Amici Ristorante

I don't think I've ever seen a place with so many one star reviews before. Dang!

I chose to come here for Sugarland Restaurant Week, being that it's one of my favorite Italian places in the Houston-ish area. I've been here multiple times and enjoyed their regular menu. However, I was less impressed with the Restaurant Week menu. I'd give this experience three stars, but the other times definitely warrant more, so I'm rounding up to four. If you don't like it, tough!

I am crazy about the bread basket and oil. Big chunks of basil and garlic...it does not get any better than that. They can be a little heavy-handed with the red pepper flakes, but it's manageable. The bread is great though, both the rustic white and the wheat with pumpkin seeds (which has a bit of sweetness).

Out of the tomato basil bisque, Vallone salad and bruschetta for the appetizer...I picked the bruschetta. It was served with a chunky warm tomato sauce with some basil and melted mozzarella on top. I prefer the fresh, uncooked version of bruschetta...this one had a little bit of spice to it. It wasn't bad, just wasn't the best. My bf had the Vallone salad, which was just chopped lettuce, cheese, tomatoes...nothing special.

For the entree, our choices were gnudi, canneloni and chicken milanese. I had the gnudi. It was doughy little pastas with pancetta, I believe, and rapini swimming in a creamy/buttery sauce. The pasta and rapini were good, but I wasn't a fan of the pancetta (personal taste). The sauce was so rich, I could only eat half. My bf had the canneloni stuffed with veal and spinach, which he said was good.

For dessert, they bring you their strawberry ricotta cake. I was so full, but the cake was fairly light and tasty. A bit sweet (something must be up w/my tastebuds lately), but good nonetheless. I liked the way the amaretto flavor cut through.

My bf had a pinot grigio recommended by our waiter. He is not a wine drinker usually, but it was so good, he had another glass. I wish I could remember the name, but I wanna say it was one of the first wines on the list.

Anyway, yes I was not that impressed with these particular foods to bother ordering them on the regular menu next time, but I love their squash stuffed ravioli and their fish dishes. The service has always been on point, so I have no complaints there. It's a bit cold if you sit inside, but if you go there when the weather is right, you can sit outside for a very enjoyable evening.

Real bad food but great service.

Review is based on the following items on the menu

Crab Claws 'Spiritosa': too oily
Calamari Pepperoncino: Smelt like stale oil
Grilled Shrimp Amalfi: Shrimp tasted old
Sorrento Salad , it says on the menu that it comes with spiced pecans but they were sugar coated instead. Didn't like the salad at all.
Pansoti 'Courtney' (Pasta Filled with Butternut Squash):Pasta was overcooked and was a mushy goo
Grilled Snapper Agrume: Snapper was over cooked and dry
For dessert I had some sort of strawberry cake. It looked like a tiny dome covered with frosting and almond and tasted like starberry jam on a piece of bread. Horrible !

ambiance: 4 stars
service: 5 stars
food: I say bring your own food and eat it here.

I hereby apologize for my delayed review of Amici, where we had an absolutely delightful dinner (as a group of 7) on New Year's Eve. I also apologize for being ... well ... an "inside the loop" snob about dining. I've been "served" - and served quite well! I promise to be more open moving forward - lesson learned!

This dinner was not my idea. I typically abhor dining out on NYE (or Valentine's Day for that matter). It's like begging for sub-par food and even worse service. Fortunately, my expectations were more than exceeded during this lovely meal. The five-course prix-fixe meal was a symphony of flavor and visual stimulation. I was also pleasantly surprised by the portion sizes which were quite generous. Even more wonderful was the service, which was attentive and warm in spite of the restaurant being quite busy. We weren't in a hurry and appreciated the time between courses to relax and reflect on the experience.

The choices among the five courses were varied and abundant (four to six choices per course) and so I will briefly highlight my particular choices from the menu that night.

