Critic's Review
Piazza's Cafe is in full swing; the gimmick here is Keto Smoothies, because this is what authentic Italian cafes serve. I'm guessing they don't have very good wireless, because there were no people here and the Capital One coffee cafe across the street was half full.
Still no evidence that the fancy dining room is open yet.
The contrast between this restaurant and Caffe Europa next door was stark; I couldn't even tell if they were open for lunch at 2:10p; the outside space wasn't even open on a beautiful 81 degree day. Meanwhile, Europa had a full outside patio of customers.
Review 7/5/19
Piazza finally came up with a lunch menu, so it was time to take the plunge. I wasn't paying $24 for basic Italian food; I've been to this group's other restaurant, Casa Calabria, so I know what they're capable of. This place is a lot closer for me.
A 3 block walk in the summer in Fort Lauderdale is not unlike a sauna session; as I approached the restaurant I saw the sign touting their espresso bar; which concept was this, I thought to myself. The "Dining Experience" section of their web site doesn't work; I guess they're just hoping that people walking in 92 degree heat are craving hot coffee?
They have a "fine dining" room which STILL isn't open 5 months after opening. It's a questionable idea; the way Tuscan Prime is bombing shows that EVEN HIGHER PRICED Italian food isn't a big sell; whatever buzz they may have had in February (when the people with money to burn were still here) is gone now.
With 1 table occupied in the dining room and a spattering of day drinking ladies at the bar, the hostess let me pick out a table of my choice. The side tables aren't really booths here, so I selected a back corner, next to the fountain/statue. It turned out to be a mistake, as I found the constant plunking of the water to be highly annoying.
You won't recognize this place from the original Mangos or the Disco Mangos; it's a big room with no separate bar area; I suspect that it's pretty loud when there are actually people here.
Mangos had a center stage where live bands played nightly; here they have a piano in the corner. Pianos are kind of 1960s stuff; they're clearly not going after the younger crowd here.
The big "thing" is the ceiling, which today was curious and boring. Huge palm leaves waving; it seemed to me it was more interesting the last time I was here. This just looked like a bad, low resolution gif.
I ordered an Iced Tea while reviewing the lunch menu to make sure it was the same as the one I saw online. They have a water service here; my server didn't indicate if it was free or it would cost me $7 for tap water, so I passed initially.
There's virtually nothing on the menu I wanted to order; so many of the recipes were just wrong in an apparent attempt to be edgy. Grilled Italian wedge; "Baccala" with fresh cod? The description of the Bistecca Toscana (Steak Florentine?) didn't encourage me. Salmon with cheese sauce? So I took the safe choice and ordered the Chicken Parm. I usually opt for Eggplant Parm in this situation (as it's more difficult to make myself), but they don't have it on the lunch menu.
Bread was brought out 5 minutes later; it comes with tomato sauce but I asked for olive oil as well. The bread was toasted after slicing, which was unusual. I don't know what to call the sauce; it wasn't a marinara nor was it pizza sauce. The bread was quite good, with an edible crust; much better with the olive oil than the overbearing sauce. Sauce is more for bad bread.
Music is predictably Italiano; with "Volare", "Marina" and "C'est Venice" detected.
The entree came out 10 minutes later.
A decent portion, with inexplicable piles of basil chiffonade on the pasta and in the corner of the plate. I assume it was basil; it was quickly removed. I like to combine the pasta and the meat; pasta isn't a side dish for me. The chicken always seems overdone at a restaurant; they alway dry out the chicken to melt the cheese. I have a better method; but it's a secret.
The sauce was a neon red color that I've never encountered before; the sauce wasn't bad but lacked a depth of flavor; a bit pungent; I'm a garlic and onions guy; this reminded me of Tedesco's a bit.
About halfway through I needed some water; I guess you don't get the water if you order a beverage. Definitely better than plain tap water.
I polished off the chicken, leaving half of the pasta, and asked for my check. No refill on the iced tea.
