Don’t you just love it when the sister restaurant of a major downtown venue opens up in the suburbs? Owner Steve DiFillipo of Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse must have had us in mind when he recently opened Davio’s Cucina in Chestnut Hill.
Located in the Showcase SuperLux complex at The Street — a newly created shopping, dining and entertainment center in Chestnut Hill — Davio’s Cucina offers many of the same menu items as its downtown location, including their infamous spring rolls that we have come to know and love. Even the décor is reminiscent of its Boston sibling with soaring ceilings, wall of windows, massive columns and open kitchen.
If you are looking for a great buy, don’t miss the selection of SFIZIor “little tastes,” which include everything from steamed mussels with grainy mustard and tarragon cream to a spicy ricotta crostini. Our friendly server greeted us and we were quickly presented with some addicting onion foccacia with a side of flavorful lemon and chive ricotta.
We recommend getting started with a nice light salad of Mozzarella di Bufala, green tomatoes, basil and aged balsamic before moving onto a generous portion of tuna tartare with a side of crispy wontons, cucumber and ginger.
All of the pastas are made in-house so we had to try the Tagliatelle Bolognese, a heavenly and rich combination of braised veal, beef and pork in a savory tomato sauce. Steaks are the name of the game there and take the various forms of a prime skirt steak, an 18-ounce porterhouse veal chop, 12-ounce center cut filet mignon and burgers.
Pair a bottle of 2009 Burgess Vineyards Cabernet with a juicy, well-marbled 16-ounce aged ribeye. The incredibly tender steaks are served à la carte but there is a nice assortment of sides to complement, including an enormous baked potato topped with crème fraiche and spinaci alla romana. Finish it all off with a sampling of sweet macaroons with chocolate drizzle or hazelnut ice cream. We're calling it now, we're sure this is going to be a restaurant we return to month-after-month.
