered the stadium and went into beer mode.
We very much enjoyed Davio’s, and our wallet is out when we are at Patriot Place. The food was reminiscent of what we experienced on our recent trip, and the bottle of Nebbiolo brought us right back to Lake Maggiore. We’ll be back. It’s not inexpensive, but it’s not crazy expensive either. This has been a very good restaurant both times we have visited. I know there have been many negative reviews, but we’re not seeing it.
A votre sante!
Leave a Reply