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Cape Cod Times
$20 Plus Tip: Classic Italian food served with a smile
September 10, 2009

Many things influence a dining experience and the server is certainly one of them. On our recent visit to Messina of Eastham, a server named Angel made our night. She had a fun personality, was attentive to our needs, readily offered suggestions when asked, and since she also works in the kitchen, could answer questions about the food. That kind of service seemed perfectly in keeping with a restaurant that calls itself "la taverna della famiglia" (an Italian family tavern). Messina has only been open a few months, but we didn't detect any kinks. The menu is classic Italian, the portions are huge and the prices are very reasonable.

In addition to a large selection of hot and cold antipasti dishes, they offer five creative salads that come with homemade dressing. The Florentina salad ($6.95) had fresh baby spinach tossed with a nicely balanced raspberry vinaigrette. Topped with beets, red onions and three goat cheese balls rolled in crushed walnuts, it was a nice accompaniment to the crusty bread served with seasoned olive oil.

Angel told us the Chicken Firenze ($12.95) was a popular choice, so I decided to try it. It was an enormous bowl of bow-tie pasta tossed with a creamy gorgonzola sauce. The boneless chicken breast was lightly marinated and then grilled to perfection with a nice brown crust and tender center. The dish was topped with candied walnuts and a sprinkling of fresh chopped parsley. The combination of flavors was divine, but the dish was much too rich (and large) to finish and I ended up bringing more than half of it home.

One of the nice things about Messina is the option to interchange the pasta and sauces of various dishes. With seven sauces (pomodoro, puttanesca, alfredo, bolognese, pesto, aglio e olio and gorgonzola) and six pastas plus gnocchi, it adds up to a lot of creative combinations beyond the specialties on the menu.

My husband ordered the sausage, peppers and onions ($12.95) and substituted gnocchi for penne. The tender gnocchi were tossed in a nicely flavored pomodoro sauce and served with thick slices of grilled sweet sausages and large chunks of onions and red and yellow peppers. He managed to finish the sausage, onions and peppers, but brought about half the gnocchi home.

The dessert menu has some wonderful-sounding choices like Torta di Ricotta (a ricotta cheesecake topped with fresh berries for $7.95) or Gelato Profiterole (a puff pastry with gelato and chocolate hazelnut sauce for $5.95). We settled on sharing the cannoli ($4.95), which came with two cannoli and three balls of homemade whipped cream dusted with cinnamon. The shells were crisp, indicating they are probably filled to order. The cannoli filling was incredibly creamy, but just a little sweet for our preferences. The mini chocolate chips were appreciated.

The interior of the restaurant seems cavernous, with three separate dining areas, including a large bar in the center. Walls are painted a combination of darker yellow and cream and seating is a combination of wooden booths and tables.

Messina more than delivered what we were looking for: tasty food, friendly service and great prices, with a bonus of doggie bag lunches for the next day.

Customer Reviews

"Best prepared food AND including drinks at a reasonable price, on Cape Cod"

"The quality of the food was fantastic; service was very friendly and prompt. The very hearty panini I had was out of this world, the tiramisu wasn't a bad way to finish things of either. Well worth the drive."

"The meal was outstanding. Compliments to the Chef. We had to wait when we first arrived so the Kitchen could catch up with meals ordered but it was well worth the wait; once seated our food arrived very quickly."

"The cannoli was the greatest surprise-nice and fresh and made to order. The dinner was excellent."

"The food was very good as was the service. They were very busy on the night we visited but the service was fast and the wait person was very attentive. Would recommend it to any and all."

"Fantastic food! We ordered take out to bring back to the beach house. Everything was very fresh and tasted GREAT. Very large portions too!"

"Had a great experience here, plenty of food and quite tasty... Only wish we left room for dessert..."

"Wide selection of pleasing sounding appetizers, first, and second courses, as well as desserts; classic Caesar salad with white anchovies prepared with fresh greens was perfect as a starter. Gorgonzola sauce with chicken medallions over cappellini was excellent. Side of roasted veggies was a perfect accompaniment. This is Boston's North End dining in Eastham! It's a much needed addition to our community, and to top it off, the portions are big, and it's reasonably priced. We'll be back this coming weekend!"

"I love that Eastham has a reasonably priced Italian restaurant with a creative menu and nice wines that are affordable."

"Very large menu will please all tastes. Reasonable prices on food and wines."