Originally posted July 7th, 2008

Ciatti’s Ristorante

2635 West Division St

St Cloud, MN 56301

Normally I don’t touch anything remotely connected to a chain restaurant because they have their place in society some place next to fast food but a little better. Ciatti’s is a chain in the upper midwest with 13 restaurants, but Ciatti’s Ristorante may be a franchise. (The only one of its kind according to staff from there.) That being the case I felt it was ok to skirt the grey area and jump in to one of my favorite food groups….pasta.

Ciatti’s was located downtown St Cloud for a long time, but, due to a small construction boom around the restaurant, they decided to build a new restaurant and relocate to the more traffic heavy and retail friendly Division Street. For Italian food diners there has always been a dirth of variety but Ciatti’s always stood as a reasonably priced beacon of opportunity for those seeking quality Italian. Remember, we are talking Central Minnesota Italian here. It’s probably a fair bit different than that experienced in bigger metropolitan areas.

Food: 6

For years my favorite item on the list was Spicy Chicken Penne which is a complimentary dichotomy of tastes between the Cajun of the chicken and the creamy pesto sauce with sweet sun dried tomatoes. In the interest of seeing this as a new review for a “NEW” restaurant, I skipped over my traditional choice for something new and interesting. I ordered the Chicken Saltimbocca. It was definitely a different experience for me to be sure.

The grilled chicken was blanketed in a thin layer of prosciutto(ham) and capers and a sauce consisting of sag, lemon, and white wine. It made for a less dynamic and more subdued taste with a lemony tartness that was persistent throughout. Served along with the chicken was a healthy portion of vegetables mainly consisting of peppers (red and green) and squash.

Robin(my wife) ordered a more traditional meal of Manicotti. If I was not trying to sample more diverse tastes that day, I would certainly have chosen that over what I had. It was slathered with an incredibly generous amount of mozzarella cheese. It was literally a cardiac attack on a place, but, man oh man, it was just what my taste buds needed to wake up after the Chicken Saltimbocca.

Prices are a little higher than they used to be. (About 20 to 30 percent by my reckoning) Can you blame them? They build a new restaurant with higher property value and the whole economic situation has food vendors over a barrel and forced to raise their pricing. It also helps them define their clientele a little better. “Fine” dining is a rare enough beast in the central part of the state.In both cases the plate presentation was very classy.

Service: 7

Service was timely and light on the chattiness. I like to talk to servers because you can get a great primer on what the restaurant has to offer from their service staff. There of course is a too little and too much information threshhold that some people have a hard time judging. Our server was not one for chatting so I was not provided great insight. The hosting staff was friendly. The best experience with the staff came from the gentleman who visited each table once. I assume this person was a manager. He was engaging and sounding like he honestly wanted to know our thoughts on the dining experience. I have a habit of seeing through the “I really don’t care what you think as long as you eat here” mentality. It was definitely refreshing.

Food again was timely. This is timely in the sense that you are not going to go there for dinner and treat it like a quick stop. The time it took from ordering the food to getting the finished product was good for a casual meal. The appetizer and entree were a little too close to one another, but they at least did not arrive at the same time.

Atmophere: 8

I always liked the look and feel of the old restaurant with its classically designed wall painting, columns and all. The new restaurant is clean both in newness and in form. In the modern era of restaurant architecture it has a large high ceiling in the central dining area, separated bar are, and a pergola covered patio with a stone privacy fence around it. Walking through the main dining area I am reminded of that medieval churches found in Europe. The patio was comfortable. I could imagine how much more secluded it would feel if they planted grape vine and let them run up the pergola like a trellis. It exudes a sense of fine dining.

Overall: 7

Definitely will eat there again. Why? Why not. I saw nothing in the experience that would make me think twice about eating there again. Wait, there is one…if I had my children in tow I would not dine there. That is definitely not a children’s place to eat. Leave them with a babysitter for goodness sake and take your spouse, significant other, or a good friend out for a high quality meal. It is just the right place for a relaxed good conversation and a glass of wine.

Check out their [1] website. Its not much, but they do post their menu.