We swim in delicious marinara at Silvio’s

[Robin Garr]

We swim in delicious marinara at Silvio’s

We swim in delicious marinara at Silvio’s

LEO's Eats with Robin Garr

Marinara-loaded rice balls at Silvio’s


If you want to get to know marinara sauce the way that marinara sauce ought to be, I recommend getting it from a man who makes it by the five-gallon bucket. If that man happens to be Bill “Silvio” Melillo, you are definitely on the right track.

Melillo, patriarch of the family that brought us the eponymous Melillo’s back in the ‘00s, returned the family back to the restaurant business last October, opening Silvio’s in the short, eatery-loaded strip center just opposite Trinity High School. Bad luck hit just a few months later, when a January fire that destroyed two nearby restaurants dealt Silvio’s sufficient smoke damage to shut it down for a month or so.

But Silvio’s bounced back, and it has become so popular that you’ve got to do a little planning to grab a table — and a scarce parking spot — any night of the week.


I’m pretty sure that toothsome marinara is a big part of the draw. It’s thick and smooth, but retains sufficient texture for an interesting mouthfeel. It’s sweet and tangy, but it’s skillfully balanced: not too sweet, not too tangy. Ditto for the breath of garlic and rich caramelized flavor that pulls back from the cliff’s edge that separates comfort-food tomato sauce from cloying caramel. Its herbal flavors add delicate grace notes without leaving the impression that the chef overdosed it with commercial Italian Herb Mix.

No, this is quality stuff, and Melillo is justly proud of it. You’re going to have to work on it if you want to put together dinner without this basic ingredient. But then, why would you want to? ...


Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/?p=5556

See this column also in LEO Weekly:
http://www.leoweekly.com/2016/04/we-swi ... t-silvios/

Silvio's Italian Restaurant
104 Fairfax Ave.
883-6369
http://silviositalianrestaurant.com
Facebook: https://bit.ly/silviositalian
Robin Garr's rating: 91 points

We gave it a try tonight and our experience pretty much paralleled Robin's.

Late this afternoon we made a 6PM reservation for a high-top table near the bar. Glad we did because the place filled up quickly. Parking is definitely challenging - I would suggest the church lot just behind the strip where Silvio's is located.

My wife and friend pronounced their martinis excellent and I enjoyed the La Rossa Doppelbock suggested by our server.

The rice balls were outstanding and the marina made them doubly-outstanding (if that's possible). It was a hearty appetizer shared by the three of us.

My wife ordered the Pasta Fagiole and found it very good although not quite as flavorful as what she remembered from Melillo's.

We all ordered Caesar salads for dinner (rice balls and good bread had already taken their toll) and we thought that they were excellent. Our only complaint was that they were somewhat overdressed. Next time we will order that great Caesar dressing on the side.

The cannoli was the best I've ever had.

It was our server's first day on the job and he did an admirable job of keeping up with a number of full tables. There were a couple small glitches but nothing inexcusable. He earned his 20%+ tip.