Davanti Enoteca

Not worth the money or hype, but worth a first time experience.
First of all, this place was hyped up by my friend. They were ecstatic about this place. We show up and my friend orders everything that they had the last time (the pâté and the honeycomb).
It comes out and it was so incredibly simple… and definitely not worth the price. The honeycomb was good, but it was basically bread with honey. You don’t drive 30 minutes and drop that kind of cash on something like that.
The pâté was ok, a little too oniony for me.
That was our meal. The service was good, our server was very attentive. The place was a ghost town, but it was a week night. The décor was cabin-​esque. This is not a place you would drive 30 minutes to and drop that kind of cash on, based on what we had.
In the defense of this place, the menu was huge. So maybe other dishes are worth the trip and expense.
Update: They are now closed down. Not surprised at all.

Dishes sampled during my last meal at this fantastic place included:
Vasi — Roast eggplant + mozzarella + tomato
Brushette with Goat Cheese, Granny Smith, Arugula, Candied Pancetta
Gnocchi di Ricotta — eggplant + roasted tomatoes + basil + mozzarella
Trippa alla Romana — Honeycomb Tripe + Soffritto + Soft Mascarpone Polenta
Gnocchi Alla Romana — Semolina Gnocchi + Tomato + Pecorino
Fettucini Doppio Burro — Farm Egg Fettuccine Noodles + Italian Butter + Parmesan
Charcuterie Board — Prosciutto, Mortadella with Pistachios, Soppressata, Spicy Coppa, Bresaola, Giardiniera, Sweet Summer Sausage, Bread&Butter Pickles, Smoked salmon, Cured Sardine, Crème Fraiche, Pickled Grapes, Chambord Strawberries and Blueberries, Tart Cherry Mustard, Persimmon Conserva, Quince Paste, Duck Bacon, Ricotta, Italian Kimchee with oregano and Calabrian chilies
Anitra alla Coquinaria — Crispy Half Duck + Butternut Squash + Brussels Sprouts + Honey + Almonds
Mille Foglie — Nutella + Pastry Cream + Strawberry + Chocolate
Chocolate Bread Pudding — Chocolate Bread + Walnut Cream Sauce + Mascarpone Whipped Cream
Peanut Butter Mousse — Chocolate Ganache + Caramel + Whipped Cream
Coffee — Lavazza and Chocolate Biscotti
For the last meal of the best year of my life so far I wanted to go somewhere that was not only good, but someplace that had some meaning to me and although part of a chain of three restaurants bearing identical names Davanti Enoteca fit the bill nicely; great location, great food, a chef I respect, and no limited scope and overpriced special New Year’s Eve menu… and like both of my prior visits to Davanti nearly everything about the night was exemplary (and, alas, still not enough to prevent the restaurant from shuttering a mere five months later.)
Featuring the talents of Chef DeRuvo who, along with his sous chef and a handful of servers, were working for a very small crowd even on one of the biggest nights of the year it would be hard for me to pick one dish that stood out above the rest on the night the calendar flipped to 2013 but with both the crispy tripe over creamy mascarpone and the signature crispy duck impeccable while the Mille Foglie rivaled the best Napoleons or Mille-​Feuille of Paris I’d tend towards those dishes as being most memorable with the dense chocolate bread pudding in a cast iron pot not too far behind.
More decisive than myself, my mother and aunt both equally loved the meal at Davanti that evening and as a matter of fact when they returned shortly after the restaurant had (unbeknownst to them) closed each of them were suggesting we dine there for a different reason — my aunt for the impressive charcuterie board gifted to us as «something we’ve been fooling around with» and my mother for the Fettucini Doppio Burro, a dish she claims to this day as the best pasta she has ever had and yet another example of what Chef DeRuvo is capable of — a fact that has many, including myself, hoping his next venture comes soon.

So apparently this is a chain? I’ve eaten now at two of them — one in Chicago, this one in Scottsdale, and both are great. I like «Old World’ Italian, as this is, much better than «New World» (i.e. Olive Garden) Italian. The food is superb (especially the cheese flat break with honey. That shit is Dannnnnk), wine is good. Location, like I guess everything in Arizona, is hard to get to without a car. Doesn’t feel as authentic in Chicago because I don’t trust yuppified towns like Scottsdale to not be overly yuppified, but maybe that’s just mine own thing.
If you are staying at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort, this is easily the best restaurant in the area, without going into the main town.

