Chapel Hill Restaurant Guide

With college students on summer vacation, we decided to venture into a cute dining establishment that we'd long passed, but never stopped to experience. After a recent dinner at Trilussa, we agree that continuing to walk past should be the only thing worth repeating. The bruschetta was nothing more than white bread with a partially melted slice of processed mozzarella. The beer was room temperature..and they were out of all Italian beers (IT'S AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT). Chicken parm (a pretty simple recipe) was bland tomato sauce out of a can, while the seafood risotto was more watery than the ocean from which it came. All this for $70 with tip...will definitely not be returning.

If you want good food and to enjoy your meal and company in a leisurely manner, DON'T go to Trilussa. As soon as we got our bottle of wine and $18 entrees, the manager was in a rush to get us out. When I commented that we felt rushed, he told us he had a business to run and that we were lucky he squeezed us in. For food that was OK, pricey and rushed, this was unacceptable -- GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!

We had driven by this restaurant several times and thought it to be charming from the outside. Unfortunately, the food that we encountered was shockingly poor. The entrees were intolerably bad, the sauces were tasteless. "Orzo" is not chopped spaghetti. Cream sauce is not white colored water. High school cafeterias serve better Italian meals.

The dining experience was extremely poor. The AC is not efficient, we had the luck of a brand new untrained waitress. She did not know if any drinks other than water,wine or beer were available, coffee tea etc. The ceasar salad was some romaine lettuce but an oil and vinegar dressing that left more oil on the salad ind floating in the plate than the Exxon Valdez spilled. The salad was inedible, I gather that un eaten food does not tip of the management. The soup was about 90 degrees Farenheit the veal was one half an inch thick and tough with a taste lik a full grown beef. To add insult we were charged an extra $5.00 because we split the vile food. Needless We will not be repeat customers. The Chef?? if trained should be embarassed to put out such poor quality food. Perhaps the empty tables should have been a tip off when we entered.

This is one of my favorite places in Chapel Hill. Owned and managed by its executive chef Giovanni, who is very friendly if you get a chance to meet him. The Southern Italian food is as good as it gets, and focuses on seafood, pastas, and paellas. Quaint antiques decorate this walls of this tiny trattoria, which is probably one of the best of its kind in the state.