1321 South Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78704-2432
(512) 916-1315
Botticelli's is a cute little italian restaurant on South Congress. My husband and I love wandering over here on the weekends to enjoy a delicious and uncomplicated meal. It's great for date night in general with its intimate setting and soft light lighting.
The little space has two tables on the sidewalk out front. These are great for people watching, but only after the heat of the day has subsided, as the sun beats directly down on the spot. The decor inside is pretty traditional. Deep mahogany colored booths and tables with crisp white table cloths line the walls. There is a long bar on the right side that turns out slightly inventive cocktails and is a good spot to wile away the hours. Behind the kitchen in the back is a passageway out to the selftitled bier garden. It is a somewhat covered outdoor dining area replete with a second bar and a stage for musical performances. The decor is very simple, involving a few whimsical rose sculptures and sheafs of grain on the walls (all in iron). As I mentioned, the menu is Italian. There is a range to the food - you can get a very light meal or you can go full-on comfort. Overall, the dishes are prepared with a high attention to detail. It seems that they try to use local ingredients whenever possible, and the quality of the ingredients shines through.
I always start with one of their antipasti - some of my favorites are the Shrimp with Grilled Polenta (in a creamy onion, tomato sauce) as well as the Botticelli Bread - the "original”—grandmother’s own homemade bread stuffed with prosciutto, coppa, mortadella, salami, mozzarella, parmesan, and roasted bell peppers. Yum! The Calamari is nice, but definitely has heavier breading than I ideally like. I also enjoy their salads when I'm in a lighter mood. I recommend the Baby Green Salad with goat cheese and rosemary black pepper flat bread as well as the Pear, Gorgonzola Salad.
I confess, even though they have an extensive pasta and entree selection, I almost order the fish special. They have been uniformly excellent. Most recently I had a dish of Pompano, pan-seared to perfection with carrots, watercress, mustard aioli, beets, grilled spring onions and broccoli potato puree. The flavors balanced well, and I left satisfied. On the odd occasion I don't get the fish, I've sampled their Butternut Squash Ravioli in a sage brown butter sauce and their Tagliatelle con Polpette - housemade veal, pork, and beef meatballs over tagliatelle in arrabiata sauce. These are a bit heavier, but the portions aren't ridiculous.
I often don't have enough space for dessert. They seem to change regularly and I have had decent tarts, etc., however, the desserts are not their forte! I'd have some Botticelli Bread and an extra glass of wine instead!
Speaking of wine, the list is pretty much exclusively Italian. It is small, but has a nice selection of wines by the glass. Last time I was there, we had a nice Sardinian - the 2005 Cannanau de Sardegna "Triente" and a Montepuclian d'Abruzzo - the 2005 Agriverde "Riseis di Ricastro". When we arrived, it was happy hour, so my glass was only $5. They do a nice happy hour special 7 days a week 5-7 pm and all day Sundays.
Overall, Botticelli's is a great place to get an Italian meal in the South Congress area. Take your special someone there and relax in a comfy booth inside or outside, under the stars, listening to a local musician. Perfect for relaxation! ☆☆☆
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