Bel Posto Restaurant Review

UPDATE: Bel Posto has closed. Bel Posto features a wide variety of savory contemporary Italian fare in an attractive space accented by exposed brick walls and soft lighting. The menu ranges from excellent antipasti and formaggi (cheese) with pasta, fish and meat dishes as entrees.

"Bel Posto" means "beautiful place" in Italian, and this is an apt name for this upscale, contemporary Italian restaurant. Soft lighting, wooden floors and an exposed brick wall all contribute to a relaxing dining experience.

Starters include Formaggi, the Italian word for cheese, and the options range from fresh buffalo mozzarella to Long Island goat cheese and more. Their antipasti section includes excellent mussels with roasted garlic, white wine and parsley, and I thoroughly enjoyed the grilled wild mushroom flatbread, although it made it difficult to finish my entree since it was so hearty and delicious. The fried artichokes with lemon aioli are also a good choice of appetizer.

The fresh ricotta gnocchi was delightful. This potato flour pasta came with a satisfying, rich sauce created from walnuts, zucchini, red onion and goat cheese. Portions are ample and well-presented. Other delectable pasta courses include farfalle (bowtie pasta) with spicy sausage, chick peas, broccoli rabe, tomato and reggiano. Their mushroom ravioli comes with full-flavored wild mushrooms, prosciutto and sage in a fragrant Madeira sauce.

I can never make it past the first pasta course, but the Secondi range from roasted salmon to seared yellowfin tuna, chicken paillard and more -- for those who can eat their way through a full course of Italian bounty.

There's always room for dessert, and my dining companions and I especially enjoyed the olive oil almond cake topped with orange vanilla syrup and served with mascarpone gelato. Although the combination of olive oil and cake may be unexpected, the oil imparted a luscious taste and feel to the savory almonds. Other sweet delights to conclude your meal include a rich pumpkin cheesecake served with spiced whipped cream and creme Anglaise, a to-die for tiramisu, and more.

As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary meals for review purposes. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our Ethics Policy.