Caffe Italia Trattoria — Restaurant in Marblehead

We walked into a warm and comfortable dining room, tones of gold and rust with long heavy curtains adorning the corners of the room. Some of the lighting were large round drum-shaped lamp shades hanging from the ceiling giving in a homey feel. It felt like we were in a living room. There was some natural light from the large window from the street-side. The tables were dark heavy wood and the chairs with dark wood and upholstered in cloth. The other side of the restaurant, which we will have to try next visit, was a large bar and candle lights on the bar; also very inviting!

We had an excellent meal! Started with the Fried calamari which were very fresh and fried with a light dusting of flour and salt. The arugula and tomatoes with the olive oil were a nice accompaniment. We had the hot peppers and marinara on the side. The marinara served on the side tasted like it was made with fresh tomatoes. There was no bitterness.

My husband had the flank steak; perfectly seasoned and cooked tender and medium rare with a light Gorgonzola cream sauce. The broccoli rabe was delicious and garlicky. The fries were also good and the agro-dolce tomato relish on top of them were like an up-scale ketchup with white raisins.

I had the Beef Braciolettine, which were very tender pinwheels of beef, prosciutto, and fresh herbs. Like scallopini, however they had been rolled and then cut across like pinwheels, which made them even more tender with the braising. Served on spinach risotto, the only complaint I could make was there cold be more Parmesan cheese; so I added my own.

My friend had Chicken Parmigiana and it was tender coated chicken topped with mozzarella and with a yummy marinara sauce. By the way, you can purchase the marinara and Bolognese sauces by the quart to take home, and we did!

The dessert we all had was traditional Creme Brulee and it was excellent. We each had coffee and it was great, too. How I can tell an excellent restaurant is by the coffee and the cocktails; which I did not mention until now were creative and tasty!

I am...

Having lived in Wakefield and enjoyed being within walking distance of that location, we were excited to see they had a Marblehead location after we moved to Salem. Hubs bday choice was to try them out:) On January 17th.

It was a dark slow Tuesday night; we made reservations, although absolutely was not needed. Greeted by the owner and was surprised another Tricia had reservations the same night, lol! The ambiance is old school Italian bar. Dark woods, country seating. While it was mostly empty, we sat right next to another table of a group of ladies. Given that I mentioned this was a bday celebration, I would have hoped to have a bit of space. But it was overall fine.

Our server was great and attentive. The owner came by a few times to check on how we were doing, which was a great touch.

Food - oh my. So good. The Citrus salad we started with was juicy fresh and not overdressed, seasoned well. We also tried the arancini, which was very good, smooth, and cheesy. Hubs got some seafood red sauce dish, lol we can't remember what it was! But I do remember he absolutely loved it and said it was cooked perfectly. I had the simple-looking lamb chops and grilled veg. This was amazing! The lamb was cooked perfectly, and wow, those veg were seasoned so well, nice char from the grill I gobbled them up.

We ended with a cannoli that was so light and fluffy - perfect ending. We...

First time to the new location. Nice inside but if you sit inside the door at the bar, the cold air can hit you from behind since the door is close to the bar. Service was very good. Attentive servers and other bar staff. I was poured an excellent gin martini in a very generous martini glass. Cost was $16, but a good pour. Rolls were offered however there was no dipping in garlic, Parmesan, olive oil or similar. No butter or anything to go with them so they just sat there. Ordered a drink and an entrée and my wife the same. The food came in a very reasonable time. I had the Chicken Parmesan. It was good, not excellent. The marinara sauce was lacking taste. Many might say the marinara has a simple, traditional taste but, I thought it needed a bit more basil or something to give it taste. It is nice inside but with views of the parking lot and cars going by, prices a just slightly on the high side. Two people, two drinks was $100 with tip. The previous location was excellent, with large windows that opened to the street. I am not planning to rush back, but the service was...