Buon Appetito! Tutto Pasta has been such a favorite in its campus-area location that it decided to open another restaurant for the downtown-area crowd. The new spin-off of State Street’s Tutto Pasta features an authentic array of pasta in the space vacated by the Clay Market Café.
A “sidewalk cafe” on King Street allows sidewalk dining even in the dead of winter. The uptown Tutto has a decidedly more upscale feeling than its campus counterpart but has very similar food at a more expensive price.
The new Tutto Pasta Cucina Italiana serves a wide variety of meals and adds a soft elegance to casual dining. The muted colors, soft lighting and ceilings draped in gossamer gauze create a unique atmosphere. Cucina Italiana offers a quaint dining area and outside seating, as well as an atrium to enjoy the extensive menu.
Dinner and lunch prices are the same for most items. The dinner menu features a dozen antipasti, several soups, salads, risotto dishes, seven pizzas, 34 pasta dishes and further entrées of chicken, veal, seafood, steak, lamb and sausage. The lunch menu is almost as broad.
There is also a full bar featuring 14 martinis, including double chocolate.
Dominic Ledesma, part of the waitstaff at Cucina Italiana, describes the new Tutto Pasta as “… a great place to eat. It has a more intimate setting and gets you off of campus. Plus, the wine selection is great. Cucina Italiana is definitely a great place for a first date.”
The new Tutto’s semi-formal dining provides a leniency many other Italian restaurants in Madison do not. The restaurant adheres to an elegant protocol, perfect for a date or special celebration. However, one would feel just as comfortable dining in casual attire, enjoying the company of friends.
During my recent dining visit, I found that not only does Cucina Italiana do an excellent job on décor, but also on entrées. I ordered Linguine Alle Vongole Veraci, flat pasta sautéed with olive oil, garlic, manila clams on the shell and baby clams in a white Pinot Grigio sauce and finished with fresh Italian parsley for $10.95. For the most part I was pleased with the entrée, however, there was little wine sauce to accompany the mound of pasta on my plate.
The restaurant also offers a variety of nightly specials, which allow the kitchen to put a creative twist on the authentic Italian cuisine. The specials ranged anywhere from $10-$23 and will satisfy the more adventurous palate. A great example of the Cucina’s great specials is Capesante E Pancetta ($10), grilled sea scallops wrapped in smoked apple wood bacon and served with mango sauce.
Ledesma loves the food he serves, “because it is made in a very particular way. Cucina Italiana has very high standards, and the food is made to perfection.”
His personal favorite is Pappardelle Al Telefono, wide, flat egg pasta sautéed with olive oil and onions in a vodka-cream tomato sauce, finished with fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese.
Presentation of the food was noticeably pleasing. My entrée, as well as the entrée of my dinner date, came beautifully prepared and pleasing to the eyes, nose and mouth. The cook definitely took the time to creatively present the pasta and garnishes on the plate.
Although the majority of the food at Tutto Pasta Cucina Italiana was excellent, too much was wrong at my visit to give it a confident two thumbs-up.
To begin, the prices were very high, considering the food is very similar to its culinary twin on State Street. For a few bucks less, one might consider going to State Street to enjoy the same type of food.
The most disappointing part of my visit was the antipasti to begin my meal. I ordered Frittura di Calamari, baby squid lightly floured and deep-fried, served with spicy tomato sauce for $6.95. First of all, the tomato sauce lacked any spice or flavor. The sauce was incredibly runny and reminded me a bit of Campbell’s tomato soup. Also, while chewing the fried squid, I began to wonder if I was eating calamari or chewing on a rubber band. The quality of seafood is definitely not one of Tutto’s strengths.
The side salad I ordered with my entrée for an extra $1.95 was also sub-par. The salad was skimpy and the dressing lacked much flavor. The balsamic vinaigrette was reminiscent of the vinegar and oil served at campus cafeterias.
The service at the new Tutto was mediocre. Instantly, a busser came with water glasses and two baskets of bread. However, after the initial attention, my companion and I were forgotten. We had plenty of bread, but ran out of the delicious olive oil and balsamic vinegar to accompany it.
The restaurant was not busy, but it took an abnormal amount of time to receive our entrées. Also, the waitress completely forgot about the bill until I flagged her down to remind her of our existence.
Overall, the atmosphere and décor of Tutto Pasta was very pleasing and definitely one of the restaurant’s strengths. But don’t look too closely at the gauze draperies, because it seems as though the restaurant has a problem with dead flies. Also, the music did not add to the elegance of the atmosphere. The techno party music playing at the small bar made me wonder if I was at Spices on a Saturday night.
If you are looking for a good Italian restaurant off of Capitol Square, Tutto Pasta Cucina Italiana is a quality place. However, if you are in the State Street area, and don’t mind the casual atmosphere of the original Tutto Pasta, save a few bucks, and go there instead.
Tutto Pasta Cucina Italiana is located on 107 King St. The restaurant is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, Monday through Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to midnight and Friday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.
