Every time AL's birthday rolls around, I have to remind myself to wear stretchy pants since I know we'll be going for Italian food. Nothing gets the party (or food coma) started quite like pasta.
Since we like to try a different restaurant each time our group meets, lots of different Italian options were thrown around. Meeting on a Monday wasn't ideal since our first restaurant choice was closed. We eventually settled on Allegro Italian Kitchen, which actually has three locations around the city. Downtown, Little Italy, and Parkview, which is where we went. I'm assuming all three locations are affiliated with each other, but it seems as if each restaurant sports a slightly different menu.
I called just the day before to make a reservation and they were able to accommodate our party of four. Granted it was a Monday and we didn't expect it to be too busy. However, I would keep in mind that the restaurant is quite small so a reservation is probably best. Surprisingly, we weren't the only ones celebrating a birthday, with two other tables also dining in for a special occasion.
KN was the only one to order a starter, that being the aragini di roso ($16.00). Fried risotto balls with a bocconcini centre, served over a bed of marinara sauce. The dish took some time to come out, but our server acknowledged the wait and noted that the arancini usually takes a while to make. Although I didn't try any, the molten mozzarella centre looked amazing and I can appreciate the fact that the dish is made fresh.
AL and SC ordered different pasta dishes but they ended up looking quite similar. SC ordered the penne con asparaci ($25.00), pictured at the front, with penne pasta, chicken, asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, and roma tomatoes in a white wine cream sauce. AL had the rigatoni primavera ($28.00) with fresh vegetables, chicken, and garlic, also in a white wine cream sauce but you have a choice of marinara as well. The dish also typically comes with prawns but AL asked for them to be left out so the kitchen gave extra chicken to compensate. Portions were extremely generous, with AL and SC packing half of their dishes home.
For her main, KN ordered the fettucini con salmone ($26.00), egg fettuccini with fresh salmon, smoked salmon, cream and pernod. This came highly recommended from our server after KN was having trouble deciding between two dishes.
When our server found out we were celebrating a birthday, he brought out a complimentary cheesecake at the end of the meal. Garnished with raspberry sauce, berries, and whipped cream, the cheesecake also came out with a lit candle and a song. It's the little things that make your guests feel special and the gesture was certainly appreciated. Although everyone confessed that they're not normally cheesecake fans, we all liked this version as it was not too dense.
All in all, pretty good pasta in the west end, which surprisingly has a high concentration of Italian restaurants. Hopefully they fill the void left behind with the closure of Piccolino's down the street. Sans cockroach.
Allegro Italian Kitchen (West)
9650 - 142 ST
Edmonton, AB
(780) 451-6671
- CT
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