North Italia - Officially Opens 6/27!

I'm sooooo very excited that North Italia at Legacy West Plano is officially opening tomorrow!!! Tuesday 6/27. Have you made your reservation yet?!

I went to the Austin location about 2 years ago and absolutely loved it. From the decor to the food. It was very exciting to have North come to Dallas. :) I got a sneak peek last Thursday with a friend of mine. We were both basically squealing with excitement. hehe.

North Italia - Legacy West
7501 Windrose Ave. Suite D190
Plano, TX 75024
(214) 291-6996
www.northitaliarestaurant.com/nso/plano-tx
Price: $$$$

We arrived at 6:15PM for dinner. The place was already packed with people. We were seated immediately. I love the open space... high ceilings and wood decor. I especially love their large glass lamps. We sat in one of the booths. We were given menus and were warmly welcomed for like the third time and ready to enjoy our evening. Our waitress, Kariel, greeted us and asked for our drink orders. We asked her for some suggestions and she was very helpful. This is the first of their friends and family nights so the staff is still in training. 

Neither of us really drank so my friend got the Strawberry Spice Mule (dripping springs vodka, clove spiced gran gala, lime, smashed strawberry) $11~ 

It was recommended as one of the sweeter options. I just took a sip cuz that's enough for me. haha. The drink is very pretty. I loved the actual muddled strawberry throughout the drink. It's very refreshing too. My friend really enjoyed it.

For our appetizer, we chose the Burrata (heirloom tomato, basil, mint, cucumber, crouton, saba) $12~ 

We had several items that we wanted to try... so I guess we'll be going back. haha. The burrata was gorgeous! I loved the presentation... rustic and colorful. The burrata was to die for. So incredibly creamy yet light. The tomatoes were fresh and paired beautifully. I also loved the freshness of the mint and basil. The saba (I think it's kind of a balsamic reduction/vinaigrette) was delicious. They didn't overdress it. My friend wanted more saba, but I thought it was just right.

During the course of our meal, we were greeted by several people. Bianka from Giant Noise PR came over to say Hi. So did Meredith, the general manager, and England, the manager. They were all SUPER nice and we got to chat with each of them for a while. They really took the time to make sure we were enjoying ourselves throughout the night and made us feel welcomed. :)

For the entrees, they mixed up my order and served me the Red Wine Glazed Short Rib (heirloom carrot, swiss chard, creamy mascarpone polenta) $26~ 

I had ordered the short rib pasta. So they quickly fixed the issue and gave us the Short Rib entree as well! Well, yes please! I never say no to extra food! :P The short rib doesn't really photograph well but I assure you it smelled divine! That mascarpone polenta was so luscious. I can eat that by itself. The short rib was tender and had great flavor. I also like that there were actual green veggies (swiss chard) in the dish. I always prefer to have some sort of green vegetables at every meal.

Short Rib Radiatori (parmesan cream, fresh horseradish, wilted arugula, herbed breadcrumb) $20~ 

My actual order. Amazing. It was my favorite entree of the night. I love interesting pasta shapes. The Radiatori was perfect in collecting all the cream sauce in all its nooks and crannies. And the texture on the pasta was perfect. The short rib in the pasta was even more tender than the entree I think. The addition of the horseradish was a nice touch. It brightened up the cream sauce so it wasn't too heavy. Totally recommend this!

My friend chose the Filet of Beef (crispy potato, roasted mushroom, cipollini onion, marsala) $38~ 

She got it medium well... booo. I think all steaks should be med rare. hehe. But you know what... even at med well, the steak was really tender and the flavor of the meat really shined. The marsala sauce paired beautifully with the beef, mushrooms, and onions. And those crispy smashed potatoes? They almost out shined the steak. Another great choice.

Diver Scallops (sweet corn risotto, asparagus, crispy shallot, pancetta gremolata) $25~ 

We also really wanted to try the scallops so we talked them into giving us another entree. :P (Although I have to say, we ordered this 3rd dish before we got the short rib... too much food you think? Nahhh. ha.) Beautiful vibrant colors on this dish. And you get FOUR plump scallops instead of the typical 3. We both liked it. The scallops were cooked wonderfully. But I have 2 complaints on this dish. 1) It needed a bit more acid... a squeeze of lemon maybe? or some lemon juice inside the sweet corn sauce. And 2) more sear on the scallops so the tops are crispier. Other than that, it was still a yummy dish.

We each got a box for our leftovers, because we need to save room for dessert! Duh!

Dirty Almond Chai (two shots espresso, almond milk, chai tea; shaken and served cold) $5~ This drink sounded really interesting. I don't really drink coffee but I wanted to give it a try. My friend can't handle the caffeine that late in the day so she just got a "clean" Almond Chai (without the 2 shots of espresso). Hers was delicious. Mine... wasn't sweet enough for me since I'm not a coffee drinker. But I do love that it's served cold. It almost tastes like a cold brew (according to my friend anyways).

We couldn't decide so we got 2 desserts. Cuz why not? :D

Hazelnut Torta (nutella cream, hazelnut toffee, salted caramel gelato) $8~ 

I can't say I've seen tortas served in this shape... it made me think of a molten chocolate cake. But it wasn't molten inside of course. Torta basically means a dense and chocolatey rich cake made with a few simple ingredients. The torta wasn't super dense which I would've been fine with either way. The salted caramel gelato was great on top. The toffee added a nice crunch. This'll definitely satisfy your sweet tooth.

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart (lemon crema, basil, almond crust) $7~ 

This could not be more different than the torta. This was light and fresh. The tart itself reminded me of a shortbread and wasn't overly sweet. The mascarpone added the richness but wasn't heavy. And the basil was the most genius touch. We both agreed that without the pop of basil, this dessert would be kind of generic. The brightness of the basil definitely elevated the dish. Yum!

If you can't tell... we loved it. We both had pretty high expectations going in and they definitely didn't disappoint. The food was fantastic, but I really enjoyed meeting all the people in the restaurant. We lingered a little after dinner and chatted with England and Kariel. They're both so great! I hope they'll remember us the next time we go back. :)

They officially open to the public TOMORROW!! Tuesday 6/27!!

Thanks so much to North Italia for having us. Even though I live 50 minutes away, I hope to be back really soon. :)

*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~