Orlando Hotspots: Ciao Italia!

WARNING! WARNING! If you think that Olive Garden is the classiest, most authentic Italian restaurant you know, please, for your sanity and for mine, just don't read this post. 

For months now I've heard about this amazing, authentic Italian restaurant called Ciao Italia. I've suggested other people try it, but hadn't had the chance to try it for myself. So, yesterday, after Bacchus Bash, when we were trying to figure out where to grab a more formal, sit down dinner, I jumped at the chance to finally experience Ciao Italia.

As you may have guessed by the warning, I'm not a big fan of Olive Garden. It's a guilty pleasure that I'll indulge in every now and then, but it irks me, as an Italian, that it markets itself as an Italian restaurant, when really it's just a nice pasta place. Lots of pasta should not equal Italian. Not to mention, Olive Garden is a national chain that reeks of cheesy stereotypes the way most of it's food reeks of too much garlic.

Ciao Italia is a truly unique, family-run, locally-owned restaurant that welcomes its guests the way my family welcomes each other--with delicious food and congenial service. The atmosphere is both quaint and romantic, with fresh linens and low lighting. Our server greeted us with a heavily accented "Buonasera" and spoke in a mixture of Italian and English (the Italian, to my delight, I understood perfectly!). The only aspect that gave me slight pause is that he pronounced bruschetta incorrectly (correct pronunciation is broo-skett-ah, not broo-shett-ah). I'll just attribute that to the hundreds of guests he must have who pronounce it wrong as well.

Alright, on to the food! I started with an appetizer of Calamari Saltati--sauteed calamari in a white wine lemon butter sauce. Unlike many versions of calamari, this one was not fried, which let the taste of the calamari shine, accented with lemon. As you can see, it was served in a dish that was shaped like a fish (luckily calamari is not really fish, per say, so it wasn't too awkward).

My entree was a HUGE serving of Tortellini con Pollo e Pesto. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo while at the restaurant, however, luckily I brought some home to enjoy later (however, still forgot to photograph). The pesto was one of the best I've ever tasted--each ingredient could be tasted separately in every bite. The pasta was obviously fresh, not frozen. It was a dish of which an Italian can be proud.

Finally, for dessert we had a Limoncello Marscapone Cake--cake soaked in Limoncello and accented with creamy marscapone. It was amazing.

Altogether, Ciao Italia is a restaurant that should not be missed! It's perfect both for a date night and for a family dinner. I'm sure they'd even be great for a small special occasion gathering. Check out their website and if you ever find yourself unsure of where to go on International Drive for dinner, definitely stay away from the chains and experience a real taste of Italy.