Il Cornicello — Restaurant in Exeter

Well, Seacoast Eaters, it's Sunday again and we're fixin' to start another week. Tell me, who was the dundah head who said he could smell Spring in the air last weekend? 😠

Anyway, date night Saturday brought my wife and I back to one of our all-time favorite places. It had been way too long since we had been there. So, after making reservations, we made the drive over to Exeter to 11 Water St, home of the amazing restaurant, Cornicello.

After being shown to our seats at the bar, we looked over the menus. My wife ordered a Sorrento Spritz. This drink is made with Beefeater Gin, Limoncello, Pama, Prosecco and sage over rocks. It wasn't until her drink was gone that it occurred to me that I hadn't taken a picture. I'm sorry. I ordered a glass of wine. As it turns out, it was a white burgandy imported in from Italy and not availableat the liquorstore. (Pic 1)

For appetizers, we ordered the Classic Bruschette(Pic 2). THE BEST we have ever had. Everything is so fresh, flavorful and visuallybeautiful. We also ordered the Carciofi Avvolti Nel Prosciutto(Pic 3). Artichoke halves wrapped in prosciutto, grilled and served on a pumpkin and marscapone puree, aged balsamic drizzle, and sprinkled with GF garlicky breadcrumbs. Holy cow was this delicious!!! Lots of flavors to interest your taste buds in this plate. A perfect appetizer. As we were getting through our apps, the owner, Tim O'Brien, brought us a special plate of Crispy Chicken Skins with sweet and spicy sauces and accented with micro greens(Pic 4). OMG!!! We couldn't get enough of this app. Great texture and the different sauces brought out all the flavors. We loved the slate plate it was served on..

For dinner, my wife ordered the Stracetti Di Polo Al Limone con L'Orecchiette(Pic 5). It consists of medallions of chicken breast sautéed in a lemon, garlic, butter, caper sauce with braised broccoli rabe and crested with a pinch of hot pepper tossed with semolina and lemon Orecchiette. The dish spoke to my wife and I in a big way with its big flavors and tender chicken. The dish wasn't hot, despite the pinch of hot pepper. It simply added to its magnificent flavor.

For my dinner, I ordered the Carbonara Al Gamberi(Pic 6). This dish consists of these Ecuadorian shrimp that are sustainably harvested and marinated, then cooked in a traditional carbonara sauce of egg yolk, cheese and pasta water. Braised leeks were also in the sauce that was tossed with their fresh egg yolk linguine.Linguine. If you haven't had this dish, let me tell you, it's heaven in a bowl. It was so light, yet filling, and the shrimp were outstanding. My wife loved it too.

For dessert, we ordered a French Press of decaf coffee and the Pistachio Cake(Pic 7). The cake was moist, the icing mildly tart,, and the whipped cream fresh. The coffee was bold and just right.

It was so good to be back with the entire team for some great food and fellowship. It really was like coming home. That's how they make you feel. The sevice was superb and we had so many different people we interacted with. If you are searching for an authentic Italian dining experience, you need to go to Cornicello. If you haven't been in a while, it's time to go again. Sitting right on the Exeter River as your backdrop(Pic 8), you'll find the dining room very intimate. We already made another reservation for April while we were...

Really, how could one give this place anything less than 5 stars? We have been trying to see what it's all about for almost a year now. They are virtually always booked a month in advance and it's easy to see why. First of all, it's small. And that's great because there really isn't a bad seat in the house--all the tables line the widows with spectacular river views. But the tables are well spaced so it's airy, not tight or stuffy. I don't know what my fellow diners ordered nor what their kids are doing at school. Secondly, the food is nothing short of superb. We split a bruschette (highly recommended), a salad and each had an entree. Perfect amount of food for two and we left neither stuffed nor hungry--an elegant sufficiency it's called. Each course was fresh, original and really, really tasty. The service was just right--friendly without being overly intimate, helpful, non-intrusive and always there when needed. The wine list is very well curated and offers a good price range for every wallet. We even had dessert (rarity for us) because it all sounded so delicious--and it was. We had the nonna's cookies. Awesome. Reservations are required even at the bar to keep the place uncrowded and we applaud that. I could see eating at the bar every night, trying a different bruschette and wine by the glass. Oh, and the prices? Quite reasonable. We have spent much more on lesser (and less tasty) meals. We actually couldn't believe how little we spent having ordered so much food. Parking was even easy just accross the street. Most definitely...

We saw this restaurant on NH Chronicle and we’re super excited to try it! My husband cooks Italian including homemade pasta and we have visited Italy. We also eat out often and are always looking for new places. We weren’t able to get in for about six weeks, but that’s OK, if it’s good and worth the wait. We were terribly disappointed!

We ordered the bruschetta for an appetizer and also the Panzanella with peaches. The bruschetta was a disappointment as the bread was soggy in the middle. I enjoyed the Panzanella, but my husband did not. The bread and oil we ordered for the table was awful - the bread was dry and the oil bland.

For our main meal I ordered the bolognese and my husband the deconstructed eggplant parmigiana. The star of my bolognese was the pasta which was home made and cooked perfectly, but the bolognese was dry and bland and no tomatoes! The eggplant was thick and mushy but did have a nice crust. The pasta served under the eggplant was not cooked right, some pieces being mushy and others crunchy.

Zero complaints about the dessert! They only had 2 choices, but the pistachio olive oil cake was amazing!

The staff was wonderful- smiling, welcoming, attentive. But, I think the next time I’m craving Italian food, I’ll ask my husband to cook for me or head to our favorite Italian restaurant in...