Along the infamous South Congress in downtown Austin, a comfy and quirky Italian restaurant, Enoteca Vespaio, is the perfect place for an authentic dining experience for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Upon my first visit, I was surprised by how Enoteca Vespaio combined the essence of a cafe and the feeling of the restaurant in one place, making for a casual and cute evening dinner.

Enoteca Vespaio features a small menu featuring authentic Italian food. I first went there with a group of friends this past weekend, I was impressed with the quality of food and service that the Enoteca Vespaio had. Everyone that I went with ordered a different dish and we were all pleasantly surprised that each of the menu items that we ordered were equally delicious. A dish that particularly stood out to me was the rigatoni con polpette. An authentic Italian pasta, with veal meatballs, Enoteca Vespaio’s own tomato arrabiata sauce, pecorino romano and fresh mozzarella. This delicious pasta dish was the perfect portion size, and had the perfect balance of pasta, sauce, meat and cheese. Another standout dish was the calabrese pizza. An Italian restaurant isn’t complete without some pizza and this particular pizza is one of the favorites at Enoteca Vespaio. The calabrese pizza has a light thin crust, calabrese sausage, their original tomato arrabiata sauce, fresh mozzarella, grana padano cheese and dried oregano. This crispy and appetizing pizza was definitely a stand out among the dishes that we ordered. Along with Enoteca Vespaio having exquisite entree options, the restaurant is also known for their desserts. With many options to choose from, the tiramisu and the lemon panna cotta are light and enjoyable desserts.

Overall, I was impressed with the quality of this cozy little Italian restaurant. The only negative thing I have to say is that the size of the restaurant may pose a problem for larger groups, and large groups may consider eating somewhere else where there is more room. But other than that, Enoteca Vespaio is worth a visit for anyone looking for a new and good place to eat.