I think this is the first time I've reviewed a restaurant in the Boston area that does not have its own website. For me, this makes my experience at Alfresco all the more charming.
Before checking out the Alloy Orchestra doing its thing at the Somerville Theatre (the Orchestra is currently rocking to Man With A Movie Camera and the event was all sorts of awesome), Pete and I wanted to get a bite to eat. As ever, I hit up Yelp for suggestions. I couldn't think of many tasty, "nice" places to hit in the Davis Square area, and so wasn't entirely shocked to see that only a few establishments ranked 4 out of 5 stars -- and some of those were not actually restaurants.
I did find Alfresco listed within the first page of hits, however, and was intrigued by the reviewer comments. Most appeared to have stumbled upon the tiny place by accident, nestled just far enough out of the hub of Davis Square. Pete had never heard of the place (which I always consider a small achievement when choosing a restaurant), so we strolled a few blocks up Highland Street from the T.
Alfresco sits roughly 20 bodies and was about half full when we arrived. We were immediately greeted with what appeared to be a sincere welcome from the hostess, who asked us to sit wherever we liked. We opted for the petite bar, and were subsequently presented with menus and a smile from the owner, who was propped against the opposite side. A mediocre mid-priced bottle of wine ("a very good choice") was ordered while we perused the offerings. The menu has a significant selection of fish options, but also straight-up traditional pasta and protein dishes.
I immediately felt cozy at the bar, gazing around at the dark wood and tiny white lights that made up the bulk of the decor. After we ordered, a basket of bread, a plate of oil and a plate of some spicy tomato chutney appeared, which we nibbled at while we waited for our appetizer to appear. In not much time at all, the sauteed kalamari arrived, slathered in the house marinara. The kalamari was tender enough, but the star was certainly the marinara, which was bright in both flavor and color. I sopped it up with hunks of the spongy bread.
Not long after we devoured the appetizer, our main entrees appeared. Pete ordered the chicken marsala, which was nestled atop a bed of linguine. A simple dish, but tasty. I ordered the risotto with mushroom and prosciutto, which was insane. It was excellent. Lighter and less creamy than I normally think of risotto, but flavorful -- the woodsy unami of the mushrooms was countered with the salty prosciutto and green slices of nicely al dente zucchini. And there was a lot of it. I tried to leave a portion on my plate, but the (perfectly) leisurely pace of the waitstaff meant that I had plenty of time to return for another forkful. And another. Alas!
I'm sure the wine was helping (and the mood lighting, and being able to snuggle up next to Pete since we were side-by-side at the bar), but I kept thinking what a lovely little place this is to share a meal. More patrons arrived as we ate, but the mellow vibe of the restaurant remained. After paying the bill, the owner thanked us and perfunctorily implored us to come again. Pete, as if responding to a challenge, declared, "Oh, we'll be back!" I hope we will.
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