Tucci and Fresta's

Pasta House owners have opened a new Italian restaurant called Tucci and Fresa's, now located in the old Portabello's in downtown Clayton.

After hearing good reviews from a couple of people, I forced some co-workers to go try it out for lunch one day.  (yes... I had to force them since hearing the words "Pasta House" made it sound less appealing)

The lunch menu looked really good, with everything from salads, soups, to flatbreads and sandwiches, to pasta and meat entrees, and all at a pretty good price.  The dinner menu looked very similar to the lunch menu, with a few additions, but the prices were about twice as much as the lunch!  I hope they get twice as big portions then!

I started out with their house salad, which to my disappointment, wasn't at all like the famous Pasta House salad!  It was good, but I kinda expected the salad to be drenched in that yummy Pasta House dressing! (pretty much the only good thing about Pasta House).

For my entree I tried their Tortellini con Salsiccia, their trattoria specialty.  The portion was very generous, but nothing I couldn't take down.  Very good overall, especially the meaty sauce.  I definitely recommend it!

Tortellini con Salsiccia

The sandwiches looked good too!  The top choice, the Chicken Portobello Sandwich, which is a grilled chicken breast with sauteed mushrooms and fresh mozzarella.  Yum Yum!

Chicken Portobello Sandwich

The service was really nice too.  The waiters were very friendly and since the restaurant was new, were very attentive and asking our opinions about what we thought.  The only mishap was they messed up some of the prices on our check, but they cleared it up no problem.  Overall, no need to avoid Tucci and Fresta's if you are afraid of the Pasta House, because there are no similarities between the two.  It truly is a great Italian addition to Clayton for all of us who have become sick of eating at Cafe Napoli.