I’ve been here before and I enjoyed the unique starter plates very much and again for Restaurant Week I enjoyed a new one. I had the cauliflower steak before and it doesn’t disappoint it’s a delicious combination of flavors and textures that work together really well. The cauliflower is caramelized, the chickpeas are roasted and nutty tasting with some texture. They use olives for that twang taste and you get that slight almost ceaser dressing taste threw it. It’s very good.
We also shared the Truffle Egg Toast with Fontina Cheese and asparagus. It comes out as a thick piece of toast with melted cheese topped with two egg yolks that someone cuts up for you at the table. The toast is surrounded with slices of white asparagus. This is one of those oozy gooey yummy dishes that most people love. I usually don’t care for white asparagus because of it’s strange texture and lack of taste but in this application it’s perfect and adds the right texture to the dish and absorbs the flavors.
For dinner I had the wild salmon. I liked that they crisped the skin really well and the fish was seasoned nicely. The spring vegetable ragu was an interesting combination that looked like it was made of farro and pea green tops and other vegetables. This side ran on the sweet side for me. The plate was also decorated with whipped fava beans.
My husband had the Pork Porterhouse he said it was great.
We both picked the Gelati for dessert and our waiter didn’t bring us the exact flavors we requested but we had a large assortment so it didn’t matter. But watch out for the Italian Cookie. If you have loose fillings or fake teeth you might be in need for some dental work, that is one tough cookie and should be soaked.
Overall it was a very good $ 30.00 Restaurant Week Choice.

For my 1500^th review, wanted to review a really good restaurant. We were lucky enough to stumble across this place recently. As soon as we saw the menu, we knew we found a slice of Heaven! We were seated in the back dining room and the server explained that the food was served «tapas style», meaning that whatever was prepared first would come out… therefore, it wasn’t your traditional appetizer-​entrée-​dessert type setup. OK, we were good with that.
After browsing the menu, we ordered:
Focaccia di Recco (Ligurian style baked Focaccia, Soft Cow Cheese, add local Honeycomb), $ 16…this was ridiculously good and filling. We didn’t realize how much food this was and we were only on our 1^st item! LOL
Crispy Pork Belly (Cannellini Beans, Pears, Herb Salad, Mostarda Oil)
Roasted Cauliflower Steak (Sicilian Olive Tapenade, Marinated Lemon Jam)
Scottadito Style Ribs (Saba, Crushed Hazelnuts, Roman Gorgonzola Dolce Slaw)
Gnocchi di Ricotta (Eggplant, Roasted Tomatoes, Basil, Mozzarella), $ 15
Pizza D.O.C. (Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella, Basil), $ 11
I don’t know where to start… all of the food was amazing! The Focaccia de Recco is absolutely fabulous… and filling! It’s a must-​have. After having the first item come out, we realized that we ordered too much food… but it was too late, so we decided to have a tasting dinner and take some home.
Everything was full of flavor and had fresh ingredients… our taste buds were going crazy! Besides the Focaccia, my fav’s were the Gnocchi, Ribs, and Pizza. The Cauliflower Steak was very good too, but wow is that a huge portion! The Pork Belly was also good, but very rich… a good item to share with a group.
Our server was excellent and attentive all night long. She helped us select our items and was very friendly.
There was only 1 complaint about the evening… we were seated in the back dining room with 1 large group that we think was there for a Wine dinner. Since they were «talking Wine» and other stuff, they were loud. The dining room has hard surfaces, there’s no fabric or anything there to soften the sound… so needless to say, we heard all about their Wine flight, where it was made, and such and such… they group got louder as they consumed more Wine… that’s to be expected. Next time we go, we’ll ask if there’s a Wine dinner or large group and kindly ask for another table to avoid it.
Return Factor — 95%

Happy Hour Review:
We came here on the Monday after Easter around five. The bar area was somewhat empty except for a few patrons. The booths on the right as you walk in were full, with eight or so customers. It became busier over the next hour, but not chaotic.
AMBIANCE:
Davanti is trying for the upscale Italian Grotto feel. On the wall near the high tables, they have created a unique piece of wall art (see photo) by using the ends of wooden wine boxes tacked to the wall. There are no TVs going with sporting events, or news.
CLIENTELE:
It was a mixture of thirty-​something, along with some active retirees in golf/​tennis attire. Everyone was sitting back, enjoying each others company and having a good time
MENU:
Davanti has a few of it’s regular dinner items marked down slightly ($ 2.00−3.00). As for libations, it’s mostly a mixture of beer and wines for $ 5.00(see photos).
SERVICE:
It’s a little uneven in the beginning, but as more waitstaff arrived they got it together. One note about the staff. These are very sharp, knowledgeable folk who are friendly and willing offer their insight on both food and wine in a relax way. No know-​it-​alls, just sharp and friendly.
MOOD:
The mood is very relaxed. The waiters come by more to check-​in and see where you are; otherwise they leave you along unless they sense you are at stopping point for more wine/​drinks or food. Very upscale.
FOOD:
Everyone raves about the food at Davanti’s for good reason. It’s both creative and well executive. In other words, it’s delicious! One of our favorites is their bruschetta, that has a sweet balsamic and oil mixture with fried Kale on top for only $ 5.00. Really nice. We also tried their HH Ribs which were only $ 10.00 and very good. I ordered their Cannellini Vasi. It was smoked beans with a light balsamic and Cipollini onion. Flavorful, but not over bearing taste.
PRICES:
Our bill came to a very fair $ 31.60 including taxes, but before gratuities. Since they were out of one of the items we ordered, our server offered us a free dessert. Very professional.
We’ll be back!