Conclusion
This place is the result of a bunch of old guys creating a restaurant that their Italian friends would like; not something that appeals to the general public. The old-word Italian ambiance; the idea of white glove service; these are things not in demand in a town where cretins pack into American Social. YOLO and Louis Bossi's.
You'll almost never see me order Chicken Parm in a fancy restaurant, mainly because it's simply not worth the price. Cut the cutlet in half and slap it on a hoagie and it's $8.95; so why is it $16 on a plate? It's also my go to quick dinner at home; it's so easy to make something so much better than this.
That being said, the dish was perfectly fine and service a lot better than the incompetent fool that served me at their other restaurant. I find the restaurant cold and not particularly comfortable; and the menu doesn't interest me, so I'll likely not be coming here again.
Previous Musings
Piazza opened yesterday, and I stopped in with the thought of possibly grabbing a bite. Without knowing the menu before going; it was a shot in the dark. I ended up leaving without ordering anything. They had a menu on the front door; what I saw was an absurdly priced, typical Italian menu; $1 worth of food for $18 (Rigatoni with tomato sauce) and $3 worth of food for $24. (Chicken Parm). $14 for a caesar salad or a bowl of pasta e fagioli. Ridiculous. No lunch menu.
But the prices aren't what kept me from sitting down. It was the dining room. Better than Mango's Disco, but still pretty creepy.
I didn't think they'd seat me at the fancy booths behind the pillars, and I didn't want to sit in the middle of the room. I also didn't think the bar looked very comfortable.
They've split the room and there's another creepy room that's yet to open that will be their "fine dining" restaurant, where the cost/price ratio will probably be closer to 12x.
The bar area is dark and the smallish 2012-style TVs are high on the wall, as if they're there just to be there but they didn't really want TVs. Outside is also a bit weird; there's 1 table and a bunch of bar seating that faces las olas; so you can feel like you're eating at a bar, but you're really not.
I was engaged by 2 employees that were very friendly and helpful. I didn't really want a drink and I was wary to try one of their small plates. I figured if I had to pay dinner prices maybe I'd try coming back in the evening. Or Maybe Not.
Conclusion
The owners of this place also run Casa Calabria, a place where I once had a terrible bowl of pasta. The same dish is $6 more here. We now have so many Italian restaurants on Las Olas it's downright laughable: Luigi's, Luigi's Tuscan, Bossi's, Caffe Europa, Noodles Panani, This place, Timpano with Talento and Tuscan Prime opening in the Spring. The one's I've tried all suck. There's so many places to get a $25 chicken parm.
The chances that this place has tomato sauce better than I can whip up in 10 minutes is ZERO percent, so there's nothing that excites me about this. After a really bad experience in their other restaurant I have low expectations all around.
Previous Musings
2 years ago, a couple of dudes got the idea to open a south beach style restaurant/club on Las Olas and it flopped immediately; anyone who actually lives here could have predicted it at the concept stages. One of the partners is trying again; taking on the guys behind Casa Calabria and the defunct Tokyo Blue. Tokyo Blue was a joke and I wasn't impressed with Casa Calabria; they're both hotel restaurant that don't have to try hard to get the captive audience hotel guests.
They call the concept a "Town Square"; the restaurant will be split into 3 distinct sections with different ambiances; a clubby space in the front with small plates and live music (The Club), a patio with a fountain in the rear and a formal dining room only open for Dinner.
They want to make you feel like you're in Italy; when have we heard that before?
When is someone going to try to open a restaurant that doesn't have bad, overpriced food? I don't want to go to Italy.
This idea of course is better than Caffe Europa next door and Louis Bossi down the block and Tuscan Grill Across from Bossi's and the new Tuscan Prime opening in the Grille 401 space.
One big problem is that people don't use tips to reward and punish; they've been brainwashed into thinking that they have to give the same tip no matter the service. So the cretins these places have serving never learn (or just don't care). If a server presents you with a bill with an obvious overcharge they deserve to be stiffed entirely.
Perfect!!