Go for the Food, Not Service, at Silvano's

Seafood Linguini with Pink Vodka Sauce

I used to think that small, family-operated restaurants were quaint and charming. That was until I suffered through a busy weekend dinner service at Silvano's Ristorante Italiano in Altamonte Springs, Fla. We arrived on a recent Saturday evening to the small, but beautiful restaurant, behind T.G.I.Friday's. While we were seated fairly quickly, a waitress did not visit our table for 10 or 15 minutes. Then, after she brought us water, we waited another 15 minutes or so for her to return to take our order. Maybe Silvano's was short-staffed that night, but it seemed that one or two servers trying to handle the entire room, which consists of several tables.

I might have gotten up and left, if I did not have a Restaurant.com gift card to Silvano's. Despite the long waits between the rest of our dinner, we were very pleasantly surprised with the quality and flavor of the food. We noticed that the food is what garners high ratings on Yelp and Zagat, not necessarily the service. This is authentic Italian fare that is not meek in its flavor profile. The warm bread brought to each table is also delicious.

Petti Di Pollo Sensese

My husband had the Chef's Special: Mixed Seafood Linguini with Pink Vodka sauce. It was one of the most flavorful vodka sauces he has ever had, and the seafood was flavorful and cooked right. I ordered the Petti Di Pollo Sensese, chicken breast sauteed in white wine, butter and lemon, served over linquini. Wine and lemon usually go together well, but there was something "off" about the flavor that I couldn't put my finger on. I ended up really liking the dish, though. While we loved the food, we thought it was over-priced at $16 to $22 for most entrees. 

I was especially impressed that one chef, who is also the manager, was the only cook in the small kitchen for the entire restaurant. I am surprised I had not heard about this long-time Orlando restaurant before now. I am sure some of you have eaten there: what was your experience like?

Where: 249 W. State Rd. 436, #1105, Altamonte Springs