Cafe Italia

#WendyEatsElPaso / By

Cafe Italia

Located on the East side of El Paso on Joe Battle, just off of Pebble Hills. 

Atmosphere

A small, rustic Italian restaurant, the wood-fired brick oven is the centerpiece of the place. Cafe Italia has a causal vibe but could make a great date spot with the option of carrying in your own wine, which we did. There were quite a few small groups out for an after-work bite and enjoying some of the beers on tap. 

Menu

The menu contains tasty food with simple ingredients, the majority  of orders being made in the wood-fired brick oven. It has a couple options for appetizers that are made for multiple people, a regular an caprese salad, pasta, pizza and calzoni. There is also a dessert menu, although we wanted the cheesecake and they were sold out that night. 

For beverages, there is a small selection of craft brews on tap, or you can opt for a soft drink. Patrons can carry-in wine but there is a bottle fee of $6. 

What We Ate

We decided to share food this week as I wanted pizza, but didn’t feel I could eat the whole thing. Manny was starving so he was more than agreeable to get that and a calzoni. 

For the pizza, we ordered Andy’s Pizza which came with fresh mozzarella, salami, and pimento peppers (we’re pretty sure we got jalapenos on our instead of pimentos though). The crust was crispy on the outside but fluffy inside and definitely my favorite part. I felt there could have been a bit ore mozzarella on the pizza but that could be the Wisconsin in me talking. 

Manny ordered us the meatball calzoni which was massive! The dough was the same as the pizza crust, super yummy. While the meatballs were good, I again felt this was lacking on the cheese. 

For wine, I brought a bottle of Washington Island from Door 44 Winery in Door County, WI. I just grabbed a random bottle from my wine cart, but it paired perfectly with dinner. 

Price

We found Cafe Italia to be a bit overpriced for the simpleness of the food. Most entrees were around $15, as were the appetizers. Even a small loaf of bread was an additional $4. The thing we were most disappointed about was the $6 wine fee as all the staff did was open the bottle. We poured it ourselves and didn’t even ask for ice to chill the bottle. 

Overall Recommendation

I have been begging Manny for a date night at Cafe Italia for about a year now after a recommendation from a friend. While we enjoyed our meal, we felt it was a bit overpriced for the quality of food served. I did like that I could bring in my own wine, that way I’m gauranteed something I like. Plus, it’s a very cute place and we do like wood-fired pizza! I’m glad we finally tried it but I’m not sure I would go back unless someone else really wants to go. 

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