Davio’s brings 20 years of experience

Can a restaurant that’s been open for just one month already have a

loyal customer base and an established signature dish -- cioppino?

Yes, but only if the grand opening is preceded by more than 20 years

of serving Italian favorites.

Such is the case with Davio’s Italian Grill, which opened last

month in the Target/Pavilions Center after flourishing for two

decades in LSeal Beach.

The “new” Davio’s has been designed masterfully. The

caramel-and-burnt-orange color scheme smoothly commingles with

neutral woods and funky light fixtures to create a feel of

contemporary cool. From the back, an exhibition kitchen peers out at

the curvy dining room while the front houses a modestly-sized,

casually-elegant bar.

What I relished most at Davio’s were the desserts. All desserts

are made in-house with the exception of gelato, which was totally

awesome nonetheless.

This dessert is artfully presented, resting atop a pillow of

raspberry mousse. Our heart-shaped production had a crisp white

chocolate shell that jacketed a creamy vanilla gelato wrapped around

a raspberry sorbet center. The entire delight is drizzled with

raspberry sauce.

Our second indulgence was the obscene chocolate cake, which

layered three treats: brownie with chocolate chips, rich fudge and a

heavy mousse. Normally drizzled with raspberry sauce, we requested

chocolate sauce to make it even more obscene. Other alluring desserts

include tiramisu, chocolate macadamia nut torte, cheesecake and peach

creme brulee.

If they served espresso -- an Italian restaurant that doesn’t

serve espresso? -- I’d consider stopping in just for dessert.

While our evening ended with tasty treats, it began with a warm

loaf of sourdough, accompanied by a trio of bread toppings. The

standout topping was an olive and walnut pesto with a strong garlic

presence. Freshly-grated Romano cheese and tomato chunks with basil

completed the trio.

All the usual suspects are available as appetizers -- fried

mozzarella, stuffed mushrooms, fried zucchini and calamari. We opted

for something slightly less typical -- baked eggplant and pesto

shrimp. A burly slice of eggplant is breaded and baked, topped with

marinara sauce, olives and pesto. This was very good, as were the

pesto-coated butterflied shrimp.

Moretti was my beer of choice -- although they serve Peroni --

before switching to wine with the main course. Chianti was my only

choice for an Italian red available by the glass, although Barbaresco

is sold by the bottle, and I found the mellow Da Vinci Chianti to be

undistinguished.

We enjoyed Davio’s cheese pizza prepared with freshly-made dough

and rolled to order. The thin crust had a crisp bottom but an overall

softness. In addition to standard pizza toppings, they also offer

prosciutto and zucchini.

The Davio’s combination entree was a mixed bag. The uninspiring

veal scaloppini had an underlying sweetness, even though it’s topped

with bell peppers. The chicken stuffed mushrooms draped in melted

mozzarella were yummy. The “deep dish” lasagna -- I’ve had thicker

pancakes -- with mushroom and sausage needed to be firmer, not to

mention deeper.

Our chicken tetrazzini mixed chunks of chicken breast with a heavy

dose of spinach, fresh garlic, a few mushrooms and minuscule bacon

bits. It’s then baked with a covering of mozzarella cheese. Spinach

overpowers this dish, which came with a side of freshly-made pasta.

We opted for the marinara rotini over the fettuccini Alfredo.

For an additional charge, you can add minestrone soup or a side

salad to any entree. The pear and walnut salad, atop mixed greens,

had plenty of both to go along with Roma tomatoes, granules of

Gorgonzola cheese and balsamic vinaigrette.

The only menu category we didn’t explore was the seafood, yet

several items were enticing. They offer a blackened halibut served on

a bed of spinach sauteed in garlic and butter sauce, as well as their

signature dish -- the cioppino. It (fisherman’s stew) combines

shrimp, clams, mussels, scallops, lobster and chunk fish with

linguine in a rich marinara basil broth.

When is a new restaurant actually an old restaurant? When it’s

Davio’s.

* JOHN VOLO is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, e-mail [email protected].

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