I went to Davanti last night for the BF’s birthday with a party of 5 (including Stephanie B.). I must say, I don’t think I have said ‘mmmmm’ that much at one restaurant in a long time. I had tried Davanti at Devoured (say that 3 times fast). At Devoured they had this porchetta sandwich that was crazy good, so that is what made us go there for the BF’s b day. I tried several things last night including:
–Bruschetta of the day– pureed artichoke with pancetta… so delicious, perfectly crunchy bread with creamy deliciousness on top.
–Focaccia di recco– This was ridic. This was one of the best things I have tasted in a long time. Crispy crust… soft creamy cheese… honeycomb…this was crazy amazing (thanks Stephanie B for the rec!)
–Uovo Raviolo– delicious, but small. It is one medium size raviolo with a whole egg inside. It also has cheese and spinach inside and is covered in brown butter. When you cut the raviolo open the yolk breaks and just adds to the sauce. It was really tasty, but for 10 $ it was a little much.
–Burger– I tried the burger and it was very good. Loved the bacon marmalade. Cooked well.
–Prosciutto pizza– very tasty pizza that had fresh arugula on it and was pretty delish.
–Funghi pizza– I didn’t love this one, it was mushroom and leek and the leek was just a little overpowering.
I also got a hibiscus margatini– this drink was sweet, but not too sweet. It was very tasty. It was expensive, but I would order it again.
This place was very good and it was fun going with a big group so we could try lots of different things (though we totally over ordered and had TONS of leftovers). I would definitely come back here, this place has some serious five star potential. I would like to come at lunch time and get more focaccia and some delish sandwiches… yum!

The hubs and I stopped in with friends this past weekend without knowing anything about this place. Holy moly, we love this place.
The service is awesome, starting from the hostesses to the waitstaff to the support staff. Our reservation was actually ready ON TIME and we were seated at a round table in the middle of the restaurant. Great ambiance — and it was just loud enough to be bustling, but not so loud that we couldn’t hear each other.
Our server started by telling us that the portions are smaller and you order a few plates to share. Sounded fun to us!
We started the night off with a bottle of Malbec from Argentina (I don’t remember the name) and it hit the spot. We took our server’s suggestion and went with the focaccia di recco. It came to our table warm and oh my gosh, it was delicious. The honeycomb was such an interesting touch and added the right amount of sweetness to the focaccia & cheese.
We then ordered the house special ragu, which that night was a bolognese served over polenta. Again, delicious.
Our table then went a bit nuts and ordered a TON. Of. Stuff.
Here is the list, that I can remember:
— Orecchiette (SO good, with a spicy kick)
— Pork Belly
— Prosciutto Pizza
— Soppressata PIzza
— Grilled Asparagus Salad
— Gnocchi
— Davanti Sundae for dessert (of course)
— Peanut Butter mousse
We left incredibly full, and so happy. The menu is different the food is delicious, and I can’t imagine ordering something that didn’t taste delicious. I can’t wait to go back!

I love this place. I have had dinner here several times and enjoyed it very much. Service and Food quality are excellent. Salumi Boards, Liver Pâté and Ravioli are among my favs. Great food deals during happy hour but not such great cocktail/​martini prices. The place is a little pricey but WELL worth the price. Oh. one more thing, the bread is to die for.

I have been here twice now and have been pleased both times. The first time, I met a few girlfriends for dinner and we sat up at the bar. Nice atmosphere and the bartenders were friendly. We ordered the focaccia di recco (focaccia with cheese and honeycomb), which was excellent! We then shared the Farro salad and Strozzapre
Amatriciana, which had a spicy red sauce. Very good! Great wine selection too.
The second time, I stopped by after work on day on the way home to have a glass of wine and a salad. After some discussion with the bartender, he suggested I try the mascarpone polenta and ragù of the day (it was a bolognese). DELICIOUS. A little rich but absolutely delicious!

