I recently had dinner on a Friday night at Piacere. They have completed a remodel and expansion of the restaurant so I wanted to check it out.
I must say that I was impressed. The ambiance, design and overall look of the restaurant was fantastic. Someone did a great job. A great looking bar area up front. A large dining room in back with a smaller side room and a decent size wine cellar in the back. As with many Italian restaurants the tables did seem a little tightly packed together, but that can be good if you want to be seen at a rocking place. Although it can be a little hectic if you want something more romantic. But this is easily one of the best locations in San Carlos in terms of ambiance.
Now given the excellent style of the restaurant, I was a little surprised by the menu. Not the contents, but that fact that I was handed a printed sheet of paper. They could have splurged a little and bought more leather folios to put the paper into. But even more surprising was that the prices were very reasonable. Given how great the place looked, I was actually very surprised that few dishes were more than $20-25.
Ok. Its a restaurant. So I am sure you are asking how was the food. My party of 6 was quite happy. I had an ahi tuna appetizer (not sure that's Italian) that was tasty. And I had a roast lamb for dinner that was prepared perfectly. Combined with an excellent wine, I can truthfully say that I was very satisfied. As a lover of tiramisu, I did have to give the Piacere version a try. Their presentation and preparation is unique and tasty. So many times tiramisu is too runny/rummy, but theirs is more of a pastry that I enjoyed heartily.
Definitely a great place for dinner. And perhaps for a first date where you want to impress her without breaking the bank.
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