Tonino's Ristorante Italiano

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN. To a displaced NY Italian American like myself, this is a breathof fresh air for N. Houston, an area plagued with so called italian restaurant chains that don't even know the meaning of ""al dente"". For those of you that wonder whatever happened to Via Torino's on 1960, look no further. Tonino's is owned and operated by one of the brothers, only the prices have been slashed and the quality is better than ever. Tony (owner) ensures that only the highest quality and freshest ingredients are used in his dishes such as Veal Pizzaiola, Osso Buco ( a regular special), homemade crab cakes, lobster fra diavolo....I could go on and on. Tony is a sous chef, trained in Milan, and man, does it show. His sauces are superb. Think you have already had a great Filet Mignon with Gorgonzola sauce? Think again. I have taken many friends and clients to this location, and without exception, all have raved as I do. The service is friendly and attentive. Indeed, regulars always feel they are a superstar here. With checkered tablecloths, a Sunday brunch, and an open kitchen that overlooks the tables, the ambience created is warm and friendly. Kids are welcome and even have their own menu.Tony invested in an authentic wood burning pizza oven he imported from Italy and makes his own pizzas. You can request your toppings of choice and the dough is his own undisclosed recipe which is phenomenal. The wines are EXTENSIVE and reasonably priced. Tony always has a new wine to recommend and we have never been disappointed in our choice. Don't overlook the desserts either.......the bread pudding and tiramisu will not disappoint. Mangia! more

We have a weekly ""date"" started by a friend of ours. We, of course, had to copy them. Now we hunt a new place to eat every Wednesday. We stopped here on a recommendation. We had no expectations and just wanted wanted to eat some Italian food. I am certainly not an Italian food connoisseur. First impression was that these guys are serious about wine! I dont know if Ive seen that many bottles in a restaurant that small. Hundreds and hundreds. The walls are covered in wine bottles. We were escorted to our table by a very attractive young lady that dressed odd. All kinds of bra staps sticking out of a tube top. It looked weird and totally out of place for a restaurant setting. We place our order for the specials which were Osso Bucco (never had it before) and 3 Cheese Tortolini. We met the manager/owner. Very pleasant, friendly and explanatory. He explained the meal, how it was made, and exchanged remarks about wine selection, and told us to walk around and look at it all. We sat and ate our salad instead. It was house Italian and was very good. A great dip came with the bread too. I normally dont like that stuff but Tonino's was different and actually quite tasty. Our entres were delivered by Miss Tubetopstraps and we dug in. Osso Bucco is wonderful. Veal shank with a dark red sauce. The portion was quite large too so I couldnt possibly eat it all. The tortolini was excellent also. We ate as much as we could and took the rest home. We were wonderfully and surprisingly stuffed. I judge restaurants partially on the last thing Im thinking when I leave. Some places you think about how expensive it is, others about how the food or service wasnt good. Here we talked about how wonderful the food was all the way home. dc Pros: Osso Bucco! Cons: Waitress dresses weird more