Avanti Restaurant — Restaurant in Dallas

For some reason Avanti ended up a long way down our list of places to try around uptown. It didn't have the word of mouth reputation that a lot of other places did, but we always meant to make it there eventually. The online review were generally very good, so on new years we decided to give it a shot. We had a 6:30 reservation, and i was somewhat surprised it wasn't more busy when we arrived. The staff was very nice and we were seated immediately. I had perused the Menu online and picked out a few things that i thought sounded interesting, although i figured it being new years they may be running a fixed Menu.

They were indeed running a fixed menu, but not in the way i would have expected. The items on the truncated menu were simply a selection of dishes from the normal menu, with the prices increased $4-$10. I think there were a few unique items on the menu, but they were priced in the $45-55 range and didn't seem worth the risk to me. This is all pretty common restaurant practice, but it was rather blatant and left a bad taste in my mouth.

We ordered Calamari and the Lobster Bisque for starters. The Calamari i thought was pretty tasty- the breading wasn't particularly light, but that's just a stylistic thing. The Lobster Bisque was a huge disappointment. It actually seemed unfinished- they seemed to add a rue to a seafood stock and neglected to add cream or any seasoning/flavor. I took several spoonfuls then pushed it aside.

For dinner, we ordered a Salmon dish with "creamy risotto and pesto" for $28, and a Veal Marsala with Mashed potatoes that i believe was also $28. The food arrived quickly and we dug in.

Unfortunately we were disappointed again. My salmon was actually cooked very artfully, but was devoid of any interesting flavor. The risotto was dry- likely something prepared in large quantity before hand and left uncovered over heat- but the flavor was good. The "pesto" portion of the dish was a ladle-ful of a thick basil pesto on top of the salmon...for some reason i was expecting pesto risotto based on the wording. At any rate, the Salmon portion was 5-6oz, a bit small for the asking price, and the pesto was very heavy on the basil and oil.

The veal marsala was the real bummer. The veal was cooked well, but the cut of meat was high in fat and gristle. The marsala was meager...sauteed portabellos with some garlic and heavy cream. We found ourselves adding copious amounts of salt and pepper to both our dishes to salvage some flavor.

We expected hearty Italian food from a place that generally has a great reputation, and were disappointed with what we found. Maybe we'll try again in a few months...maybe our expectations were too high. It was a fun place to hang out for a few hours, i just wish the food had matched the rest of...

It's been a long time since I've been here. My date highly recommended this place. As soon as we turned into the lot, something clicked in my head, and I told her I remembered this place now. I don't come down to Uptown often; this is a real treat. Parking is limited but they do have a valet stand in front of the restaurant.

Saturday night is always packed, so reserve ahead of time. I do enjoy the live music that was playing. It set up the ambiance for the evening. The staff is friendly and very helpful in picking out some popular menu items.

So let us talk about food. We ordered the Avanti Garlic Loaf, stuffed mushrooms, and the Ceviche. The garlic loaf is to die for. The flavor is perfect, and the garlic is not overpowering. I am pretty sure the bread is freshly made. It is soft and airy. I highly recommend getting an order. The stuffed mushroom is good. I'm not a big spinach fan, but I scarf this down. I helped myself to second. Top with a bit of prosciutto and parmesan. The ceviche does not have a powerful seafood aftertaste. It's very light.

The main course hit the spot, crab cake. What is so special about their crab cake? Avanti uses real crab meat and not just flakes; chunks of crabmeat. The crabcake is on top of a dijon mustard dressing. You do get 2 portions. Speaking of crab meat, the Crab Meat Crusted Sea Bass is also very delicious. Topped with a crabmeat crust and a sauce, you have a slight sweetness to the overall plate, but it's not overly sweet. Just a touch. I was surprised. The bed of risotto makes this a filling dish. The Risotto is just right. The rice is tender and it doesn't reek of a wine taste. Lastly, the Carbonara. I have to say, we order a lot of food for 2. I took a quick bite of the Carbonara. Every pasta is covered with a light sauce. The pasta itself cooked perfectly. The prosciutto, not too salty. I took the leftovers home and had them the next day.

Lastly, the dessert. There was a special dessert for that night. A lemon cream cake. I'm not a big fan of anything lemon, but I have to say, this is good. The lemon flavor is not overpowering. The cake is moist and dusted with powder sugar on top. We also had a cup of coffee. The two hit the spot. I fell into a coma afterward. The cake is so good. My date jokingly said we will not come back unless they make this cake. Restaurant-served coffee is a bit tricky. Mainly, because it is either watered down or has a burnt taste. Not here. Avanti Coffee is a worthy cup of coffee.

If you are planning to visit the Uptown area and crave Italian cuisine, book...

Went here with a couple of friends for a girls night out and everything was amazing. For those worried about parking (I always am when on this side of Dallas!), the restaurant offers free valet parking. The restaurant itself is small and quaint, definitely good for a romantic night out with the mood lighting and the live music (the music isn't too distracting either because it's all acoustic). Because the tables are close though, you will have to talk above the noise so keep that in mind. We had a few cocktails at the bar before being sat at our table and they were really good - shout out to our bartender Emma who gave such amazing recommendations on the menu and really broke down everything for us! When we sat down at the table we then started with the Avanti Garlic Loaf, Calamari Fritti, and a Greek Salad to share. The drinks and the apps tasted great, the Calamari was perfectly cooked and not too chewy, the bread had a lot of flavor, and the Greek Salad was really good. For mains we had the Chicken Limone, the Fettuccine Avanti, and the Carbonara. All of the dishes were really good but my Carbonara was the star for everyone. I had subbed the Farfalle for Angel Hair pasta and had some extra carbonara sauce to add to the dish and it was so delicious 🤤 The medallions that came with the Fettuccini Avanti were also well cooked and very tender. The Chicken was really good as well, not too over done but juicy with flavor. For dessert we had the Creme Brûlée and the Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie. The Creme Brûlée was amazing, just the right rich consistency. The Pie was good as well but it was very thick and rich - you definitely have to share that because it's hard to finish on your own. The Pie wasn't really my favorite but that's only because I'm not much of a chocolate person - but everyone else liked it but again, it was just very rich. I've had this restaurant saved for some time now as a really good Italian restaurant to try in the metroplex and I was not disappointed! Would definitely love to come back...