Testa Barra Kitchen & Cocktails — Restaurant in Macomb Township

There is a new champion of dining and it is Testa Barra!

1,2,3..Here it is

My wife and I had an 8:30 reservation on a busy Saturday. We arrived around 8:20 and the hostess let us know that our table was still being cleaned but we could sit at this quaint little 2 person table and order a cocktail while we waited. While we waited Jeff came to check on us( which we assumed was a manager), as he was checking on every table in the house but saw that we didn’t have drinks and took our drink order, delivered our drinks back to us and then he checked with the hostess stand to see if our table was ready, which it was and he walked us over and sat us.

Jeff asked us if it was our first time at TB and we said yes, and without missing a beat, he covered the drink and food menu and gave us the history of the TB and J. Baldwins and told us the connection of the restaurants all in about 4 minutes. And that’s when we found out that Jeff is a co-owner. He let us know what his favorites were, the pasta and pizza dough are made onsite and fresh everyday; if Jeff ever tells you that something is “Grandma’s Recipe” just order it, its going to be good, I promise you!

What we ordered and what you should try..

Manga meatballs Arancini Lobster Diavolo Connie’s Lamb Shank Canollli

Bomboloni - This is what sealed the deal for me, these are warm little beignets served with whip cream, lemon, and raspberry all on the same plate. This is without a doubt the “Chefs Kiss”.

For those that want details Atmosphere is chill and cool but the staff is also really friendly. There was a house guitarist playing some cover songs at nice dinner volume, just added to the ambiance. Dress comfortable, no tie neede. It is an amazing place for dinner for family, friends, co workers and on Sundays they have brunch. Parking is plentiful

This is our NEW favorite restaurant. The food was fantastic and no matter what we ordered we were delighted! Our servers were also great and always efficient, happy and polite. We were amazed at not only the quality of food, but also the service, Jeff called me by first name at each interaction yes because he came and checked on us several times during our meal but he didn’t have to and we still couldn’t figure out how he could’ve remembered my name when the restaurant was packed. The service is unmatched. The staff truly cares about your experience. The food is absolutely amazing – everything we tasted melted in other mouths. Absolutely the best meal we had while. Highly recommend!

Absolutely amazing place to eat, 10 of 10 for every single aspect of this meal, and this is coming from people who know and love great food! We can’t wait to return and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to anyone looking for somewhere to enjoy some fine dining. I cannot recommend this place enough! Such a warm and welcoming environment! Make a reservation and enjoy!

Simply put…Testa...

Love this place. We originally came for a family member's birthday. My aunt still raves about the Scallops Casino it was a great dish. My wife and I's dishes were both good but a little forgettable. I had a risotto dish and while the protein was good the risotto itself left a lot to be desired. My wife had some pasta dish with vodka sauce, it was good but not great. The atmosphere and service were both outstanding though so it did leave an impression on us.

We came back some months later and we found out they revamped the menu. Sure enough there were a bunch of new dishes on there. I got the Ragu Conchiglie and my wife got a surf and turf special they were running that night. I'm a sucker for slow cooked meat dishes. I've also been greatly disappointed by said dishes because they don't pack the flavor punch that you'd expect from having meat cooking all day in sauce. This was not the case with this dish it was freaking amazing. There was much flavor in the meat and sauce, the goat cheese added a nice tang to everything. The pasta was freshly made and just fricking delicious. I unfortunately had to deal with a small family emergency while I ate so I was distracted but even without my full attention it blew me away. I will come back just for this dish. My wife's dish was equally as good. The tenderloin tips were cooked perfectly and the pasta it came with was so good she actually finished her whole plate which is super rare for her. I didn't even mention the charcuterie board we had as an appetizer. Easily one of the best meat and cheese boards we've ever had at a restaurant.

Both times we came we had outstanding service. Our server was Skyler both times and he made our first night there super memorable our aunt and uncle had a great time thanks to him. He actually remembered us when we came back in even though it had been months and again gave us great service. He is very friendly, gives great recommendations and is extremely knowledgeable about the whole menu and the drinks as well.

This has easily become our go to Italian restaurants for special occasions. Now I just need to make up more of these occasions so we can come...

First off I really really wanted to like this place and am really disappointed I have to give such low stars. I went there on Sunday because we noticed they have all day happy hour specials. Upon arriving we told the hostess that we would like to have happy hour specials and where we should sit. She informs us there is no happy hour it ended at 6PM, however we told her it says all day on her website. We sit down anyways ready to order off the menu. The waiter comes, we mentioned something about the happy hour, he informs us there is a happy hour all day on sunday and we were sitting in the wrong section. so we get up and move to the other section. We have a new waiter, we tell him we are here for happy hour. he says happy hour ended at 6, we start laughing at this point not really mad, because we do know they've only been open for two weeks. He double checks and finally brings us a happy hour menu, which is all day sunday by the way.

We got drinks and a bread basket. My mom ordered the mushroom appetizer, my brother the risotto, and I got the hot wings.

Drinks were pretty good, would go back to have a drink.

Our bread basket never came and we tried to tell the waiter, but didn't see him again until he brought out our food. so no bread..

Then the food came. My mom's mushrooms tasted just like fried bread. Barely any mushrooms. My hot legs there were only four and very small. My brothers risotto was decent, but not much better than the box.

This place is very expensive and beautiful inside, but the price for the food is defiantly not worth it.

They are very nice and apologized for not bringing the bread with a $15 gift card.

Unless they drop the price or improve the quality of food we will not...