03/17/09

Best italian place in Durham

by primebeefonly

Hands down the best italian place in durham. Fresh pasta and wide choice of dishes. They also have a seafood menu that puts Fishmongers to shame. Nice wine list and a great decor. They also have reasonable prices and a great 6 dollar pannini for lunch that comes out quick.

• Pros: Great across the board
• Cons: none

06/24/08

Delicious fresh pasta with many options for sauce

by hbwilson

I have been to this restaurant twice and I look forward to going back. On my first visit I was very happy to learn that the pasta is freshly made, and my linguine with bolognese sauce was delicious. My husband?s pasta with marsala sauce made me jealous because it was so much better than what I have tried to make at home. The roasted garlic served with bread was a really nice way to start the meal. Our waitress was very pleasant and made sure to explain to us why our entrees were taking a while to come out (we didn?t think the time had been unreasonable). We went back for my birthday and had another tasty meal, gnocchi with bolognese and crab-stuffed ravioli. Our calamari appetizer was average, but the hazelnut gelato more than made up for it. The atmosphere is very nice and we were seated immediately at a table right next to a window. My only criticism would be our waiter on the second night, he seemed a little odd ? at one point he just walked away as I was speaking to him ? but overall it was a very nice meal, and I would recommend this restaurant for a casual dinner as well as a special occasion.

• Pros: freshly made pasta, gelato in many delicious flavors, nice atmosphere

05/21/08

Its okay.

by Emilymc

I have been to Piazza Italia twice. Both times I have enjoyed the atmosphere and the service. The food is good----it is not fabulous. I have had the build your own pasta and the lobster ravioli. Both were good but for the price I just felt like I could do better. My bill last night was 33.00. I had a beer, the brushetta (which, with the balsamic vinegar glaze, I did not like at all), the lobster pasta and the gelato. The gelato was really good. I basically would recommend this place if you are looking for good pasta---simple, good, pasta. This will not be a regular dining place for me and would not be a special dining place for me.

• Pros: Service, atmosphere, gelato
• Cons: Price, value

03/31/08

A great find

by labratbr

I've been to Piazza Italia 4 or 5 times now, and have always enjoyed the experience, so I was surprised to see lots of negative reviews on the web. True, the food is not MIND-BLOWINGLY SPECTACULAR or anything, but let's not be too snobbish about a place where 2 people can eat a nice romantic dinner for under $50!! Any time I've been there, I and the rest of my group have really enjoyed the food. I'm particularly fond of their bread (and the bulb of roasted garlic they bring you, in lieu of butter) and of the gelato, which is brilliant. My other favorite part of their menu is the option to mix and match pasta types, sauces, and toppings -- never been disappointed with that stand-by. Their calimari and seafood pasta dishes are also reliable. As for service, I've always been happy with their wait staff, but any issues other reviewers have experienced are probably just growing pains of a new restaurant. I'm lucky enough to know what great authentic Italian food tastes like, and sadly it's not available in Durham, but Piazza Italia is still one of my favorite spots to take visitors or to go on dates.

01/16/08

Really recommend this place, best gelato and pasta

by bryans

This place is excellent; food is great, beautiful decor and best past and gelato in town. We had the risotto and rigatoni and were the best ever. We bought the pasta and cooked at home, make sure you do that, they sold for $3 something a pound and was better than any pasta we ever had here in US.

• Pros: everything
• Cons: none

08/20/07

Good food, awful service

by dwe1978

Everything was soooooooooooooo slow. On a half-full Monday night, you would expect decent service. We spent nearly two hours there where it shouldn't have taken more than an hour. It took a long time to get food. And it was nearly impossible to pay; it was as our waiter left the country. And one of the meals delivered to our table was incorrect.

The food itself was good. I had spinach/manicotti ravioli. Rich and delicious. I, though, didn't think it was a huge portion. The gelato was good for dessert and a generous portion.

I will give it a second try I think but won't make it a third if the service stays like this.

• Pros: Tasty food, neat choices
• Cons: Service

05/04/07

Disappointing

by starvingtwo

This was our first and probably last visit to Piazza Italia. We went for lunch and ordered a ceasar salad, chicken marsala, and ravioli carne. We were served so-so bread with a dish of plain olive oil first. The ceasar dressing was actually pretty good. The problem was with our entrees. The chicken appeared to be boiled and was actually a little bit tough. Every time I've had this dish at other places, the chicken is usally grilled or pan seared. The sauce was really nothing more than watery chicken stock with only the tiniest hint of marsala wine. The ravioli (made in house) was supposed to have a variety of Italian meats. After noting how flat the ravoli was, we inspected a little further. Cutting open a ravioli and peeling it apart revealed only the tiniest amount of unidentifiable ground meat. When the waiter (who was very nice) came back to check on us, we mentioned these things to him. I'm not one of those typical "complainer" customers and I was a little uncomfortable about having to do it. The manager came over and didn't really say much. She did said that they were going to fix the ravioli, whatever that means. We received our check which had been discounted $3.55 (?). The chicken, which I only had a few bites of, was $16.50 and the ravioli was around $12.00. I wasn't expecting them to take anything off but I'm a little confused by the $3.55 discount. Oh well, I'm not meaning to sound too cranky, but I just paid $40.00 for lunch and I'm still hungry!

• Pros: Nice setting, good service from waitstaff
• Cons: bad service from management, poor quality food

03/25/07

Homemade pasta & fresh gelato

by stickers

Piazza Italia is a really interesting addition to the restaurant scene in durham. It is in brightleaf, and is designed to look like a little Italian village, there is a working fountain in the entryway, and they set up the kitchen so you can watch them make the pasta. We came here over a month ago when they first opened, and needless to say, they had some kinks to work out with their staff and some of their dishes. We decided to giving them another shot, and I am glad we did. They seem to have smoothed the wrinkles. First, unlike the citysearch description, they do NOT serve pizza. They are a moderately priced Italian restaurant. Their menu is comprised of traditional Italian food (lasagne, chicken parmigiana, fresh pasta) and a nice selection of appetizers. The bread is served with a roasted head of garlic which you spread. The bread had been way too doughy before, but now their bread is perfect. They have been very accommodating, making meat dishes and salads vegetarian upon request. The first time, I had fresh fettuccine with their pesto cream sauce. Very good and well done. This last time, I had fresh penne with a creamy tomato sauce with garlic and mushrooms. Also very well done. While the dessert menu is nice, I would recommend trying their gelato. They have many flavors such as strawberry basil, chocolate hazelnut and apple. Also, they sell their fresh pasta in their "store."

• Pros: Really fresh pasta, nice location, ambience