Amore Ristorante & Chop House
4 palms
Where: 6300 N. Wickham Road, No. 122, Melbourne
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 4:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday
Call: 321-242-8507
Other: The Amore menu is extensive, with soups, salads, lots of pasta, chicken, veal, seafood, grilled meats, paninis, pizza and Italian desserts. It also has lunch specials.
We definitely felt the love at Amore Ristorante & Chop House, the (sort of) new Italian restaurant in Suntree. I say “sort of,” because the folks from Primavera, which used to be in that location, have teamed up with the chef from the erstwhile Calabria’s, with delicious results.
The restaurant has undergone a simple, inviting redesign. The takeout counter has become a proper bar, where you can get beer and wine, and the place has lightened up significantly, with brighter walls and white tablecloths topped with white paper. A friend and I went for lunch, and we never did get to the “chop” part of the menu, which includes steak, lamb and veal. However, we managed to stuff ourselves with what we did get.
We started with the fabulous char-grilled Caesar ($8), a head of Romaine lettuce briefly grilled and topped with a creamy homemade Caesar dressing, croutons and Parmesan cheese. Grilled salads are a bit trendy, but trendy is forgivable when it’s this good. Somehow the charred leaves tasted heartier coming off the grill, and the lightly drizzled dressing was perfectly complemented by freshly made round croutons.
The stuffed portabella ($8) was good, too, but what’s not to like about a big mushroom cap filled with jumbo lump crab meat and topped with tomato and provolone, melted till almost crispy, with a white wine butter sauce?
We reveled in decadence with our entrees. My friend got a scrumptious spaghetti carbonara, creamy and rich and dotted with pancetta. The pasta was perfectly al dente. I opted for the gnocchi gorgonzola, because I have a soft spot for those little potato-pasta dumplings, and these were just the right texture. Gorgonzola brings to mind a sharp, pungent taste, but here it’s subtle in the cream sauce, and beautifully set off by the mushrooms. The onion adds another subtle layer of flavor that is, all in all, divine.
By the way, if you couldn’t get enough of Primavera’s house garlic dressing, it’s still available at Amore, as are the chef’s equally tasty dressings. Ask for a cup with your breadsticks for dipping. The menu, though more upscale than Primavera’s, still has pizzas. Amore is the best of both worlds.
Service was not fast, but we weren’t ordering off the lunch menu, and with freshly prepared food like this, you should be ready to wait and savor. Feel the love.
Contact Kridler at 321-242-3633 or ckridler@floridatoday.com.
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