Updated March 7, 2024
Pazzo! Cucina Italiana (Pazzo) is, as the discerning reader may surmise, is an Italian-themed restaurant in Naples that has been a stalwart dining establishment on the Fifth Avenue dining scene for 25 years.
Recently, Culinary Concepts (CC), founder of Pazzo and two other restaurant themes was purchased by Phelan Family Brands (Phelan). Phelan is the umbrella under which many other restaurant concepts reside in Southwest Florida.
Pazzo in Italian means crazy. Ironically, the restaurant’s name is perfect at the moment. As a goodwill gesture, Phelan is offering 40% off its food and beverage menus all day every day at two of its acquisitions, Pazzo and Chops City Grill, until the end of October 2023.
I have always loved eating at Pazzo since moving to Naples in 1999. This culinary clarion call was almost irresistible, so my dining companion (DC) and I decided to have dinner at Pazzo.
Besides the interior space, Pazzo has a limited amount of outdoor dining which DC and I took advantage of. Before ordering, I asked our server what changes would be in store at Pazzo with their new owners as I had some concerns. I was told the menu would pretty much stay the same (check), their kitchen staff would (at present) stay the same (check) and the menu would be on sale for about the next four or so months (check, check, check!). Full speed ahead then for my patronage in the coming months!
At Pazzo, bread is ordered as an optional menu item. It is not really optional as if you’ve tasted this before, it’s a must order.
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| Fresh white truffle ricotta bread |
This bread is absolutely delicious. Ciabatta is stuffed with a mixture of ricotta, parmesan, garlic and truffle oil. I had to be careful not to eat too much of this as it would put a damper on the rest of the meal!
We ordered a couple of appetizers, the first being calamari misto.
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| Calamari misto |
This dish is breaded and fried seafood. It’s mostly calamari. Our serving also had two shrimp and two very small pieces of sea bass. Cherry peppers give the occasional spicy note here, and their house marinara sauce comes on the side for dipping. If you like fried calamari, you will like this. The marinara per se was a bit too acidic for my tastes but worked as a dip for the fried seafood.
We also ordered the Sicilian meatballs.
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| Sicilian meatballs |
Although hard to see in the photo, this dish comes with two veal meatballs, each about the size of a lime. The marinara comes seasoned with ricotta, parmesan, fig and toasted sunflower seed. The cheeses really tempered the acidity of the marinara which I liked.
From the pasta section of the menu, we tried Chicken Parmesan.
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| Chicken parmesan |
Traditionally, this Italian-American dish is breaded chicken topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. At Pazzo, breaded chicken breast is stuffed with ricotta on a bed of really good citrus-flavored linguini. It is served with a tomato Sugo, basically a smoother, thicker marinara.
This restaurant’s offering was really good. The pasta, made in-house as all pasta served here, really complemented the chicken.
There are a number of sides on the menu, Meyer lemon risotto was our choice. It was creamy with bright citrus notes. Delicious and highly recommended.
We finished with the piccata.
 Chicken |
| Piccata |
Veal Piccata is a classic Italian dish. Pazzo follows the formula with good results. Thin slices of veal are lightly floured and fried, served atop linguini and finished with a butter/white wine/lemon/caper sauce. The capers are fried, really bringing out their flavor. This menu item was very good and recommended.
The food at Pazzo is on the whole very good. It’s made even better by the promotion they are having with 40% off all food and beverage items.
The total (without tip) for this meal was $80.00, very good for downtown Naples pricing. I can’t wait to go back a few times this summer and early fall to try more of this establishment’s offerings.
It’s a wrap for another post on Forks.
Pazzo! Cucina Italiana
853 Fifth Avenue S.
Naples, FL 34102
(239)434-8494
Pazzo! Cucina Italiana Facebook Page
Happy Hour Cocktails: 4:00pm-6:00pm, offered in the dining room and at the bar.
Bar Menu: 4:30pm-6:00pm, offered at the bar only.
Dinner Hour: Sunday – Thursday: 4:30pm – 9:00pm // Friday & Saturday: 4:30pm – 10:00pm
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| Meyer lemon risotto |
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This article originally appeared here and was republished with permission.
