1860 Italia — Restaurant in College Station

First time experience at this amazing restaurant. For a busy Sunday night my significant other and I were seated immediately. The ambiance is upscale /dim and overall a very mature setting . Please note and appreciate a small menuit means everything is cooked to order and very fresh . There are many great options to choose from so you will not be overwhelmed like other restaurants where they have multiple pages ect….Our waitress shelby was fantaabullisss ❤️knowledgeable and she was just wonderful overall, she had THE BEST recommendations. I wanted a mocktail and she suggested the pink Cadillac (10/10) it was so yummy . We started off with calamari(10/10) it was crispy/fresh/light and not oily at all, the red gravy sauce was very good however we didnt get to dip into the tartar sauce as much but im sure its great as well -the jumbo lump crab-cake was amazing it had crispy onions on top paired w/ the aïoli sauce on the side it was fantastic it had a fresh arugula and tomato mix on the side. The vinaigrette they put on top was fantastic (10/10) - for our main dishes Shelby recommended the gnocchi dish (10/10) I mean the best gnocchi ive ever had it was so pillowy soft and filled with the perfect amount of ricotta. The vodka sauce was creamy and well balanced cheff kisses 😘. My significant other had the Cioppino it had the perfect amount of spice and everything was super fresh (10/10). The house made bread was (10/10) super soft and fresh and the olive oil and seasoning brushed on top just so good and straight out of the oven . I would’ve finished the bread but I was sooo stuffed . We killed ever single dish and had to get the hazelnut cake to go . Super big slice , I cannot wait to dig into that later . Also for the price and amount of food is amazing. We try our restaurants everywhere we visit and I must say if your looking for amazing Italian food , great service with an excellent atmosphere touch down over at 1860 Italia ‼️‼️This restaurant takes the cake in College Station . Everyone really worked together from the sweet hostess’s, to the bartender’s and waiters and waitress’s. I love to see when an establishment works together to give the best customer service experience and lends a helping hand where needed once it gets busy. We would definitely be returning customers at this location just fantastic!!

Came back on Monday night before heading back to Dallas and Anthony took care of our table - he was great and attentive as well. We ordered the...

The food is the star attraction at 1860 Italia. We ate lasagna, chicken marsala, gnocchi and lobster carbonara. I ordered the lobster carbonara and tasted the chicken marsala. Both were excellent. Overall, the portions were large and were not over priced (lobster carbonara was a bit more than the median entre). The waiter recommended the lasagna, gnocchi and the lobster carbonara (which I had read about in previous reviews).

In the lobster carbonara, there was a very ample portion of lobster, not just a few small pieces. The lobster was obviously claw meat for the most part. It was mixed with smoked bacon that was very lean (unlike many carbonara dishes I have had at other restaurants), which I appreciated. There was a small amount of green peas which added color and some taste. The balance was a cream sauce that was rather thick and rich with garlic and other spices (no anise or tarragon, neither of which I like). The sauce was covering spaghetti that was perfectly al dente. I requested parmesan cheese which was freshly grated. Overall, the dish was some of the best carbonara I have ever eaten. It was particularly interesting for the inclusion of lobster as it's key ingredient.

The chicken marsala also contained ample portions of chicken, with a very good marsala reduction sauce with mushrooms, garlic and spices. The sauce was a very respectable marsala and I will be happy to select this on a future occasion.

The gnocchi and lasagna were also large portions and were commented upon favorably by my companions, but I didn't try either.

Service was very personable and attentive. Water glasses were filled with filtered water as needed, an excellent loaf of homemade bread was promptly delivered to the table along with olive oil and balsamic. The waiter was very knowledgeable about his dishes and his recommendations were excellent. A+

Of minor annoyance was the temperature in the restaurant. It was particularly cold with a significant wind blowing across our table. This may have been partially due to the cold front that came in that morning. I will bring a sweater next time.

The interior of the restaurant is not particularly fancy, is of a "modern" style and is rather dark as the windows and entrance face west, may be appropriate.

There was an extensive wine, beer and cocktail list but we didn't try anything.

We will...

We were excited to try this new restaurant, as we heard the food was so good. Being in the Tower Point area, and an Italian restaurant, I expected it to have nice ambiance, lighting, decor, music etc. We arrived a few minutes before our reservation and as we walked up, we could hear the inviting music of Tony Bennett singing a classic. I love the old crooners so I was happy to hear they had taste in good music. That’s where it stopped. We walked in through the doors to an all open, half bench half chair shared spaces seating, almost like a school cafeteria, IHop, buffet situation. I was shocked at the solid black walls, except for one geometric designed black and grey feature wall in the back. One large vase of flowers awkwardly placed on a side counter area separating the seating from the open kitchen. None of the lighting matched. The entrance had an off set warm LED in a contemporary blown glass fixture, ring lights with bright white light LED along the front by the windows and art deco studio bright white lights dropped from the open metal works ceiling showing the a/c ducts all painted black. Part of the back only 2 person seating had down sconces with warm lighting. Nothing matched. The bar was half of the restaurant, not necessary, as this should have been used for more spacious seating. It was soooooooo LOUD from all the talking and nothing to absorb the sound, we almost had to shout to hear each other. We had the spaghetti with giant meatball(very tomato based), crab cakes(very mushy), clam linguine (very thin soupy). Never heard the classic songs inside… noise drowned it out. This restaurant has a lot of potential, but they need to hire a good interior designer for improvements! If they do, and it’s a relaxing atmosphere like an Italian restaurant should be, we’ll be back…. If not, they lost...