Chianti Cafe

Chianti cafe is located across from our favorite specialty pet retailer, Scraps 4 Pets, off Village Center Circle in Summerlin. After delivering an order Ian and I headed there for a quick bite, as we had been there once before and thought it to be alright. It's not a place worth going out of your way for, but if in the area you can get a better than average lunch at a reasonable price. In fact, they publicize their lunch menu as "everything under $10," so you're pretty much forced to be frugal. If you have been there before, I'd like to let you know it has recently changed management. Apparently the restaurant was going downhill before they did, so if you had a bad experience you might want to try it again.

My Greca salad ($7.95) was quite enjoyable, and a touch unique. It was tossed with a creamy garlic dressing rather than a vinaigrette, which was a nice change, and the feta cheese was not of your standard supermarket variety. This cheese was soft and mild, which made me think it was a sheep's milk feta from France or Bulgaria. Feta cheeses from these countries generally have a creamier texture and a lower salt content. If you like the taste of a stronger feta, you probably would prefer feta from Greece, Israel, or America, as these are tangier and saltier (FYI, most feta is made from sheep's milk or goat's milk but many American feta cheeses are made with cow's milk). The cheese on this salad could have used a little more feta flavor for my liking, but was of good quality nonetheless and you do get some brininess from the kalamata olives.

Ian had the pastrami sandwich ($9.95) which was tasty but not delivered as promised. Instead of fries it came with a good version of basil mashed potatoes (I still would have preferred fries) and instead of the more appropriate rye bread listed in the description it was served on a soft hoagie. Additionally, the presentation was pretty sloppy (see photo below) as mustard was EVERYWHERE around the outside. There was too much mustard inside the sandwich as well, and it would have benefited from the use of whole grain or deli mustard rather than yellow. I still liked it as the pastrami itself was tender and delicious, but with a little improvement it would have been great.

Overall, it was a good lunch at a reasonable price, but not a real find by any means. It's just your average neighborhood Italian eatery in a nice area.

Tip: They have happy hour specials on drinks and appetizers from 4-6:30PM Monday through Friday.

Today's Food Ratings:
Greca Salad: 7.5
Pastrami Sandwich: 7

Restaurant Rating: 6.75

Would we go back?: HARD TO SAY. I'M NOT RULING IT OUT BUT I WOULDN'T JUMP AT THE CHANCE