Caffe Riace Ristorante Italian

Definately the air of an authentic family-owned
Italian resturant (which it is) with old world charm mixed with whimsical statues and art work. What used to be outside patio dining only now has indoor
seating as well. Upon entering the patio area,
we were greeted warmly and, even though busy, were given our choice of available seating. We always choose outdoors if possible because we have our two small dogs with us who, by the way, were welcomed warmly. Once seated, a look around the patio is very entertaining. A large fountain area with a statue of a woman holding a
washing machine from which the water flows, Sicialian soldier statues in full battle regalia, monkeys, frogs, lions, etc. adorn the area. From the maitre de to the wait staff all were warm and helpful in authentic Italian fashion. Time permitting, someone may drift over to your table to give you the history of the resturant and the founding family. Oh yeh, the food is superb with several specials each day served warm on time for those business people on lunch-break and the rest of us. Can't comment on dinner as we have only been there fof lunch.
Though a bit out of the way Caffe Riace is sure to be a repeat pleasure again as it has been for us.

Reminscent of Italian dinners in Italy: This restaurant is well off the beaten path, but when we visited our group of 15 had the entire restaurant to ourselves on a rainy Sunday evening. We ate underneath a tent and had them fire up the heat lamps to keep us warm. Service was excellent as we were their only clients. Eating outside underneath heat lamps, and drinking San Pelligrino and wine with good italian food reminded me of previous dinners in Italy. The restaurant also boasts that you can stay past 10pm until the restaurant closes. It was a very special way to celebrate a friend's birthday, where else can you have an entire restaurant to yourselves and take your time?

Gorgeous ambiance, good food, very slow service: Because of the great yahoo reviews my mom & I went to see for ourselves. The restaurant at least in the day time is located out doors in a large rustic Italian themed patio w/ cafe umbrella coverage and a could fountains. Very pretty decor and very relaxing. Prices are mid-pricey. You can view their menu items on line at cafferiace.com. They delivered hot bread w/ an olive oil, balsamic and basil dip. The waiter came and asked if we wanted water or sparkling water. We said sparkling and he left the entire bottle which we thought was awesome, but he never said that would cost us $5! He offered it like it was on the house so be aware of this if you go and do not plan to pay $5 for water. We ordered the anti pasta riace which is a combo of the handful of appetizers they have such as fresh mozzarella, basil, roasted red peppers, eggplant etc... Pretty pricey for what you get at $10. Wouldn't order again. For my entree I ordered cannelloni della mamma which is large pasta tubes stuffed with ricotta and organic baby spinach, baked in a fresh tomato sauce. Very good, but a rather odd tasting sauce. Not bad at all, just odd. Sauce was not just a tomato sauce as stated in their description but a creamy tomato sauce w/ what tasted like a little nutmeg in it. A lot for the buck too! Was about $14 or so. My mom ordered the Tortellini Pesto but got tomato sauce as she does not like pesto (Nuts!) Their on-lien menu is not up to date w/ their current menu however so that's not listed on-line. He dish was okay. Average tortellini in a basic red sauce. Not worth ordering again and the price was $15. There are a few more items I'd try here and their outdoor ambiance along is worth a second try. Service was incredibly slow and we weren't sure why as we were only 1 of 3 tables filled and still only 1 of 5 by the time we left. We were there 45 min past our normal dining experience simply because of all the long waiting for service. Took about 20 min to receive our appetizer and a half hours after that to receive our meals and another 20 min or longer after that to get our bill. If the ambiance sucked and the food was horrid we would not return. It's a lovely place for a date though or a mid-day lunch though they are open for dinner as well.