Bella Notte by Piatti Italian Bistro & Bar

My latest discovery has me dreaming about bread. Dreaming about Truffle Salt. Dreaming about ... okay I’ll just be honest, I’m dreaming about an entire menu, people.

A menu so concise with spot on flavor profiles done in the most simplistic of ways, it has me going to sleep still thinking about it. 

Piatti Italian Bistro & Bar, a presentation of the Il Panificio Family Group, has brought honor to Italian cuisine in Gulf Gate. Piatti proves to be the next progressional step for the Il Panificio Family, adding a chic neon glow to the romantic space just next door.

Piatti, aesthetically, is this modern world of electric blues, hand-blown glass lighting, and industrial metals and exposed concrete. It’s a completely different attitude towards Italian food than what is being done on the opposite side of the wall, neither more perfect nor right than the other; merely existing in harmony and unison, the perfect brother and sister act.

My Friday night began as a two-act play; drinks at the new Piatti followed by dinner and/or shared appetizers at another spot. It literally took me walking through the door to decide that our evening needed to start and finish here. There’s something just so appetizing to the eyes when you walk in a space and instantly feel elevated. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t camp out at the most toothless of dives for a good meal, however sometimes you just want to feel ritzy, and that’s what a I feel with the girls when the hues of blue showered over us.

The quaint bar is anything but. They have nine beers on tap, extensive liquor selection, and a petite and gorgeous glassed in white vault…I mean there’s not a wrong turn to take! After some Bloody Mary Martini’s, glasses of wine, and Southern Tier IPA brews we all dove into the menu and decided to do our own tasting of sorts. We ordered some Bistro Truffle Fries, the Tuscan Wedge, 12” Chophouse Pizza, and (our ode to health) the Oreganata Freshly Baked Cod. I’m trying to choose my words wisely in an attempt to sound most lady like instead of just blurting out “EVERYTHING WAS MOUTHWATERING DELICIOUS!”  Ooops, failed attempt. The Truffle Fries are seriously the best in Sarasota, hands down. The Wedge was crisp with tasty pancetta nuggets and crumbled hunks of Gorgonzola cheese. You already know my aforementioned standing relationship with their bread, so add cheese, meat, and some vegetables and we’re basically dating without the title right now. The Cod was so refined and truly balanced; it let the fish speak which is most important.

Our modest tasting didn’t even delve halfway into Piatti’s menu. There are still beautiful pasta dishes with calms, homemade carbonara, or mussels continued with varied pollo options. Piatti is an amazing new staple put forth by a family whom is deeply invested in what they’re doing. A family that puts forth exquisite food made with Italian love all the way from New Jersey.