Chianti Grill

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Chianti Grill

Date: Jan 19, 2024

2050 Snelling Ave N

Roseville, MN 55113

Phone: (651) 644-2808

www.chiantigrill.com

We eat a lot of Italian and Mediterranean food. Why is easy. It’s about half the price of a steak, it comes in multitude of forms, it’s a common theme of new restaurants and let me see… We LIKE it!

If you are looking for a large Italian restaurant most people think of Olive Garden. We are not big Olive Garten fans. It’s kinda like Perkins. Stand in line and when it’s your time you are taken to one of the dozen tables your waitress is trying to keep happy.

Enter Chianti Grill. There are two locations: one in Burnsville and the one we visit a time or two a year next to HarMar mall by Snelling & 36 in Roseville. When you compare the food & drink of Olive Garden to Chianti Grill, Olive Garden seems like Chianti Light. That said there is nothing wrong with Olive Garden if you want a place to treat the family.

As part of our revisiting great restaurant theme this year we have returned to our favorite building that now houses Chianti Grill. For many years we went to the same restaurant when it was called Ground Round. Our waiters said they no longer have peanuts to throw on the floor but dare I regress.

Chianti Grill is a comfortable restaurant. If you have had a bad week you will enjoy being attended to there. Their food & wine options are up with the best.

We Started with the wine list. E had a Louis Martini Cab and I had a Justin Vineyards Noir bringing us back to when we sat on their patio in Paso. Next came out a plate of bread, olive oil & balsamic oil for dipping. E was in heaven, and yes it was a good match for our wines. That was followed by salads I had a chopped Romaine Caesar salad and E had the Small Walnut Gorgonzola salad. Like normal we tasted each other’s, and both were great.

After the salads we had hot calamari with a horseradish & marinara sauces. This is the first time we have ever had calamari when it was actually hot. It was something nice to write home about. We followed that with a Lasagna Bolognese pasta with creamy bechamel sauce entre which was unusual but very good.

The service, food, drink and atmosphere were incredible as always. And the $86 bill for such quality was just short of amazing. Yes, we will be back.