AVVIO — Restaurant in Jefferson Township

We tried Avvio based on reviews. The Chef used to be with Sabatino's on Irving Prk Rd. We went there once.

Avvio apparently means new beginnings. The staff is super friendly and attentive. The cocktails were very nice. We had black Manhattans--made nicely. But they also had fresh fruit margaritas and other specialty drinks that sounded nice.

All meals come w- soup and salad. They bring you an entire loaf of bread AND some pizza bread when you arrive. A bit much. Had they asked we would've passed. Also, butter came in those little prepackaged dealies. That sets the vibe for a place--says diner. Consider having fresh pad of butter or good olive 🫒 oil. I wasn't eager to put either on the bread.

We started with the shrimp dejonge. We didn't care for it. The homemade gnocchi my husband had was decent. My fettuccine was not homemade but tasty with mushrooms and peas (id give it a 7). The affagato desert was a highlight! The ice cream was very dense and tasted homemade and served with espresso poured over. We enjoyed that veey much.

We would give the place another shot because it's so close to home. Nothing blew us away though, it was OK and...

Selected the restaurant because it was near another event I was planning to attend the same evening. We arrived at 6:45p and upon entering the establishment the host said how can we help you & we saw our party and made our way to our table. When we arrived the restaurant was approximately 30% full. It took about 15 minutes before the waiter made it over to the table. We placed our order right away and explained we needed to leave before 8pm. The waiter never stopped back to the table and it took nearly an hour to get our food. When we received our food it was at the time we needed to get the leave. When we asked for to go boxes and checks. The waiter huffed and puffed and finally gave us our items. I do not have photos of the food because I needed to leave. I ordered the broiled pork chops and mostacholi. The pork chops were dry and over cooked, the mostaccioli lacked flavor as if the sauce was not from scratch. I overall was not impressed the food or service. The ambience the space was nice though. The paint color, the floors and the light sign was nice. Also loved the look of...

Been coming since Sabitino’s closed. The chef came here. The atmosphere is not wonderful. Not the cosy bar. Not the upscale feel. Terrible parking. Drinks are ok. Food is wonderful as is the staff. Yesterday we ordered the squash blossoms appetizer. Not great and they didn’t charge us. We didn’t have to ask. The waitress saw we didn’t eat it and she knew! And removed it from the bill. The waitress was very attentive but not too attentive. She let us talk. She knew something was up and asked what we were celebrating. We actually weren’t- my friend had surgery. But the waitress turned it into a celebration! She brought a sparkler and my friend felt better. The soup was outstanding as was the Cesar salad. I’m 70 and my mom and I would go to Sabitino’s once every few weeks for Cesar salad when I was in college. Still the best- next to mom’s. I usually have chicken vesuvio. But I was missing mom’s cacciatore. I had it and it was fantastic!! Not as good as mom’s but...