Ciao
2 Hickory Hollow Lane
Ithaca NY 14850
607-257-2233

Italian restaurants sometimes seem like a dime a dozen, especially in a town like Ithaca. However, a good Italian restaurant with exceptional prices in Ithaca is a true gem. In comparison to a lot of other cuisines, going out for Italian food has never “knocked our socks off” – in terms of complexity of flavors, we’re usually able to make it best at home! With that mentality, we didn’t have high expectations about Ciao, but we decided to try it.

Ciao is an Italian restaurant owned by the proprietors of Boatyard Grill, another popular Ithaca restaurant. They serve wood fired pizzas and pastas with some “Tuscan flair.” The ambiance and decor is very similar to an Olive Garden, or any other Italian franchise with a full bar with TVs and dimly lit tables. Despite it being a Saturday night and us having no reservations, we were seated immediately in a large booth for two. It was a good thing because we were starving. Before you imagine that Ciao is empty (it actually was buzzing and had a good crowd), let me say that the restaurant is quite expansive with not only a drink bar with TVs but a pizza bar to seat at least 12. The overall ambiance is casual (in spite of the dim lighting), and the restaurant was filled with large families. Still, the setting is nice enough to make this a good pick for a casual date or dinner with close friends.

Hungry as can be, we started by gobbling up the fresh bread that came out first. It was warm and soft, and real Italian bread – we appreciated the attention to staying authentic Italian rather than simply throwing out baguette. The bread was served with olive oil with some pickled garlic and chilies that were tasty.

We quickly also ordered the arancini for an appetizer. Within a few minutes, out came 3 large balls of breaded and fried risotto stuffed with mozzarella in a bed of marinara and pesto sauce (see the title photo above). These were delectable – crispy on the outside, piping hot with gooey mozzarella cheese in the middle. We really enjoyed these, and we were tempted to order another round of arancini, but eventually we decided to wait for our two entrees to arrive.

Our first order was a cordon bleu pizza from the wood-fired oven. We received a sizable pizza for two that was topped with cubes of grilled chicken, prosciutto, Alfredo sauce, and 3 cheeses: asiago, Gorgonzola and mozzarella The crust was not too dry and had patches of char from the brick oven. The Alfredo was excellent, but we got some extra flavoring by dipping the crust in the sweet marinara and pesto sauce that was left from the arancini. Given the amount of meat and cheese, this 11-inch pizza could certainly fill you up.

We also shared the rigatoni scarpiello with spicy sausage, chicken, red peppers in a pomodoro sauce. To our surprise, the sausage and sauce packed a lot of heat (not scorch our tongues, but some who are very sensitive to spice might find this hot). The heat was balanced with the sweetness of tomatoes in the pomodoro sauce and peppers. The dish was well-seasoned and sauced, and was very much in line with what you might expect from a red-sauce pasta at a good Italian place.

In hindsight, it was a good idea we didn’t order a second round of arancini because we were full at the end of the meal. The portion sizes were large and probably enough to feed another hungry person. Overall, we enjoyed Ciao a great deal, more than we expected and we highly recommend that you check it out. Their portion sizes and the casual atmosphere make Ciao an excellent place for large parties or family-style dining.

Taste:

Siddharth: 9/10 (excellent)

All the dishes were seasoned well, and I was really thankful because lack of salt is a problem that haunts many Ithaca restaurants. I liked everything, but the aranicini were phenomenal and among the best I’ve had. The presentation was great, but the flavor was as good. The mix of pesto and tomato sauces was a great complement. The pizza was almost perfect; I would have preferred a little less Asaigo. Because Asiago cheese is so salty and strong, it drowned some of the more delicate flavors in the pizza. While I love Asiago, the rest of the pizza (bleu cheese, chicken, etc.) was so well put-together, I felt the Asiago was an unneeded crutch. The pasta was well done, but was the most “predictable” of the dishes. The pomodoro was nice and spicy, but I would have preferred that they use sweeter tomatoes (like the ones used in the tomato sauce that came with the arancini) to make the must a little brighter. Overall, I’m splitting hairs; the food was very good.

Tricia: 8/10 (great)

There was nothing wrong with the flavors for any of the dishes. The only criticism I have is the pizza where the chicken was a little dry. However, a large portion of the chicken toppings was smothered with the Gorgonzola and mozzarella cheese. The pasta was excellent and evenly salted and sweet from the sauce. I’ve come a long way with eating spicy foods and the sausages were definitely up on the heat scale, but not so much that you couldn’t enjoy the whole entree. The best dish was by far the risotto fritters (arancini) with the mixture of pesto and tomato sauces.

Selection:

Siddharth: 7/10 (good)

Pizza or pasta. If you’re in the mood for it, this is a good choice! The rest of their offerings are somewhat limited, though the arancini is proof that some of them are amazing. Compared to a good-quality Italian chain (e.g. Olive Garden, Carraba’s), they have less diversity among their pasta selections, but the focus here is on execution rather than sheer quantity of dishes.

Tricia: 8/10 (great):

The menu selection is not as expansive as the Boatyard Grill or Olive Garden, however, that does not mean one would not find a dish they would like. With the assortment of wood-fired pizzas and the many pasta dishes, it would be more difficult to decide on whether to have pizza or pasta. There were a few traditional Italian dishes like chicken piccata and shimp scampi, but we strongly suggest trying out with the pizzas and pastas.

Service:

Siddharth: 8/10 (good)

Polite. Prompt. Not much more that you could ask for at a casual place like Ciao.

Tricia: 9/10 (great)

For a Saturday night, our waitress was attentive and very friendly. And being seated immediately when hungry is always a plus.

Price: $ (outstanding value)

Siddharth:

This whole meal was $30. It was shocking to be honest. We went home full and with leftovers, and the quality of food was good. $30 meals for two are hard to find in Ithaca, and usually if that price includes appetizers it means you’re eating at a dive. At the very best, nowhere in town that I can think of provides such a clean and comfortable eating experience for so cheap.

Tricia:

I don’t remember the last time we had a 3 course Italian meal for $30 total, especially when the night before we spent $50 at a moderately-priced Mexican restaurant, including the margaritas. This was the biggest surprise of the night. We were so hungry and we ate like royalty and still took home leftovers and all for $30? Awesome!

Recommendation Index: 9/10 (If you like Italian, this is the best in town)

There’s not too many Italian choices in Ithaca, but Ciao is a good one. While it’s not the same as eating in Boston’s North End or Manhattan’s Little Italy, it’s as good as Italian gets around here. It’s not overly fancy, but it’s focused on using god ingredients to make solid food. If you want good pizza or pasta in a nice sit-down environment, Ciao is a great bet in Ithaca.