For the first course, I choose the Roasted Quail filled with spinach, fontina and dried cherries atop soft white polenta. So many things to love here ... the quail was cooked perfectly, fresh-tasting spinach with the hint of fontina (love fontina!) and the cherries provided another element atop the perfectly cooked polenta. These flavors were celestial in unison. I was happy already.

Second course was "Pansoti Courtney" which was a delicate pasta (similar to tortellini) filled with butternut squash in a sage butter sauce. I adore butternut squash and found this dish prepared very well. It could have been served a bit warmer but this is a minor complaint.

Third course was the "soup/salad" course and I enjoyed the "Insalata Inverno" which was a spring mix with sliced figs, dried cherries and pears accented with gorgonzola and walnuts. The dressing was a light, fresh-tasting vinaigrette. I find a good salad to be irresistible and this one was quite delicious.

Fourth course was a tough choice between six different offerings of everything from salmon, chicken, veal and lamb to beef. Truly a wonderful selection to choose from. I choose the "Medallions of Beef Enzo" which was seared tenderloin sliced atop the same wonderful polenta served earlier - along with grilled mushrooms and a Barolo wine sauce. It was prepared a perfect medium-rare and the sauce was a lovely, rich reduction which accented the polenta very well.

I love dessert and so I couldn't let a little thing like being so full I thought I would explode stop me from choosing something sweet to end my meal. Again, the choices were varied and inspired. I settled on the "Lemon Cloud" - layers of golden cake layered with creamy lemon and accented with toasted coconut and fresh raspberries. It was moist and the flavors were a sumptuous combination. Enchanting.

The $80 per person charge was a bargain for this meal and if this is any indication of the usual fare and service at Amici, I look forward to returning soon (and often). We even discussed making it a NYE tradition.

A great room with a nice view of the Sugar Land City Square and Town Hall. Jeff has struck out on his own and is working to make a name apart from the Carabba's. So far, his desire outstrips the reality that his chef (and partner, I think) are holding him back.

The kitchen is inconsistent and thoroughly unimaginative. Also, the MOD calling the police to come for one of my clients didn't sit well (it's a long story, so don't judge), either. Oh well...Jeff did go out of his way to clear up the misunderstanding and apologize, but it has left a poor impression. If anyone knows Jeff, tell him "Surly, the Partner," has to go. When your food is a knockoff of Dad and Uncle Dam's menu every attention to detail lost is a big negative. I'll be back, but not with clients...

Town Center has several first rate restaurants. I've passed by Amici several times while enjoying the live music in Town Square and enjoying a scoop from Ben & Jerry's.

OK, I have to preface my review with the fact that I'm a sucker for good service. A restaurant is a service oriented industry. A distasteful waiter or waitress can make the entire evening miserable (and have you ever seen the movie Waiting...don't PO your wait staff). It also helps if the food is good LOL. But truthfully, if you hate your job, quit, don't take it out on the patrons and have a crabby attitude. But I digress.

So, my daughter and I enter the restaurant for our 6:30 reservation and we were promptly greeted and seated. We had a total of three waiters through the course of the night. Usually, when I have several wait staff, I feel rushed. They are at the table a little too often and I am always asked a question or interrupted with food in my mouth and it just irritates me. It happened once but did not diminish my view that the service was top notch. We had a waiter for the drinks, a main waiter that took our order, and a server that cleared our dishes between courses. It worked well because I only had to interface with one individual.

I'm not a hug Italian food fan, more like antipasti (so why are you eating here duhhh) but my daughter LOVES spaghetti so I said what the hey. I had the salmon over a bed of spinach surrounded with calamari and shrimp. The spinach literally melted in my mouth. It was outstanding. Hey meal didn't look to bad as well. The portions were appropriate, not too much and not too little.

I had a table with a view of the sidewalk and was able to converse with my daughter and people watch. The wine was pleasant and the evening was Grade A. Exactly what I expected with no surprises. They even had a candy bowl that my little girl felt the need to take a dip in.

