By Han Okcuoglu
We finally had a chance to visit the newly opened Livello in Coral Springs, and not only is the food great, but it is one of the most ambitious menus we’ve ever seen.
The restaurant was smaller than I had anticipated, but seeing Chef Bruno Silva hard at work in the open kitchen made it clear why. He had left his mark on every aspect of the kitchen.
I hoped he didn’t have a hand in choosing the decor because the white cafeteria lighting and the large TV mounted above the hallway to the bathroom showing a fireplace seemed strange and disjointed. It was as if they had failed to remove remnants of the previous decor.
The manager, Mike, was stopping by every table that night. He mentioned he worked with Chef Bruno over at Tavolino Della Notte for over ten years, and the reason they decided to leave and open their own restaurant was because Chef Bruno had so many ideas for different recipes that he wanted to create somewhere where the menu would change every single week.
Yes, you read that right.
Mike said Chef Bruno calls him very late some nights because he keeps coming up with more and more dishes to add to the menu. I can’t even imagine how hard an endeavor it is to get a dish from concept to taste-testing, train a whole staff, get it ready within a couple of days, and have it this well done.
They aim to switch the main menu every week and the separate pizza menu every two weeks (for the foreseeable future). He said customers can order certain staple dishes, but everything else will change.
Since this is farm-to-table, whatever item he buys is typically what inspires the menu. This week was Wagyu beef, which inspired our Wagyu Beef and Black Garlic Bliss pizza. It was incredible. I’ll get back to that in a moment.
They have a large wood-fired oven through which many dishes pass through. The bread must be mentioned because the texture, crispness, and slight char are fantastic.
We started with Korean BBQ glazed chicken wings. They were huge. They had a great sweet and smoky tang, with cucumber kimchi covered in Korean powder with a kick. I don’t handle spice well, so I definitely struggled with it, but we couldn’t stop eating it because it was that good.
They had homemade gnocchi that was pan-seared with a great crisp on the outside and very soft on the inside. On top was a tasty grana padano cream sauce with black truffle oil and pan-fried prosciutto that had a composition almost like thin, crispy rock candy. A lot was going on, and it was all very enjoyable. Our only minor gripe is that they went very light on the black truffle oil and pooled in the middle bottom, so it definitely brought the dish up a notch when we found what little there was sunken and buried.
The pizza was unreal. The dough itself was airy and had a slight char. It had very tender strips of seasoned Kobe beef, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, truffle oil, and a blend of gruyere and gouda cheese drizzled with a balsamic reduction. You had all these different flavors like salty, sweet, bitter, truffle, cheesy…it didn’t need any type of tomato sauce; it was just beautiful.
The dessert was Tarufo Carpaccio. Thinly sliced Bindi chocolate that was semi-sweet. Strawberry and mint coulis that had the consistency of light ice cream topped with shaved white chocolate. It was as good as it sounds.
The prices seemed a bit high for certain dishes, like the gnocchi appetizer, until you saw the size. These are entree-sized appetizers. The pizza was well worth it, considering the quality and price of the ingredients.
We’re looking forward to what next week (and the week after and after) has in store.
Livollo
Coral Palm Plaza
2047 N University Dr, Coral Springs, FL 33071
754-777-9277
BUSINESS HOURS
Monday Closed
Tues-Sat (Lunch) 11:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Tues-Wed (Dinner) 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Thu-Sat (Dinner) 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Sunday 3:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
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