Café Sicilia — Restaurant in Bedford

So, I'm a big fan of leaving positive reviews but unfortunately, this is not going to be one of them. My wife and I have been looking for an AUTHENTIC ITALIAN RESTAURANT since moving to the DFW area so we found Cafe Sicilia which had good reviews and said let's go give it a try. Just for reference, my in-laws were born in Sicily and speak Italian in their home, so I have been fortunate to try real home made Italian cuisine and this unfortunately was not it. Not even close. We walked in and it felt a little bit muggy and smelled funny. I dont know if they were having A/C issues as they had a few small industrial fans mounted to the wall and were turned on. We were immediately sat and saw Arancini (rice balls) on the menu and ordered them because we love Arancini. When we got our order, there were two of them which were a decent size. One of them was over cooked and the other one looked to be perfect. My wife took a piece of the over cooked one and made a face. I know that face. She was grossed out. She looked at me from across the table and said, "Wait till you try that." I took a piece of the perfectly cooked one and the taste of freezer burn was overwhelming. Also, I dont know what the seasoning is that they use in the rice but it wasn't good. I informed the server when she came back to the table and she offered another appetizer or to remake the arancini but opted to have them removed from the bill. Our main course, Chicken Francese, got to the table quickly after ordering and when I looked at the dish, I asked my wife why the sauce was very brown, when it should have a yellow color and was really greasy. She said that everything looked over cooked. Also the chicken which is egg battered was over cooked past golden brown and just dark brown and extremely soggy. It should be a little bit but this was grossly soggy. The lemon sauce had a really weird taste. I felt like maybe they didnt clean their pans in between meals 🤷🏻‍♂️? The angel hair pasta was also very overcooked. Needless to say, it wasn't good at all. I took a couple of bites but I couldnt stomach it and I can stomach anything. The server did ask how everything was and I told her it was whatever but im not sure if she caught that. The bread had no flavor, the water tasted funny and we skipped out on dessert because we were afraid of getting disappointed any further. I hate giving reviews like his but I had to say something. This was $50 dollars down the drain that I'll never get back. We definitely wont be coming back here or recommending...

Today I turn 30. I decided to have a late lunch here with my husband as I was in the area and wanted something I knew would be delicious. I introduced this place to him in 2016 when we first got together and he loved it. It wasn’t busy which was interesting for a Saturday. I can only hope they saw more folks in the evening. The menu has fewer items than it did in 2002, of course, but it suits them so much better I think. Our waiter, the bright, young, edgy and attentive Hunter, made our experience calm and friendly. We started off with a country salad for two and bread- a classic start. The ingredients are unchanged and cozily familiar; romaine, iceberg, and spinach with green bell peppers, black olives, onion, mushroom and artichoke hearts lightly topped with crumbled fromage. The house vinaigrette is wonderful; the pepper makes it so addicting. I regret to have replaced it with their ranch in my younger years. We chose to do the bruschetta which once upon a time used to be chopped tomatoes and onions in a vinaigrette. My family used to love it so much that my mother made her own recipe and it was a hit at dinner time. It’s now essentially a Caprese salad on crostinis: a nicely sized mozzarella and tomato slice topped with basil and balsamic glaze. Don’t get me wrong- We loved it! With us now receiving only two dinner rolls instead of four like I had become accustomed to, it satiated my desire for more bread. To be fair, I’m happy they only gave us two. The rolls are intoxicating- any more than one and you won’t be able to enjoy your other items or meal! Our main courses arrived and we were so pleased with the portion and flavor. I ordered the Tortellini Michael Angelo and my husband ordered his usual, Vodka Rigatoni. The tortellini was perfect. Pasta-to-cheese and pasta-to-sauce/meat was balanced. My husband’s was so delicious as well. We left content and full-bellied with no room left for dessert, which isn’t listed in the menu. You must ask, but I believe they still have cannolis. I’m not sure if they offer the tiramisu or other desserts anymore. But never you mind that. Just go and eat! We celebrated my 30th birthday in the same booth my mother, my sister, and myself sat in in 2002 when we first discovered it by mistake. What a happy accident that was! This place has been and will continue to be a part of our lives forever. I am so delighted to say that Café Sicília has bested themselves, and I plan on making...

So, I'm somebody who (before going to Cafe Sicilia recently) has been very vocal about how I feel about all DFW Italian food (it's all from the same distributor and so it all tastes the same). Well, while I've been proven right about this assessment for many, many years, Cafe Sicilia just proved me wrong (sort of).

They do seem to use the same distributor as everyone else (Lisanti Foodservice - according to the pizza box), but they are definitely doing something different here because that Supreme pizza I had wasn't like everyone else's.

The first thing I noticed was the crust. The best way I can describe it is that it's kind of buttery and isn't as chewy/elastic as the many other Italian places in DFW. After this initial visit, I can say that I personally prefer this type of crust (of course, you may have a different option than mine).

The other thing about their pizza that impressed me was their sliced ham topping. I know this sounds a little odd to mention, but I usually hate ham on my pizza because of it's tough rubbery (and sometimes inedible) texture/skin. But (and I just double checked this), their ham is not only very edible, but I actually gasp enjoyed it.

I... I just don't know what to say. Cafe Sicilia just took everything I believed about DFW Italian cuisine and totally changed my mind.

What's funny about this is that a very welcoming manger or owner (I'm not sure what his position was) had asked me to write a review of their restaurant while we paid for our meal. I gave him a, "yeah, sure" thinking that the best he might get is some nice pictures and no review since I was certain that we were going to get the same pizza I've eaten at every other Italian restaurant. In fact, his request at the time seemed so absurd to me that I even joked about it to my wife on the way home (we took our food To-Go).

Well Cafe Sicilia, you absolutely deserved a review (a very positive review) and you've just created some new fans. We'll definitely see...