I don't believe that I should have to comment on food prices, they are what they are. You're in Town Square, at a restaurant with curbside valet across from the Marriott, and the waiters wear slacks with white pressed shirts with collars....Need I say more.

My favorite Italian place in the Houston area, bar none.

I love this new trend of serious restaurants opening up in the suburbs, and Sugarland benefits from this with Amici, the brainchild of Jeff Vallone and Bruce McMillian.

(For those who don't know the names, Jeff is Tony Vallone's son, and Bruce was the Executive Chef at Tony's for many years. Both were instrumental in creating the Grotto.)

Amici is an example of how to do a restaurant right. First, the decor: It's a gorgeous space, with doors that open out on to the town square when the weather's nice. It's modern and elegant, but still manages to be inviting; it's not stuffy at all.

But the reason you come is the food. Jeff and Bruce know as much about Italian food as anyone in Texas, and it shows. The menu has wonderful balance -- traditional dishes like chicken parmigiana are there (and perhaps the best in town) but the real magic lies with the more creative offerings, many of which you won't see anywhere else. The menu changes often, and the focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients is refreshing.

Little touches demonstrate the attention to detail: The bread basket has a variety of housemade breads, and they're delicious. A custom blended flavored iced tea is offered, and it's excellent.

Service is casual, friendly, and professional. And their recommendations are spot on.

We live in the Woodlands, but we make the trek down to Sugarland on a regular basis. It's worth it... at least until they open a Woodlands location.

We've been here a couple of times. It's solid (especially for a Sugar Land restaurant), but not terribly spectacular. The location is great, especially on busy nights in the Town Square. If you're sitting on the patio, you can generally enjoy people-watching.

We've gone with a few different dishes, including the Crab Claws "Spiritosa," Linguine Allo Scoglio, Mom's Tufoli, etc. There just hasn't been a signature dish that sticks in your head. Maybe next time.

A+ on the service as well. The managers are very friendly and circle around. The waitstaff was helpful with the wine list and food suggestions.

Decent "nice" restaurant if you're in Sugar Land and don't want to make the drive into the city.

I went here for the first time tonight and got some of the best service I've ever had. My boyfriend and I were walking around Town Center looking for a fresh place to eat and found Amici. The prices have a big range (from Cheesecake Factory to gourmet fine dining), but they're not high enough to deter you from the exquisite ambience of the restaurant.

The waiters are always on point - refilling water, and even folding our napkins when we went to the restroom. You are their highest priority.

The Meatball Calzone and Capellini Amatriciana were delicious and filling - well worth the money. AND we were served free samples before our meal came out (always a plus in my book). I'll definitely be back here for more.

I had dinner here w/ some friends Saturday night. The only thing I liked about the restaurant was the cute hostesses.

Calamari Peperoncino: 2/5 - The calamari had peppers,tomatoes, garlic, and basil. I've had much better calamari.
Italian Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms: 3/5 - It's mushroom caps filled w/ Italian sausage & mozzarella w/ marinara.
Pasta Amici: 2/5 - I figured the dish carrying the restaurant's name would be good, but I was wrong. The fedelini pasta w/ calamari, shrimp & pesto was just bland w/ the watery sauce.
Service: 2/5 - Another reviewer said a waiter tried to up-sell him a bottle of wine. Our waiter did the same to us. I've never had a waiter up-sell a bottle at a nice restaurant. If a particular bottle is out, restaurants usually offer a similar bottle for the same price. The waiter also didn't seem very knowledgable about the menu.
Ambience: 4.5/5 - Did I mention that the hostesses were cute?

I had the Fazzoletti here last week! It was really good, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I have to say the portions were small. It was enough for me because I don't eat that much, but compared to other restaurants it is pricey for the amount of food you get.

The environment is great and our service was perfect. If I see a coupon on restaurants.com again I'll be back...otherwise I would rather get more for my money somewhere else!