Sicilian Cafe — Restaurant in Chico

Quick read: Wonderful ambiance, intimate setting, great service, delicious food! Long read:The Sicilian Cafe was a wonderful dining experience! It is definitely a hidden gem, with emphasis on the hidden. Located off Park, just outside Downtown, it was almost too easy to drive right past without noticing it. The tiny parking lot had a single open space, almost seeming to be waiting just for us. Entering into the restaurant, we were greeted by a hostess and walked by small sign gently asking patrons to stay off their cell phones. This immediately split my face with a smile, because this sign with the dim lighting put a clear understanding of the ambiance and setting of this establishment. We were served appetizers including a plate of antipasto and some sourdough bread with sipping sauce. As the accompanying sides were concerned, we selected across the spectrum. The wife had the minestrone, the son had a spicy sausage soup, and I had a green salad with house Italian dressing. Not one of us was left disappointed, and not a scrap or drip remained on our respective bowls or plate. As the main course was concerned, the son and I had "The Special", which has clams, oysters, prawns, and salmon over alfredo with a white sauce. The wife had the pan seared scallops (on a bed of cremini mushroom risotto). Again, no complaints! We spent approximately an hour and 40 minutes here. There was a slight lull between the side and the meal, but it wasn't uncomfortable nor frustrating, though, we were very much there to eat while sharing each others company. We were in no rush, so the experience suited us, perfectly. I feel this actually put more emphasis on our conversations and the time we enjoyed. We weren't watching our clocks, in any way. Service, through this time, was on point. We never ran out of water, everyone was incredibly pleasant and accommodating, and we never felt forgotten. This may be, in part, due to the small intimate setting of the place, but regardless, the whole experience sat well with us all. I would highly recommend a visit to the Sicilian Cafe. It would be a wonderful date night location. I would note, though, I felt somewhat underdressed. We were the only 3 I saw, the whole night, wearing tshirts. Still, though, there was no discomfort at all. No one, host, hostess, server, nor patrons looked at us, askew. Still, I will wear a non t-shirt next time. With shorts or jeans, though. Just to dress me...

Absolutely awesome. When your job takes you all over the north state you end up eating out A LOT! A couple days ago if you asked what's my favorite restaurant, I would have said Blades and Barrels in Redding. Now I have a new favorite. We arrived at 3:45p Mis read the info and thought they started serving dinner at 3:30 but that's Happy hour. They start serving dinner at 4:30. Anyway the hostess went in the kitchen to see if they could start early. She came out and seated us right away in a lovely dining room with white linen and elegant table settings. Drinks first. Amazing. Then we ordered appetizers. Mushrooms and calamari. (We couldn't decide) Very generous portions for 2. We ate our fill and the waiter boxed up the leftovers right away. Also included was an antipasto plate and warm bread with an olive oil, balsamic dip. I LOVE THAT! Then came salad for me. Fresh greens & tomatoes with blue cheese dressing loaded with chunks of fresh blue cheese. Hubby had the minestrone.. of course I tasted it. It was the best I've ever had. Homemade with fresh ingredients. Now we're almost full but entrees were served. The timing of each course was exactly right. We each had a prawn dish. Beautifully presented and the flavor of the old world recipes were incomparable. I had the Siciliano garlic & olive oil sauce over a thin pasta. The other was prawns Alfredo. The waiter offered fresh grated Parmesan which we both accepted. Lots of left overs. I do not have even one thing that I wasn't over the top satisfied with. The price was what we usually pay for a high end dinner which usually left us wanting. So so very pleased....

Came here after 14 years. Service was great, placed filled up quickly. My first point of concern was learning that a "fine dining" italian resyaurant only had two dishes with fesh pasta (the rest was pre made, most likely storebought). this is not an issue at some restaurants, but when you charge $20 per dish you expect something fresh. My French onion soup which i started with (which tasted great) was more bread with French onion soup. two large pieces of bread with maybe a cup of broth. Delicious but when you order a soup you expect to have more broth than bread; my scallops and risotto (main course) was a big disappointment. While the scallops were cooked to perfection, the risotto was so salty was inedible. I told our waitress who was very kind and told the chef, even offered a desert. However, for what is one of the most expensive dishes on the menu next to the fillet mignon you expect to have something edible (would have preferred to have no salt and I personally salt to taste). But sadly, i cannot recommend this restaurant to anyone. aside from the scallops (which again were perfect), everything i had for dinner i could have made at home with fresher ingredients and less salt. Does this place have potential? Maybe. But first and foremost the dishes need to be tasted more frequently as they are being prepared. Too much salt is never a good thing no matter what you...