Spaghetti Western — Restaurant in Fargo

We were looking for somewhere to eat after seeing The Exorcist: Believer at the Fargo Theatre. My friend had just moved to Fargo from Mexico City and was pretty skeptical at first. But the service, ambience, food, and wine all worked together and won him over within just a few minutes of sitting down. The service: For starters, this was the best service we have ever had in Fargo and we eat out every night. The ambience alone is undeniably romantic. You simply will not find a better date night location. Period. Our server was quite familiar with everything on the wine and food menu and never lectured us about our choices and even offered to let us sample one before we committed. I forget our server's name but he had a mustache and was so down to earth and he worked together with one other waitress and those two effortlessly served the ENTIRE restaurant, and they looked so good doing it. If I were to give the service a grade they would get an A+. The wine: I wanted something similar to what I usually drink, which is a Spanish Garnacha or Tempranillo since I hardly ever drink Italian wine or anything else really unless I'm being forced to. My friend just drinks moscato, but he branched out and got something a bit dryer. The food: The focaccia was beyond good and they love to bring you more if you need it for dipping into the olive oil or marinara sauce. I know I said it already, but the service was super accommodating and attentive without being over the top. We dressed in casual clothes and paid about $50 for two appetizers and two glasses of wine. The appetizers were surprisingly affordable. The portions were just right and we were not hungry when we left because our server brought us more focaccia if we needed it. My friend got the meatballs and I got the smoked salmon carpaccio . I enjoyed the carpaccio even more than the meatballs, but to each their own. Afterwards, we wanted to get the tiramisu but we had to hurry up to go to karaoke at Dempsey's. Reservations: If you go on a Tuesday you probably won't need a reservation depending on whether or not it is holiday season. We were seated immediately. For the future: My ONLY critique, is that we would have absolutely dished out another $20-$40 for a digestif, negroni, sidecar, or an Espresso Martini made with some Caffe Borghetti. I hope that when they are able to, they introduce a cocktail menu because we would have definitely started things off with aperitivo and ended with a digestif or margarita before heading off to wherever we wanted to go next. To summarize: We won't ever go anywhere else for Italian food in Fargo (if we can help it). This place would be perfect for an anniversary dinner or first date or honestly, a place to chill by yourself and read a book and have a glass of wine. It wasn't too loud or too quiet. Both of us loved it and we didn't...

I was really excited about a nice Italian place opening up downtown. Good, authentic Italian is something Fargo has been missing since we lost Toscana a few years back. Because of this, I was hesitant to post this review however I think it's important to give open and honest feedback if any establishment is to do well.

The meal started out with complimentary bread that was unfortunately burnt. An unfortunate start to the evening. I ordered a pear salad which tasted unbalanced and looked wilted. The vinegar was sour without any break with the pears being too mild/sparse to really compliment this. It left the mouth puckering.

The star of the meal was the focaccia bruschetta. I quite enjoyed the presentation and overall flavor. Good amount of basil and not overly doused in balsamic and oil as I've seen. I can see why this is a favorite of the establishment.

For the main course I had two of their house-made pastas. The Lemon Ricotta pasta and gnocchi in their San Marazano sauce. The lemon ricotta sauce not only lacked the brightness of the lemon but had clearly curdled and was rather thin. It was topped with sage but the flavor did not come through within the dish. Despite this the tagliolini was well made and cooked perfectly.

The gnocchi were also well made however the sauce lacked any real flavor. It tasted of canned tomatoes. There is, of course, no shame in using San Marazano canned tomatoes, but, without intervention from the chef, they still taste like canned tomatoes. I had hoped for more from this dish.

I ended the night with tiramisu and a cup of espresso. The presentation confused me with the addition of powdered sugar but it still tasted good. Unfortunately, the espresso was burned but it did not wholly mar the taste of the tiramisu.

During my visit, the server was pleasant and the atmosphere was quite intimate and cozy. It reminded me of my time in Florence, people chatting and enjoying one another in accompaniment of good food made with joy. Unfortunately, it fell short of this.

In the end, I left wanting and was generally disappointed. Still, I hope to come back as there was promise in the pasta and bruschetta. Perhaps the chef has some bad news that day. Perhaps not. Hopefully next time I'll have good...

This place is fantastic. The tuna tartare is incredible. I've never had it with tangerines or fresh basil, but it's great- almost reminiscent of ceviche, especially if you throw a little giardiniera in there which is also wonderful, perfectly sour, and some of the best I've ever had. I ordered through DoorDash and didn't expect to get a side of bread and giardiniera with it, so this was a welcome surprise. The bread has a nice, medium-hard crust and very soft interior.

The meat and cheese plate was A+. I'm not the best at identifying cold cuts, but there was what I believe to be salami, capicola (GABAGOOOOOL), and prosciutto. The salami was rather average, but the capicola (I believe so, anyway), was very good and fatty. The prosciutto (again, I hope I'm not misidentifying any meats) had a wonderful nutty flavor. I'm even worse at identifying cheeses, but included was a soft and a hard cheese which is perfect. The soft cheese was mellow and perfectly creamy and the hard cheese either had naturally formed crystals like I've had in gouda, or nice salt chunks inside. Either way, the cheeses were amazing. It was literally exactly what I wanted to eat today. There were also more tangerines and some pecans and bread.

Lastly, the spaghetti was wonderfully al dente. Finally being able to find al dente pasta in Fargo, and not mush that you don't have to chew, is so relieving. The sauce was great. I wouldn't order it as your sole main unless you're feeling a light lunch or don't want too strong of flavors, but overall, it was a great accompaniment.

10/10 by Fargo's standards, will definitely be...