Osteria Alberico — Restaurant in Englewood

Never again. Believe the bad reviews on this place.

When I read reviews, I usually discount the ones that complain about cost and/or portion size as I assume they’re written by folks that don’t eat out much. That said, the Agnolotti en Brondo was almost fraud. $30 and it was literally 7 very tiny noodles. Like the size of a gnocchi. Like the size of your thumbnail. 7. Not 7 big raviolis or something, these were small. They were tasty, but just normal food. It was actually a little uncomfortable because my wife and friends were just laughing at me the whole time because I was done with my meal in just under a minute and then just sat there watching everyone eat. Other meals were normal-sized, but when the waitress over-explains how the menu works (I know what “primi”, “secondi”, and “antipasti” mean…) but you don’t tell the 6’4” guy that the dish he just ordered would literally be 2 bites of food, that’s weird. It’s billed as an entree. I wish I took a picture but I’m not a “take pic of my food guy” so didn’t think of it.

Service was weird. Not bad and they were attentive, but just an odd vibe of a place trying to be fancy but it’s not. Pizza was pretty average, but at least it was a normal size so I could steal a few pieces from my friends so I didn’t have to stop somewhere to eat on my way home from dinner…lol.

And a small detail, but the Carne e Formaggio (meat and cheese plate) came out on just a normal dinner plate. Not a wood platter or slate or something. Just the same dinner plate that meals come on. Kind of Mickey Mouse for a place where the bill with tip for 4 people was $300.

We eat out quite a bit and I travel a lot, eating all over the country at pretty nice places. This was a unique experience for sure. The clock is probably ticking on this joint given all the mediocre reviews, so if you want to try it, you better...

FOOD: High quality and good taste we'd expect from a restaurant group that includes Frasca. The menu feels a bit fragmented -- not a large number of dishes, and a lot of them appetizers or sides for a multi-course meal -- but we were all able to point to multiple things we'd each want, then or at the future.

Started with some tasty focaccia (enough for a couple of pieces at our four-top) and an eggplant app that even my wife (who generally hates eggplant) liked. Ordered two pizzas (four-cheese and diavolo), and both were great. My brother's Malfadine pasta was good, and my wife's pork chop was also very, very tasty, done perfectly.

Desserts (tira misu and some sort of butterscotch thing) were good, and/but distinctly un-sweet.

The cocktail menu is decent, if heavy on the aperitif mixers. I had a drink with Calabrian chili tequila that was just on the edge of too hot. We ended up with the sommelier advising us on the huge wine list, and she picked something perfect and in our desired price range.

SERVICE: Service was good, with an effort to be great, but the place was awfully busy (esp. for a Monday night). Our entrees sat in the pass for a few minutes before pickup, and each step of the process seemed to take a few minutes longer than desired.

AMBIANCE: Upscale homey is what they are going for, and succeed at. Biggest problem is that the place was packed (again, on a Monday night), leading to loudish noise levels and difficulty navigating the aisles (ProTip to fellow diners -- if you spot an old friend across the room, wave at them, don't go over and stand next to their table and chat for several minutes).

NET-NET: We've been looking for a upscale special dining place since "The Wooden Table" closed. This one might be a bit too crowded for that, but we're definitely intending on trying it several more times to...

SERVICE: Every restaurant should strive to achieve the level of attentive team oriented service and culinary accomplishments of Osteria Alberico! Our cuisine for the evening was guided and informed by Adam, a true food scholar by craft and trade; patrons can be confident in the staff’s ability to convey the subtle nuances of each unique item on the menu and the goals of the chef for the dish. As we experienced our first tasting, discussions began about the ingredients of each sauce, pairing of ingredients, and I can promise you that you will be able to taste each farm-fresh ingredient, spice, and flavor as it was intended by the chefs of Osteria Alberico. The whole staff worked together to seat you, take your order, to plate your food, and to ensure that everything was to your satisfaction shortly after your first bite.

PRESENTATION: The presentation of each dish was just as appetizing as the dish itself. The decor of each dish was not just for presentation purposes, rather it was presented for the way that your palette will experience the dish.

QUALITY: Osteria Alberico sources their ingredients from the best local farms, ranches, and distribution centers; it was communicated that the goal of the chefs are to let the ingredients do their work by the way the food is prepared and to keep things beautifully simple yet sophisticated in satisfaction. Honestly, I don’t think that one could order a single item on the menu and not be happy; unhappy customers could only find dissatisfaction if they ordered food they didn’t like and had never experienced before. The quality of the food exceeded our expectations and we truly feel that Osteria Alberico offers one of the best dining experiences across the United States; it is truly a world class experience that will keep you coming...