Del's Enoteca Pizzeria

Excellent atmosphere, food pretty OK

My wife and I went to Del Dente's a couple of weeks ago to give it a try. We had been to Charcoal Steak House several times (which is upstairs from DD and always loved it) so we thought we would experience it. We arrived about 45 minutes early as it was very busy on a Saturday night so we decided to have a drink at Martini's (their lounge upstairs) then our hostess came and told us our table was ready right on schedule. As soon as we sat down, we loved the atmosphere. Something very comfortable but yet modern and upscale and our server was very friendly. I ordered the saganaki cheese appetizer and a deluxe pizza. The appetizer was delicious and thoroughly enjoyable and the pizza was about as good as anything I would get at a decent pizzeria. Not memorable but good enough for me. My wife had the spinach dip and pasta and she also enjoyed it. We both said after our evening there we would definitely go back. All in all,

Adequate across the board... but worth it?

I really don't know what to think of Del Dente. It almost comes off as a slightly upscale East Side Mario's, with a menu that attempts to straddle authenticity, creativity and mass appeal. The ideas are good, but the end result just doesn't quite deliver: take the strawberry and bocconcini salad, for example. Great concept, nice dressing, fresh ingredients: but then the bocconcini itself is too cold and hasn't been marinading in the dressing itself (i.e. hard and bland), the strawberries and cheese are too big, meaning that you can't get all of the elements within any single bite, and the kicker? $11 for a small bowl. The value simply isn't there. My tortellini was covered in cheese and baked: how can this go wrong? When there's simply *too much* cheese -- a technique I expect from Crabby Joes. The rose sauce was underwhelming, when it should pop with simultaneous richness and brightness. My partner's lasagne, on the other hand, was very well received. "Excellent," he tells me: spicy, flavourful, perfectly cooked, well balanced with many complementary elements. Ultimately, what really makes us hesitant about this restaurant is the value. A nice meal for maybe $50, but for $70? We expect more. So what do we make of all this? I don't know -- is it worth another go? Probably... but we're not ordering any appetizers!

1st time and I hope not the last

There were little things that bugged me like not having a wireless debit machine, the table we were at I was sitting with my back to a large group of people that kept bumping my chair do to the tight space the chair itself was shaky, really nothing major that would wreck a super evening. The food was excellent, the service was excellent, and the atmosphere was good. In hind sight maybe I should have tipped the hostess sitting us for a different table. I hope to return.

Excellent experience

My boyfriend and I went here for my birthday a few months ago and had a great time. I ordered the stuffed eggplant, he got the 10oz striploin and we split a bottle of Beaujolais. The only down moment was when the server tried to correct me on the wine by naming it by location rather than by the type of wine. The bread and spread appetizer that is provide automatically is wonderful, but we were not given additional spreads with our second loaf of bread, which led us to have to stretch the last bits out as far as possible. Both entrees were delicious, and my eggplant-disliking boyfriend even enjoyed the bite of my meal he tried. I found that mine was exactly the right size for me, and my boyfriend was also satsfied with how much he had to eat. Because it was my birthday (something my boyfriend stated when he made the reservation), we were surprised with a dessert of brownies and champagne punch, which was a wonderful finishing touch to the evening. Del Dente offers a pretty good variation on the typical Italian/Mediterranean offerings and while it wouldn't be my go-to choice for every occasion, it is a nice place to go once every year or two.

one of my favourite retaurants, and amazing service everytime! (they bring you drink refills before you even realize your drink is empty! and very very freindly) plus you get free bread at the beggining of your meal that comes in a flower pot, and it comes with herb/garlic butter, hummas, and cinnamon butter (my fav!, but the other 2 are also amazing!), i would definatly recommend the pasta primavera with the cream sauce! delitious! and for desert (even if your full you must try this!): raspberry creme brulee...one word, "mmmm!" p.s. dont let the parking stop you from coming here! lol