‘Watts for Dinner’: Arturo's Bistro delivers top-notch dinner

Arturo's Bistro on Marco Island is our next dining destination.

Even before the appetizer arrived, things got off to a delicious start with the bread. Served with both butter and oil on the side, we had high expectations (as the waiter was bragging about how great it was). And it was. And yes, I tried it with butter first, then oil; and finally, both at the same time.

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Next up was the appetizer. We selected the porcini mushroom ravioli ($12). It’s served in a creamy wild mushroom sauce and is topped with goat cheese. Once we finished off the ravioli, we dipped the amazing bread into the wild mushroom sauce, claiming every single drop. Yum!

For my main entrée, I picked the linguine Bolognese ($23). The meal comes with the house salad or soup of the day; but for a small upcharge, you can pick from a select group of other soups or salads. I had the French onion soup.

The soup was amazing. Not salty at all, a common flaw I find with most French onion soups; a problem I always believed comes from the cheese selection.

My linguine Bolognese was equally amazing. The noodles were served al dente. Nearly every restaurant that serves pasta delivers it overcooked. I was so happy that I almost cried. And the Bolognese, a traditional meat sauce, was the perfect compliment to the pasta; along with the giant shavings of Parmesan cheese.

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My partner in dine picked the beef braciole ($28). He also upgraded to the spinach salad.

The salad features baby spinach, caramelized pears, pancetta, pecans and goat cheese and it’s tossed with maple bourbon vinaigrette. The salad was as good as it looks and as good as it sounds.

The beef braciola is thinly sliced beef rolled and stuffed with Italian herbs and pine nuts and is topped with marinara sauce and cheese. It is accompanied with Arturo's baked crepe. This dish was a work of art. Top-notch beef. I’m ordering this next time.  

For dessert, my dining companion had the “Mango Melba” ($8); mango sorbet and creamy vanilla ice cream featuring a homemade raspberry sauce. This dessert looks amazing but didn’t taste nearly as good as my choice … the amaretto cheesecake ($9) a homemade cheesecake with savory almond and cherry in the mix.

If you’re looking for hearty comfort food, Arturo's Bistro is the whole package.

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If you go

Arturo's Bistro

• 918 N Collier Blvd, Marco Island
• 239-394-7578
• arturosbistro.com