It was our 4th and last night in Paris from a 10 day Euro trip that including Amsterdam and Venice. We had enjoyed good food in both prior cities so we wanted to do it right on our last night and really enjoy our meal! After a drink in the garden of our hotel, we decided Italian was going to be the cuisine of choice. With that said we asked the door man of the hotel for a recommendation for an Italian restaurant and almost without hesitation he immediately replied "Oooohhhh... Ozio!". His excitement kind of sold me, he must have really enjoyed his meal there, lol.
The restaurant happened to sit right around the corner from our hotel (Renaissance Trocadero). It had a very local feel and was very busy. When we first arrived there were no tables available but we were quickly greeted by a bartender offering us a drink and the host explaining that it would be a short 10 minute wait for our table of two. We ordered a round of drinks and went to stand outside as it was tight and stuffy in the entrance due to how busy it was. The owner (I believe), quickly came out to grab us in less than 5 minutes and had an outside table ready for us which is just what we wanted. Our server struggled to speak English but did his best and even joked his way through things which was good and made us feel welcomed. I started off with a calzone that had ham and egg in it, I believe it was call the "tradizionale". Very, very tasty yet light in comparison to the calzones I'm used to at home. My GF ordered the Risotto which came with prawns in a nice light red sauce that was very flavorful. I ordered the tri color pasta for my entrée which included penne in marinara sauce with pieces of eggplant, ravioli's in pesto sauce and ravioli's in a light cream sauce.
You can tell the pasta and ravioli were freshly made in house and were cooked perfectly al dente. The red sauce was not that impressive at all but the pesto and cream sauces were definitely flavorful and made the dish. The bread served on the table was also fresh and made for the perfect dipping bread to finish up the remainder of the sauce! I was pleased to see I did not have to order a Bacardi and coke light only to have them served separately and charged separately. I noticed some places offer it as a premixed drink on the menu only they label it "cuba libre" which Bacardi, coke and lime is known as almost universally.
Overall the host was very welcoming, prompt and hospitable which made us want to come in. Once we were there the staff made you feel at home and the service was always on point. The food was amazing with the exception of the sauce on the penne. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone that is on this side of town. It's worth mentioning a few tables next to us ordered pizza and it looked incredible!
Definitely worth a visit! read more