Toscano Bistro — Restaurant in Williston

Toscano in williston is a hit!

I had been to the old toscano in Richmond several times and loved it.

When I heard the son was opening a restaurant under the same namesake I was excited, but tried to temper my enthusiasm because I feel like most restaurants that open in williston are mediocre chains.

First of all, they take reservations via Resy. I appreciate this. I don’t like it when restaurants don’t take reservations and just make you wait with a buzzer.

When we arrived for our reservation the place was busy, but we were seated promptly. Service was prompt and knowledgeable about the wine list and menu.

The wine list is well considered and reasonable. The wine list prices ranged from around $30- $97, which in my opinion is a good upper end for a suburb. We chose a bottle of a Tuscan blend for $47. It was excellent.

The menu isn’t classical Italian. There are some Italian staples: gnocchi, bolognese, piccata, etc.; but there is a duck confit and some other continental dishes as well. I felt like the variety was well considered to appeal to the expected audience.

I started with the arancini, which was on the specials menu, and i would be hard pressed to think of better arancini I’ve ever had. My wife had the carpaccio, which was delicious, tender, and well presented with shaved Parmesan, lemon wedges, and arugula. It was a nice start to the meal.

Our mains came after a short wait once our appetizer plates were cleared. I had the gnocchi. They were very well prepared. Light and fluffy. Served with rustic tomato sauce and arugula and basil. Excellent.

My wife had the surf and turf on the specials menu. Beef tenderloin with shrimp, rustic heirloom carrots, and smashed potatoes fried in duck fat. The beef was perfectly medium rare, as ordered, and the shrimp were just right. Those duck fat potatoes were really something special.

For dessert, we were stuffed, but felt like we’d be remiss for not having dessert. We split a cannoli. It was as you’d expect. Delicious. Leave the gun. Take the cannoli. My only suggestion would be for more anise in the ricotta in the cannoli. But that’s more of a personal preference than a problem with execution. I get it, some people don’t like licorice.

All in all, the food and service were excellent. I’m really glad that we have some fine dining in Williston again and I really hope they are able to stay in business. The owner personally thanked people as they were leaving and the waitstaff were really fantastic.

Give Toscano in Williston a try. I’m sure you’ll be...

My husband and I dined here on Valentine’s Day, anticipating a memorable fine dining experience. Unfortunately, the evening fell short of our expectations in both food quality and certain service aspects.

Food Quality: • Calamari: The appetizer was good. • Bread Basket: We were surprised to find the bread served cold, which detracted from the overall dining experience. • Shrimp Fra Diavolo: The dish was fine. • Bolognese: This was particularly disappointing; the pasta and meat lacked sufficient sauce, leaving the dish dry. We requested additional marinara to compensate. • Tiramisu and Wine: These were the highlights of our meal.

Service: Our server was friendly but used informal terms like “honey” when addressing my husband, which felt unprofessional. Additionally, comments such as “I see you didn’t like that at all” upon clearing empty plates came across as clichéd rather than genuine.

While the ambiance suggested high-end dining, the food and service did not align with this portrayal. Given the premium pricing, we expected a more refined experience. Regrettably, we cannot recommend this restaurant based...

The food was all well-prepared and tasty. We started with fried artichoke hearts which came with aioli and arugula, and were perfectly breaded and cooked, the aioli seemed more like straight mayo. Salads were fresh modest in size. Both our dishes—the Fra diavolo and carbonara—were very tasty and a good portion size. While the food was good, it wasn’t a very good value. A very high price point for what they are serving. Service was quite slow. Upon sitting we didn’t see a waiter for some time. We were told he would bring bread “in a while” so we expected something hot from the over, but when it finally came during our salad course it was a disappointing baguette. Every step in the meal was slow in coming. The atmosphere is very cold and the lack of sound-absorbing floor, walls or ceiling materials makes it very loud. In general, we enjoyed our evening but didn’t think we would be likely to return because there are places, such as Juniors, that have equally good food and a much better value, plus a more comfortable and attentive...