Melio's Trattoria — Restaurant in Arizona

So many friends told me to come here. I was not impressed when I came a few years ago mid September in the late afternoon, and I was unimpressed by my overall experience. I thought well maybe it was the odd time of day, different season.... give it another shot. We went with a group, had a total of 6 in our party. I had called ahead over a week in advance, and checked in to confirm the day before. That there were not menus for everyone seems ridiculous, and would have loved it to be my only issue. Waiting for drinks, having to get up and ask to put an order in on our drinks, seems a bit much. Bread basket? I feel like that would be an easy thing not to screw up. The bread seemed like it came out of a bag, no big deal but I would have gone with a more artisian style if I was buying it to serve, and if they were making it there... I would have sent out something more than sliced sandwich bread, some of which was either toasted, or maybe just dried out, and some of which were soft. Then, with that, a thimble of oil and vinegar (Why bother?). Food: 2 people ordered shrimp scampi and loved it! A bolognese was ordered. Enjoyed as well, but was very light on sauce, not much tomato sauce at all, heavy on the meat. That from a guy who doesn'tlike much sauce to begin with, so for him to complain that there wasn't enough really raised my eyebrows! A veal limon was ordered and was a disappoint. Flavors shouldn't hit that hard. There was less of a blend of what should be a great marriage of flavors and more of an assault of the lemon flavor. I wish too that for almost 30 dollars there could have been more veal, but honestly for the way it came out and tasted I was just fine to have it gone in a few bites. I wish it would have had a few capers, that would have been some color at least on the plate. Very drab presentation and too much lemon flavor that hid the veal. Sad. Something the server said that was odd: sauces weren't made until the dish was ordered.... well, typically, in my nonas house, flavors are enhanced (especially her bolognese sauce) with time. It's like they selected a flavor to not just stand out but dominate each plate, vs going for a marrage of flavors well suited for each other. For the price, for the plating, for the flavors and for the service.... I have other options and will not be back. I will say, I have had many friends suggest that they like this place. To each their own. Driving from Green Valley, I can easily go to Elviras for a special night out, or Agenzios for a drive away, or heck... just run into Tucson. My go to is Carusos on 4th for Italian. I'm sorry this didn't work out for me, and my party....

undercooked pasta - separated cream sauce and fishy salmon. Eggplant parm - greasy with tough rubbery mozzerella. Said I was dissapointed and basically told I was wrong. Owner (brassy blond woman) said she could get me something else and I told her then about my husband's dish which he was also not happy with and that the pasta was undercooked.. Said she could fix that in two min.. he said no.. It was just toomuch trouble. She walked away. I asked her back and for the menu to try something else but she told me they were closed and could only give me something cold (It was 5 min past closing). Chef owner came to the table. I again said the food was dissapointing and that the attitude when I complained was unprofessional. I said I might come back though for the pizza cause I heard it was good. He said - and I quote "I don't care if you come back for the pizza or not:, I then said I've eaten Italian food from Italy to California and this meal was not up to par... Do you not care about word of mouth - l live in Tubac.. He said "We don't care".. Amazing. Thank god there is a new Italian restaurant in Tubac that is wonderful and has...

Omg!! We were recommended to this place by an amazing Scottsdale Italian chef (Marcelino's)... and it did not disappoint! First of all, it's just the cutest, quaint"est" and eclectic place ever!! You just can't stop looking around! Owned by husband and wife from Rome... And the food is fabulous!! We had the Saltimbocca alla Napoletana and it was perfection .. veal with a thick slab of Motzerella, prosciutto and a lemony, sage butter sauce over the top. Served with a augratin type potato, spinach etc side. Seriously, THE best. We also tried the spaghetti alla puttanesca... Tomatoes, capers, olives, garlic..a tad spicy. Just yummy. And if that wasn't enough, we finished w the dessert sampler... Melinda's homemade creations..all sooo good but my favorite was the lemoncello pie with thick homemade whipped cream on it. And if you can fit it in..have a shot of her homemade cream lemoncello. Unbelievable. Make reservations..even if a slow time.. because they mean business. You need one (covid and all). Don't miss out on this little piece of heaven if you are in the...