gabriella's

i still think about it. i went to thisrestaurantmaybe 5 years ago, and i still think about the veal ravioli that i ordered. i have nothing but good memories from that restaurant. you can order a caesar salad finger-food style, for pete's sake! hope to go back one day :)

first and last visit.... i was in pursuit of one of my favorite italian desserts (semifreddo) and after reading the many great comments on severalrestaurantreviews forums about this venue, we decided to have dinner at pelagia last week. unfortunately, an underwhelming experience from the lack of luster in service delivery and timeliness to the almost hit and mostly miss in the quality of food overall. we shared the beef carpaccio for an appetizer and were happy with that - the caponata and fennel were a graceful compliment to the tender meat. the gnocchi with wild boar ragu and homemade ricotta sounded like a delicious choice but the execution was far from what this dish should be: the gnocchi were way too soft (probably overcooked) and the ragu had no flavor. we ended up enjoying just one of the entrees: risotto and scallops which was one of the specials for the day. the dessert that i was so much looking forward to, the semifreddo, was disappointing: served as a duo of blueberry pomegranate and chocolate mint with a drunken berry salad. if there was one time to say no to dessert this should have been it, this was supposed to be a delicate piece of heaven yet i'd like to think that heaven doesn't taste like chalk. we also tried the limoncello creme brulee, helas the creme lacked the softness, lightness and creaminess that this dessert should feature. the wine list at therestaurantis much abbreviated as compared to the website, wine by the glass offerings are limited to just a few choices.

dinner was good. pelagia is located in the renaissance hotel at international plaza. therestauranthas a spacious feeling with its high ceiling and modern bright colors. we stopped in for dinner. the service was perfect. it was not very busy.

the meal began with an uninspired basket of bread and breadsticks, a basket make much better with its companion of a generous amount of olive spread. next up for me was a caesar salad. the leaves were torn too small and it could have used more garlic, but a good dressing with a distinctive lemon kick made it a very good salad. my entrée was the crispy pan-seared chicken breast. the goat cheese mashed potatoes stole the show on my plate. that is a side worth trying to duplicate. the chicken was crispy and moist. my dinner companions both got a red snapper daily special which they liked but did not love. all in all the dinner was good but a little expensive.

absolutely terrific. four of us went to pelagia to celebrate a birthday on sunday, 9/4/11. two of us had been several times but the other two (including the birthday boy) had never been. as always, our experience was terrific. our server was brooke who is one of the best servers i've ever had. the food was incredible with one exceptions. one diner ordered the pork and thought it was too salty. brooke took it back immediately (and took it off the check) and brought the diner another choice - risotto of the day and it was perfect.

thisrestaurantis never busy when i'm there and that's a real shame. i believe it's because it is therestaurantfor the renaissance hotel at international plaza and too many people think a hotelrestaurantis a lousy place to eat. typically...i agree with them...but this is the exception to the rule! if you haven't tried it....make sure you add it to your list of restaurants to try.

mediterranean made. pelagia trattoria takes classic mediterranean flavors and combines them into tasty, if not somewhat redundant dishes. for instance, there are no surprsies on the menu - items that will leave you marveling at the creativity of the chef. there are your typical crostinis and flatbreads intertwined with the risottos and filets. don't get me wrong - the food is solidly good made in a fresh, simple manner with a few quality ingredients.
the decor is fun and colorful and you can easily believe you are in some sun-drenched greek isle while sitting there, sipping the home-made grappas - the pear flavored one tastes like a sweet brandy while the strawberry-lemon flavored is clean with a citrus bite.
all in all, a goodrestaurantwhose ambiance is more inviting and daring than the actual dishes themselves. this ia the type of restuarant where i would go for a few after-work drinks and snack on the appetizers.

okay...so i should know better by now than to get overly excited by a hotelrestaurantmenu, but pelagia trattoria's reeled me in. this was in no way a poor experience...it just wasn't all that memorable for $165 a couple with a few glasses of lower-end wine before tip. therestaurantitself is visually quite attractive: the bread basket was pretty, but cold. no butter or olive oil came with...only a black olive tapenade (which was fine...nothing more). we started with crunchy stuffed olives with three mea

difficult and disappointed. thisrestaurantcame highly recommended, so i was excited to celebrate my birthday there with my husband and another couple. the excitment changed to disappointment. reservations were at 6pm. upon arrival, the restaurants was almost empty. we were shown to our table, the first upon entering the restaurant, a high traffic area, in front of the kitchen. when we asked to move, the hostess clearly did not want to accomodate us saying they had people with reservations. well, gee, we had reservations too!?! she relented and we chose a table in the back of the restaurant. the furnishings are colorfully rich and a joy to experience. we were waited on by the bartender who made a good cosmo cocktail, and let me sample a wine before i decided. when ordering, she felt it necessary to correct my pronounciation of haricot verts and then ask me if i knew what they were! i ordered the caesar fondue and was dissapointed by focaccia, cold leaves of romain, and slices of parmigiano-reggiano standing stacked one on top of the other, served with dipping sauce. the bartender told me to pick them up, make a wrap, and dip them in the sauce. my review of this plate: gimmick. we ordered the pan seared sea scallops. they were large and tenderly cooked. each plate had five scallops and a tasty, smooth, well seasoned cannellini bean ragout. although i wanted pasta as my main course, i didn't find anything that interested me with only five selection on the menu. my husband asked the bartender for a simple linquini, spinich and garlic pasta. the bartender told him several times they had no spahgetti or linguini in the kitchen. my husband asked her go to the chef to see if he could be accomodated. she returned saying they did have linguini. he was served a plate he enjoyed and it was made just as he requested! it scored big points with him (and me) because he is often dissapointed when a kitchen garnishes what he asks for. after serving us one drink, no one asked if we wanted another. in fact, the bartender kind of disappeared (we assume to take care fo the bar as the restarant became full) and we were "taken care" of by several employees. in the end, we were served by a gentleman. i asked about the grappa. he gave a brief description and saying it was like italian moonshine. when i asked him what flavors he had, he stepped over to the rack, and started reading them off. i could barley hear him, so i chose the first one i could hear. we finished with tiramisu and pistachio gelato. the gelato was heaven. heaven. i also have to give kudos to the haricot verts that i have ordered all over the world. they were very flavorful, cooked to perfection and a real delight. although there were some hits, there were several misses. we will not be returning.