Radici Wood Fired Grill — Restaurant in Farmers Branch

Tried this out on a whim. Heard great things about this place and just had to try it out for ourselves.

A few things to note up front: When making a reservation, they have a policy where they will charge you if you do not cancel 48 hours in advance but do not mention the amount. Keep that in mind. Also, they have fine print on their menus that if you pay with credit cards, you will be charged an additional 3.5%. So, pay cash if you want to avoid that additional charge.

The place is very gray. Gray walls. Gray ceiling. Gray decor. Just cold and gray. Not exactly what I’d expect from an Italian restaurant with a large TV showing views of the Italian countryside.

Decided to start with the Suppli al Telefono: Risotto croquette, pork sausage, chicken liver, pomodoro, smoked mozzarella, and basil pesto. Cooked very well. Great flavor. Nice and crispy with creamy mozzarella in the inside. We enjoyed them very much.

My SO and I decided to split three pasta dishes. We went with:

Lasagna Bianca: White bolognese, sage, spinach pasta, parmesan, nutmeg.

Pomodoro alla Griglia: Chitarra pasta, tomato, garlic, olive oil, basil, garlic, Pecorino Romano

Bolognese: Mafaldini pasta, 6 hour braised beef, veal, and pork

Lasagna Bianca - I did not care for it at all. I found it to be very salty and have way too much nutmeg. My SO thought it was “pretty good.”

Pomodoro alla Griglia - Sauce had an amazing smoky flavor that you could tell they roasted the tomatoes over an open flame before making the sauce. Very tasty. The pasta, however, needed another 30-45 seconds of boiling. They were waaaaaay too al dente. Too chewy and doughy in the center. I couldn’t finish what I had put on my plate.

Bolognese - This was our favorite. Sauce cooked and seasoned perfectly. Pasta texture was amazing. All of it was delicious. Would definitely order this again. The lasagna did not do this sauce justice.

My SO ordered two cocktails and enjoyed both of them. For dessert, we split the pistachio olive oil cake. It was very good and moist. No complaints about that at all.

It has some things it needs to improve upon. One being teaching the servers how to pronounce the dishes properly. As an Italian, it broke my heart to hear how everything was being pronounced. The others are cook time of the chitarra pasta and seasoning of the lasagna.

We would go back again but probably wouldn’t be first on the...

My husband and I had date night at Radici. We’ve been to Roots and that didn’t disappoint. Both have the same atmosphere. I love the sophisticated yet simple Italian recipes. We felt the ingredients were treated with respect and uncomplicated. We also enjoyed the company and attentiveness from our server “Tay/Taylor”. It was a busy Saturday evening and we never felt rushed. Also the way he speaks about the food, you can tell it’s from the heart. What I also noticed while sipping on my lovely well balanced cocktail, was how well the staff treated each other and observed team work at its finest. Now to the food, we started off with two antipasti's (Fritto Misto & prosciutto e melone). One dish is fried with a warming chipotle sauce while the other was a refreshing classic melon salad. Eating family style is encouraged, which we normally do anyway. For the primi course, we had the rigatoni upon Tay’s recommendations paired with a glass of Zinfandel. Last but not least, we decided to enjoy a whole branzino with a side of white beans in olive oil. What a light and hearty meal at the same time. For dessert we had the pistachio cake with orange marmalade. During our dining experience, Chef Tiffany came by to ask us how everything was. I did mention to her that I have followed her career since the beginning and extremely elated that she is a Texan. It made the experience that much more wonderful. In general, everyone there is gracious and what struck me was the dress code. On the website it states, “simply come as you are”. We were running late and didn’t get a chance to stop at home to change. It truly is all about the food here. The best part of the experience is how humble Chef T is and how she has created this humble and inclusive dining experience for all. Sometimes it gets old going to pretentious restaurants and you always have to be on your best bahavior. This is a place where you can be yourself. It’s all about the food and the people there that make it extra special no matter what the occasion is. I came in with my pajama-sequel outfit and old navy slides. I walked out feeling not only satisfied, but as though I just came back from a one week...

We have gone to Roots several times which is also run by chef Tiffany and have always been left in wonder, thus when we saw she had just opened Radici we went with high hopes. We started with some drinks, the limoncello martini and arbusto. Be aware we did find the cocktails to be very sweet and ended up simply sipping on them throughout the night. We opted on some wine to pair with the meals which went quite well. We started with the seafood salad and the polpette. The seafood salad was light, and fresh, perfect for a hot summer day and wuite a large portion size that could easily be split. The polpette was a goey filled goodness however we did find it to be salty and somewhat heavy for an antipasti. For our mains we went with the coniglio alla gricia and the bolognese. The presentation was beautiful and the pasta was cooked to perfection however we again found it somewhat salty and heavy. The flavors were plentiful and satisfying and the portion sizes are quite filling. But we found ourselves thinking we could have easily split an antipasti and primi and been content. We closed off with the tiramisu which was definitely a must and I would highly recommend leaving room for desert. The staff were beyond kind and friendly however we did find the service to be lacking and disorganized. Overall the experience was pleasant however considering the price point we did find ourselves somewhat dissapointed with the service and food. My hope is this is all down to opening week hic ups and that Radici's will find itself wowing us all just as Roots has. I will be back in the future to experience...