Unfortunately I am very behind in writing this review so I can’t remember exactly what we all had. Overall though I remember there being a couple of amazing things, a couple really good and a couple that were good but we nothing special. I do remember the asparagus being not as great as the reviews. The gnocchi was So amazingly perfectly done. The items that came with the cheese plate were really good.
What really made the experience great was our waitress. She was great. Wish I remember her name. She perfectly timed everything. She came at all the right times to check up on us without being annoying. The food was timed to come out in increments so you don’t get too much at the same time.
Overall I’d def. be back.

The server for our party of 8 left quite a bitter taste in my mouth, Despite her attitude and her general lack of f***‘s given, I’d say the food was great. I had pork belly on bed of arugula and a heavenly nut/​grain salad that made up for being forced to talk to her scowling face. Why work in the service industry if you insist on making customers feel like they are a massive waste of your time? Lucky for her, the people I went with had class and held it together for the special occasion.
Honestly, how annoying.
If I did live in Arizona, I would not go back.

Italian tapas! What a novel concept, with unique dishes ranging from Truffled egg toast to cauliflower steak. You can also find traditional pastas and pizzas here, but I recommend sticking with the antipasti and insalate section, so that you can try a variety of items.
The owner, Scott Harris, has attempted to recreate a small Italian community here where cooking is influenced by the many small Italian villages he visited along the way on his travels. You will find Italian fare here, but with a modern twist.
The cocktail menu is excellent, and I highly recommend the Watermelon Caipfruita (cachaca + st. germaine + watermelon + mint + agave nectar + fresh lime) to start your evening of taste explorations.
We started with the roasted beets in walnut butter, crème fraiche, and candied walnuts. What wonderful textures and flavors! This was followed by the roasted cauliflower steak, which does look like a steak in the way it is cut. This was served with a Sicilian olive tapenade and marinated lemon jam. The flavors were wonderful, although the cauliflower could have been more tender.
Following this came the truffled egg toast with fontina cheese and asparagus — a very unique and delicious combination. To round off the meal we enjoyed the crispy pork belly with cannellini beans and pears on an herb salad with mostarda oil. The pork just melted in our mouths, and was a most savory choice for our last taste.
I think this is a wonderful place for groups, for sharing, for date nights, and with all of the space a likely destination for events as well.
Bravo!

Oh good, another overpriced eatery between PV and Snobsdale.
We went, we ate 4 courses (plus 2 rounds of drinks), I choked on the bill and we left.
Food was OK, but not anywhere near as good as they think by those prices.
For the money, i could have rented a car and driven somewhere better in LA.
If you have cash to blow or an unlimited expense account or maybe you are just trying to impress your date by spending money you don’t have, then by all means, go nuts. Beware though, It wont take much to raise a bean counter’s eyebrow with this place on your expense report.
BTW– The extra star was for the server who was very helpful and the Men’s room that was definitely «different».

Davanti was a long time in coming, but worth the wait. As our waiter said, it’s the polar opposite of the Quilted Bear which it replaced. The food is Italian, but the concept is more Spanish or Chinese, with emphasis on a group of customers ordering a number of plates to share, rather than each ordering his/​her own. The totally renovated interior is warm, rich, and inviting. Every member of the staff was friendly, outgoing, and upbeat.
Our group of four started with a liver pâté topped with cherries — scrumptious. Then we had a bruschetta, as good as it gets. The following brussel sprout salad was the weak link — a little too heavy with cheese to be a salad. This weakness was immediately redressed with a fantastic mushroom risotto. Then a delicious ragu served on white corn polenta left us struggling to find room for a raisin bread pudding desert. We left vowing to come back soon, since the menu contained many more interesting possibilities.
Our meal for four was $ 140 including tip and a $ 35 bottle of wine, quite reasonable for the fare.

