Matto Matto: A slice of Europe in Burns Square

By Jack Littman-Quinn
| 8:27 p.m. October 25, 2013

Arts + Entertainment
Eat + Drink

The historic Herald Square Building, a charming, historic building constructed in the 1920s, located at the intersection of South Pineapple Avenue and South Orange Avenue, is the home for one of Sarasota's newest restaurants: Matto Matto. A casual Italian café and wine bar, Matto Matto opened its doors in early September.

As one might expect in an older historic building, the restaurant is small and cozy, with some old-world charm and large outdoor dining space, which includes a fountain and historic city view. With a mix of residential and commercial buildings and the historical nature of Burns Square, Matto Matto seamlessly blends into the area. The fit is just right. In fact, it looks as if the restaurant has been there for many years.

Given the limited size of the kitchen, the menu at Matto Matto seems just perfect. While not overly ambitious, Matto Matto offers a good selection of appetizers, salads, pasta, pizza, panini, a few entrees and desserts. For our meals, we chose the following:

Bruschetta Classico: Three pieces of grilled, home-baked bread, topped with chopped tomatoes, basil and extra virgin oil. $6.95 Although it was a small portion, the toppings were very fresh and garlicky, and the bread was crisp and created a nice contrast. If you like garlic, you will love this.
Caprese Panino: Sliced layers of tomato, mozzarella and basil pesto on a ciabatta bun $9.95 A very simple, classic presentation. Warm, creamy, crisp and flavorful.
Alessandre Pizza: Mozzarella, tomato sauce, prosciutto di parma, arugula and pachino cherry tomatoes. $16.95 A great, thin-crusted personal-sized pizza. Flavorful, nicely presented, and a great dish for sharing.
Salmone alle Erbe: Salmon filet pan-seared in a fennel, saffron and white-wine sauce, served over a bed of grilled spinach and garlic. $21.95 Each ingredient separately is fresh and cooked perfectly. However, this meal is meant to be eaten with all major ingredients on the same forkful — a delicious combination of flavors. The spinach, although filled with garlic as promised, was a tad too salty for me but still enjoyable.
Tunno, Penne, a Verdue: Pan-seared tuna fillet and penne pasta smothered in a bell pepper sauce and served with sautéed seasonal vegetables. $19.95
The tuna filet was thick and cooked exactly to order; the vegetables were fresh and had just the right amount of crispness; and the pasta was al dente. Delicious.
Vitello Milanese con Arugula: Your choice of chicken or veal in a Parmigiano breading topped with arugula and chopped tomatoes. $15.95 I chose the veal, which was smothered in arugula. The veal was pounded thin and a bit over cooked, but the dish was flavorful and offered a nice contrast to the arugula.
Tiramisu: $7.95
Not your traditional tiramisu; this is homemade by the owner's mother. It is served in a small glass jar. Yes I said a glass jar. Excellent presentation. A delightful way to end a meal.

With wine bar included as part of your name, one would expect a good wine list. Matto Matto does not disappoint, offering a nice selection of reasonably priced wines, beer and soft drinks to accompany your meal, or to be consumed on its own.

We found the wait staff to be very friendly and sincerely interested in making sure all is good, fast and efficient. On one particularly busy night, the waitress set our expectation by saying the wait might be slightly longer than usual because of the large number of diners who were just seated. Well done, even though the wait was not out of the ordinary from our perspective.

A restaurant still in its infancy, Matto Matto is already performing very well and will continue to improve with time. With an already large and growing number of customers, a great location and the perfect menu options, Matto Matto is poised to provide an enjoyable dining experience for lunch or dinner. If you're looking for a nice, casual Italian meal in a great alfresco setting, you would be crazy not to try Matto.