Mattone Ristorante — Restaurant in Sacramento

This place just opened this week. OMG it was so good. Jean our server was amazing. The place has been booked solid for the last 2 days. The lady said we could come in and eat at the bar on a first come and server. The place opened at 5PM and we got there at 5:30. I saw 2 seats left at the bar and took them while my wife asked at the reception desk and then joined me. The hostess soon came over to us and said that these two seats were taken but someone just cancelled and she had a table for us in the main dining room.. score...

We were seated in the middle of the dining room. The setup was almost like the old Espanol restaurant. there were a lot of people here already. It was really loud in the place but still manageable.

We came here again to taste other things they offer. We had a reservation and we were seated in the bar area. Much quieter than the main dining room. I think we could still hear the people talking next door. There were a lot of older people in the restaurant. Of course June was bartending as always. Everyone thanking him for opening this restaurant carrying on food like Biba..

We started out with the Buffalo Mozarella and Pancia di Maiale con Crostini pork belly. The wife likes the mozarella but the first time she had it you could tell it was fresh. Now it taste like the just bought it. Not homemade. The pork belly was hella salty. I had to take it home and save it for later.

Now on the menu is Minestrone soup. Before it was the soup of the day. I guess they are cutting down on options since opening week. The soup had little flavor and had circle pasta like Spagettios. They should change it, disappointing.

The Gnocchi was very good and my wife liked it but just couldn't finish it. The waiter had brought out my soup first because he knew the appetizers would take longer and he brought a bowl for my wife to. Even though she didn't order any. So nice of him. My Fettuccine was very fresh. You could tell the noodles were homemade. Yet it needed more flavor. You tasted the Mussels more than the noodles or any sauce. I wish it had more flavor. He sprinkled the Parmesan on top I just wish he added more.

The bus girl was on it. She filled my glass as soon as I drank some. Cleared our table right away. Some great service. The waiter to was so nice.

Note : the fresh Parmesan was handled by every waiter and it was a big piece with no napkin around it. They held it with their bare hands. Who know how many people touched it.

At the end we had I think its called Zacutto , either way its our favorite dessert. We love it.

Well our meal was just ok. I wanted it to be better. These little things add up and if they keep short cutting things, I think they will be doing badly soon. I hope they keep things made from scratch.

Did I tell you we love the breadsticks. I wonder if they make their own. We asked for some to take home and they gave us some. So nice.

It took awhile before our server Jean came up to us. She was really nice and told us the specials and what she would suggest too.

We started out with the Buffalo Mozarella and she had them separate it so my wife and I got to try it. So thoughtful. It was filled with flavor, we loved it

I got the lentil soups , which tasted great. My wife got the famous Lasagne which was fantastic. Jean recommended the Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa e Salsiccia for me and I loved the flavors. The food is amazing.

We made space for dessert and had her pack our left overs. I don't remember the name of it. It had hazelnut chocolate over a thin layer of pound cake covering whipped cream and chocolate mousse inside. It was amazing. It was light and we were so...

Mattone is both very good and remarkably popular. I understand that it is the reincarnation of a Sacramento monument that closed when the owner/chef finally gave in to retirement. The staff agreed among themselves that the tradition was too good to let die. By dint of what was doubtless great labor and personal sacrifice they made it happen. They found a brick building on Folsom Blvd at 58th St. They named it 'Brick.' But, given the Italian tradition of their background, they used the Italian noun i.e. 'Mattone.'

Given the back story, you had to find a way to love the place, right? No problem at all. The stand with the best of Sacramento on their own merit.

We were in the City for other reasons that afternoon. So we chose to dine at 5. I made an online reservation. (Why not?) For that hour. I think we needed it. People flocked into the like it was the opening of a Wal-Mart black Friday sale. No one was injured.

We sat down to fully professional service and a limited but well-crafted menu and wine list. I would like to see a little broader selection of Italian wine, particularly some of reds from Piedmonte made with nebbiolo grapes. But they accommodated a spectrum of tastes. We had a really nice Pinot Gregio di Venezia. We shared an excellent antipasto that introduced us to some cheeses that we would love to meet again. To my great regret, neither of us had room for the tempting primi piatti -there WILL be a next time. So we went straight to the secondi. I had a wonderful bit of chicken that spent its time in the oven under a brick contributing to a lovely sauce that brought back memories of Tuscany. My companion doesn't remember what she had (she never does) but she pronounced it fantastic and really good with the Pinot Grigio.

I finished with zabaglione, grappa, and a huge grin. By this time on a Tuesday night, mind you, every seat at every table was occupied. The place was a very civilized madhouse. But our server never missed a beat or lost her smile. Like I...

My wife and I dined at Mattone Ristorante on a Wednesday evening. We had been to the El Espanol (the former restaurant at this site) many times so were curious to see the changes. The building has been thoroughly renovated and looks very nice. Inside it looks brand new, and the acoustics have improved: the old place could get deafening. That could partially be explained by the clientele; perhaps the El Espanol crowd could get raucous (larger groups with families). I found the overall experience to be very good to excellent. The service was excellent. The ambiance was excellent. I enjoyed the beetroot salad, the lasagna, and especially the brick chicken. I liked how the food was prepared but I'm pretty easy going and don't usually quibble. I tried some of my wife's gnocchi order and found the little dumplings to be mouthwatering but I'm not crazy about shrimp which is why I didn't order that dish. We wanted to try the cheesecake but were too full so just had the gelato. I had a very nice time. The price was on the expensive side, but...