We had a pleasure of going to CENA with another couple, and we all walked away thoroughly impressed! As Andrew described, while the actual space hasn’t changed much from The Place Downstairs, CENA has a decidedly more “upscale casual” vibe to it. But while the price point has dropped significantly, the food we had at this new concept demonstrated the same level of excellence in flavor and quality as we’ve had at TPD.
Keeping in mind that the dishes at CENA are served family-style (each serving 2-3), we started with a selection of crostini ( 3 for $8). All 4 we had were large ( we split each in quarters to share) and very flavorful. The antipasti’s/appetizers were all tempting; they range in price from $6-$14 and the portions on our two were substantial- easily shared by 2-3. The heirloom tomato salad with burrata and pesto tasted like a bowl full of summer with its amazing heirlooms, and the burrata was some of the best I’ve had. The fried goat cheese ( 5 good-sized balls) were perfectly fried and in an amazing truffle-honey sauce- we asked for a spoon to get the leftover on the bottom. For entrees, we shared 3 ( 2 would have been plenty, but everything looked so good it was hard to choose). Our vegetarian pasta – Cappellacci with Spinach/Ricotta/Marscapone/Tomato Sauce ( ( $15had beautiful strips of fresh pasta - I assume housemade- in a great sauce. The Gnocchi with Fennel Sausage/ Ricotta/San Marzano Tomatoes/Oven Roasted Fennel ($16) was perfectly cooked with some very flavorful fennel sausage ( again housemade?) My personal favorite was our Porchetta ( $29)- a huge piece of pork goodness with a perfect crispy crust, topped with green apple slivers and raisins. We’d had porchetta in Italy and this was a fabulous version- all succulent pork and crispy , fatty crust. The porchetta fed 3 with leftovers (making my husband very happy today with a sandwich made of those leftovers).
Although thoroughly stuffed at this point, we still couldn’t resist ordering dessert made by their pastry chef. We split an order of the zeppoles with Nutella dipping sauce, and the cake with olive oil cake crust, mascarpone and berry. While the zeppoles were great, the latter was the winner – a truly decadent Italian cheesecake with many layers of flavors. As a baker, I’m really picky about dessert, and I’m still dreaming about that cake….
CENA is a fantastic addition to our Louisville dining scene and we see ourselves visiting often- both with and without kids. We can't wait to go back- ( I already have a reservation for Wednesday with friends
) With this level of food ( and a great price point)- it promises to be an(other) huge hit for the supremely talented Martinez team! And they take reservations- make them NOW folks.
Deb