Restaurant Review: Il Mare -- The New Italian Joint in Downtown

Don't let that fish sign fool you. Il Mare means "the sea" in Italian, but this isn't really a seafood restaurant. It's a simple, classic Italian restaurant. You start with complimentary garlic bread. Appetizer options are basic like calamari (what we ordered), bruschetta, and tomato-mozzarella salads. Dinner options are of a similar ilk--chicken parm, pastas, and pizzas. And as of right now, the only two desert options are tiramisu and cannolis.

If this is your type of place, then I think you'll be satisfied. No dish knocked it out of the park, but the meal was nice. The calamari breading was delightfully light, but we wished the pieces in our basket had been more meaty. The bf's chicken parm was fine, but my pesto-mussel pizza was pretty delicious. The cannolis had good texture and taste but needed more filing. I don't think there were any complaints about the tiramisu, though! The highlights of Il Mare are the prices (really reasonable), the service (our experience was lovely), and the pizzas (based on the pesto-mussel). But to be totally honest, with Colori Kitchen just down the street, I think Il Mare is going to have to up its game to compete. It's a decent Italian restaurant, but it's a stone's throw from a really great Italian restaurant. I personally am rooting for a slightly improved menu and execution. You can never have too many good options for Italian!