Trattoria Cattaneo

We rarely go out for Italian food because I'm usually disappointed with the local restaurants. I like authentic Italian and most of the restaurants usually serve American-Italian, which is easy to make at home. I had read about Trattoria Cattaneo on Yelp and it got 4 1/2 stars so it was worth a try. Plus, they had a $40 voucher for $20 on Yelp. It's located at 2700 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa.

Bread & focaccia served with olive tapenade. The focaccia was oily but the tapenade was delicious.

Antipasto platter--$11.95. I did not like this. There were 2 of each--bruschetta with flavorless tomatoes, honeydew with prosciutto, tomato with mozzarella cheese, prawns that had been previously frozen then defrosted, mussels and a seafood mix with crab. The seafood mix had been frozen then defrosted at the last minute because it came out too cold. The whole thing was drizzled with balsamic vinegar but still lacked flavor. I would skip it next time.

Pasta vongole--$16.95. The pasta was cooked just a little longer than al dente and it was swimming in a creamy tomato sauce. The dish was loaded with clams and the sauce was tasty. Okay, but not the best I have had.

This was the special pasta of the evening--fettuccini with seafood pomodoro--$19.95. Again, nothing special and even less tasty than the vongole.

Special dessert of the evening. This was a chocolate torte with brûlée filling--$7.95. This was tasty and the best part of the meal.

2014 08 20