I’m so happy something has finally gone into this empty space and I’m even happier that it’s a restaurant I really like! Today I finally had the chance to visit Davanti and I was very pleased with everything from the décor and atmosphere to the food and service.
This restaurant has a lot of space! It would be perfect for a large group because there are a couple different rooms which I assume could be sectioned off quite easily. They also have a spacious bar area. The décor is earthy, modern and very cozy. It looks like an interior designer’s dream because of the intimate detail to everything from the painted wooden walls to the light fixtures that hang down.
The staff is friendly and did a nice job in letting my party take our time ordering because we were in the middle of a meeting. This restaurant is off the beaten path so it wasn’t very crowded during the lunch hour. Once we were ready to order, the server re-​appeared, took our order and brought out our food within 15 minutes.
The food here is very Italian and some of it can be very hearty! They offer an all-​day menu but then they also feature lunch specials that include a variety of salads and paninis. My fellow lunch goers opted for the pasta and I decided to order one of the lunch paninis. Considering the fact that I ordered a sandwich and they ordered pasta, I thought mine would come out much smaller then theirs but boy was I wrong! Their pasta is well portioned and offers a hearty yet reasonably-​sized dish. My sandwich on the other hand, could easily feed a family of three. The sandwich was large and in charge and will serve as a nice dinner for me tonight! The sandwich came with string fries which were salty and very tasty! However, they brought out a heaping amount of string fries so those will also serve as a nice dinner!
I enjoy this restaurant and plan on coming back on a regular basis because it’s casual and classy with delicious food and nice service.

10÷18÷12
Enjoyed a wonderful happy hour at Davanti today– the first of many, I’m sure! Great atmosphere, good food, and a cool bartender who kindly brought me samples of two wines when I didn’t know which one to try. Be sure to order the Davanti burger
, so juicy and a good bargain at $ 8 (the accompanying matchstick fries was a «miss») and the «bruschette of the day,» $ 5 during happy hour.
House wines were $ 5 a glass, and thanks to the cute bartender, I enjoyed the glass of Montepulciano he kindly let me sample first. I did try the house buffalo chicken wings
that were highly-​touted by my bartender/​server, but I didn’t quite enjoy it as much as the other two items.
I hope to return to explore the dinner menu soon!

Great spot with a menu that veers beyond the familiar standards and digs deeper into the authentic Italian cookbook that most of us now want. From the Cacio e Pepe to the Uovo in Raviolo* to the truffle egg toast the menu does a great job of taking you back to the ‘old country’.
The ambiance is adequate, the service attentive, and with time this should be a great spot for some great Italian.
*Only real complaint was the Raviolo. You have the San Domenico name attached to it, where are the truffles? If you are paying homage the orginator you should be completely faithful to the recipe.

Davanti Enoteca joins the very small group of restaurants serving fine food in attractive surroundings at reasonable (sort of) prices. The cuisine is certainly Italian, but not like what you would find in a traditional Italian establishment — this is more like what you would expect in one of the trendy restaurants in Bologna. For example: there is a bruscheta on the menu but there are also four «Vasi“s which are more inventive dips served with toasted Italian bread. We had the cannelloni (bean) and onion variety (the beans were pureed, and you spread it over the bread).
Davanti serves «sharing» style, meaning that dishes come out one or two at a time and the table is assumed to be sharing them. If you and your companion each order an entrée, they may not come out at the same time. This presents Davanti with a challenge in pacing the meal — but they manage to keep the food flowing without having dishes pile up at any one time. It also gives you a lot of changes to interact with your dining companions.
Three of the five dishes we ordered were five star, and the other two still pretty good. I think the pizzas are there least successful offerings — perhaps they don’t have the right oven and so the crust is chewy not crispy. The faro salad was spectacular. The asparagus came with tiny bits of rhubarb — nice touch. And the chocolate budino dessert was right on target: a not-​overly-​rich chocoate mousse/​pudding with toasted marshmallow.
As a wine bar, Davanti has a good selection of wines by the glass, and both of the ones we had were outstanding. The wines are not cheap, at about $ 10 a glass, but the pour is generous and you can get larger pours for slightly more. The food dishes run from around $ 7 to $ 13, and two per person is sufficient, so the total for us was under $ 100 for two, including tax and tip.
Two suggestions:
1. Reservations on weekends are probably needed.
2. Build you meal from the starters — vasis, boards, appetizers, and salads, and then add a pasta or pizza. You don’t need to emphasize the «main courses».

I’ve been wanting to come here after all the reviews I read, so our Unilocal-​foodie group chose this place. Décor was okay, nothing about it was Italianish.
Our group ordered various dishes which we all shared.
We chose three cheeses, and for the price, I was hoping the portions of cheese would be bigger so we can all share. Unfortunately, everyone took small morsel bites. I had the egg truffle toast, and it was Delicious. I also tried the gnocchi that my friend ordered. It tasted good, but way too much sauce. Some of the side dishes we ordered was the cauliflower and asparagus. I am not a vegetable eater, but the cauliflower was so flavorful, and cooked to perfection. Just amazing!
All in all, I will give this place on more try. Specially since they are opened for brunch.