Inizio

My husband and I have found our new happy spot for fantastic Italian food. It's not just the amazing food that sets this cozy, yet classic and romantic restaurant far above the rest....No... the service can't be beat, from the moment you walk in the door they make you feel special, it's the best way I can describe it. Everyone works together in a seemless way making your evening as memorable as your meal. You will never feel rushed, no matter the amount of courses you order, and the servers have an almost psychic like ability to know exactly when to be at the table.

We luckily secured two seats at the bar at this bustling buffalo restaurant. Our server started the experience with pouring us a coupe of Prosecco. We then moved on to some really strong and inventive cocktails. All of their pasta is made it house. It is as good as what you would eat in Italy!! Cannot wait to come back.

Service was excellent, started off with a complimentary prosecco. We ordered bread and butter as appetizer. The bread was homemade and was out of this world. Crispy on the outside and soft like a cloud on the inside. I ordered the bolognese pasta. The dish was flavorful but the portion was really small considering the price. I wanted to like it but I guess the price didn't justify what was on the table.

First thing to note, the food is delicious here. Know that you're going to a very small, expensive Italian joint, and it's quite good! I'd prefer to go to this place on a double date or with a group of four. Why? Salads and appetizers are purchased on a large scale; it's too much for one person but enough to share around. This goes for other items like bread, which does not come with any meal so just be aware! Wine is a focus here but they do serve some local beers. When we went they were serving Big Ditch's Excavator brown ale, which I've never seen on tap anywhere, so that was kind of cool. There was a few other choices but nothing like the wine options they give you. I'm not a wine dude, but I saw several parties enjoying some bottles. Overall I think it's a great little place that you absolutely have to make reservations WAY ahead of time. If you're looking for a casual night out, this ain't the place, but if you're celebrating something meaningful with a small group, this is a memorable place to hit.

Inizio does a lot well. Their apps and deserts are memorable and were the most enjoyable part of the meal, in my opinion. The carpaccio was high quality, perfectly chilled, and the emulsion and crouton on top was a nice addition to an already very satisfying dish. Our friends got asparagus and broccolini and enjoyed both, but I think the entire table agreed that the poached asparagus and yellow potatoes with gribiche sauce was the clear winner. The flavors were reminiscent of an elevated potato salad, and I mean that in the best way possible. Get the country pan bread and butter. It had the perfect salty crust with a pillowy inside. I'd come back for this bread alone. Among the four of us, we got the cacio e pepe, shrimp pesto, and vodka pasta. In each, the pasta was well executed but the dishes all felt to be lacking an ingredient or two. The cacio e pepe was creamy and the pasta the perfect texture, but it was oversalted given that the cheese brings its own salty bite. Some lemon to cut the richness would have been great. I truthfully only had a bite of the vodka pasta, which was enjoyable so not much to report there. The shrimp pesto was good but for $28 the quality and size of shrimp was underwhelming. When I think shrimp pesto, I think a few large sauteed shrimp instead we got extra small shrimp (61/70 count) that were hard to find in an otherwise yummy dish. This would have been perfectly fine if the dish wasn't $28. A number of reviewers seem to think dishes are too small; that was not my experience. Each main and app was well plated and appropriately sized with the exception of the missing shrimp. Lastly, the desserts are a must. The panna cotta and the mini almond cake are delightful. The peach preserves with the almond cake paired so well with the salty brown butter ice cream. My only complaint... I wanted more. Will I be back? Absolutely, but largely because the apps and desserts were so enjoyable.

I came here for a double date with friends on a Wednesday evening. I was immediately surprised by how crowded it was and I was thankful we made a reservation ahead of time! It took a little longer than expected to be seated but they made up for it by offering us complimentary sparkling water and a small glass of Prosecco for each of us. We ordered zucca ripieni and polenta & merguez from the small plates menu and both items were delicious. For our second course, everyone ordered a different home made pasta and we were all blown away by the flavors as well as the consistency of the pasta. My personal favorite was the cacio e pepe. The service was excellent and the atmosphere was very comfortable. Highly recommend!