GUSTO DIVINO TRATTORIA 24 DEC 2021

 

This year, Christmas Eve dinner was just the two of us, so we opted to go out to Gusto Divino Trattoria in Seaford.  For the holidays, they had a $70 preset menu (Figure 1).  The service was excellent, and the meal was fine, with a few minor suggestions for improvement to reach five stars.  Unfortunately, they did not have Woodford reserve for the cocktails, settling for Bullet bourbon instead.  The starters were Fried Zucchini and Baked Clams.  The Zucchini (Figure 2) is coated with a light batter, fried to a golden brown, and accompanied with a Marinara sauce.  The Baked Clams (Figure 3) was very flavorful and tender, but only four small clams limited sharing.  The mains are far more exciting.  Jo had the Lobster Ravioli (Figure 4), a generous portion, large-sized ravioli well stuffed and plated with a delicious pink sauce.  The other main was the grille lamb chops over a bed of Broccoli rabe ($10 upcharge, Figure 5).  The four chops were good-sized, seasoned, and grilled to a perfect medium-rare.  The Broccoli Rabe bed was sautéed in garlic and oils just enough to be fully cooked but retain a nice crispness.  We concluded the meal with Chocolate Sorbet and Cannoli.  One last comment was the billing surprise; they added a 3.5% charge to cover the credit card without a heads up.  Yes, it is becoming common practice but generally not at restaurants that we revisit.  Restaurants should charge what they deem appropriate for the service and not provide a bill with the itemization complexity of a cell phone invoice. 

1 - HOLIDAY MENU

2 - FRIED ZUCCHINI

3 - BAKED CLAMS

4 - LOBSTER RAVIOLI

5 - GRILLED LAMB CHOPS & BROCCOLI RABE