Cafe Italia Benefits from New Owners
By Becky Billingsley
Cafe Italia in Myrtle Beach has new owners, and they have made all the difference.
Located in the Socastee area of Myrtle Beach, it has been an Italian restaurant for about 10 years since Jimmy Pronesti (who now owns Caffe Piccolo in Pawleys Island) opened it as Bella Napoli. Three years ago local longtime restaurateurs Todd and Sharon Tavares bought it and renamed it Cafe Italia, and then in early 2010 they sold it to Jeff Johns.
Johns embellished the decor with new murals, including several by artist Nathan West featuring erotic fantasy angels. It sounds odd, but they are well done and attractive; think Michelangelo.
Johns also had a fine menu, but when owners took over in February 2011 - Tami Gordon and Terri Henson - they made Cafe Italia even better. The women increased customer service to a level that has packed the little restaurant with diners who keep coming back for great food, terrific amenities and a friendly ambiance.
The bar is at the restaurant's rear, and two televisions are tuned to whatever the customers want to watch. The wine menu contains a range of moderately priced choices.
As for the menu, while it is not extensive it is full of crowd-pleasers plus a few choice specialty dishes.
A particularly outstanding appetizer is the Stuffed Portabello Mushroom, which is filled with a crab mixture. The dish has a tiny bit of spicy after-kick that's extremely pleasant, and it goes well with Chianti. The stuffed mushroom is accompanied by a luxurious velvet-smooth sauce.
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Another winner is their Caprese with fresh tomato and mozzarella slices dribbled with sweet balsamic syrup and topped with a chiffonade of fresh basil.
House salads are perfectly portioned and served in chilled shallow glass bowls. Dressings come in wide shallow ramekins perfect for dipping your greens, and I highly recommend the house Honey Balsamic dressing. It's a rich dark brown, sticky-sweet and so addictive I sometimes call in a carry-out for a house salad just so I can have that dressing.
A few entree choices include Lasagna and Petit Filet Mignon, Spaghetti and Meatballs, Eggplant Parmesan, White Pizza with garlic cream sauce and Chicken Alfredo. All meals come with fantastic baskets of bread that are imported, par-baked, from New Jersey. The bread is crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and is served with a house blend of dipping oil containing a fresh-tasting blend of herbs and spices.
The only quibble I've had at Cafe Italia is with the Cannelloni. It is served in the long and shallow metal dish it's baked in, and by the time you get to the middle of the pasta roll it is overcooked and too dry, because the hot metal kept cooking it after the food was brought to the table. Cutting the Cannelloni was difficult because of the metal dish's restrictive edges. It would be much more user-friendly and would taste better if sauce was ladled on a plate and the Cannelloni removed from the metal dish and placed on top of the sauce.
Daily specials offer additional choices, such as Roman Grilled Lamb Chops or Rosemary-skewered Shrimp. On weekends there is laid-back live music.
My favorite part of the meal was dessert, because Gordon and Henson developed their own recipe called Pasticcini. It is a luscious comfort food where warm cheesecake pudding is topped with a crumbly cinnamon crust.
Cafe Italia is open from 4 p.m. to midnight Mondays through Saturdays, and the number is (843) 215-2493. The address is 3901 Dick Pond Rd., Myrtle Beach, in the Big Block Junction shopping center.
The new oeners are doing a great job making everyone feel right at home. HUgs are given out at the end of the meal.
I’m watching my weight and it was no problem for the chef to put together a pasta dish I suggested, shrimp with lots of FRESH veggies!
We will be regulars for sure!