Zarletti Mequon

I dined there last night with a friend who had thoroughly enjoyed their downtown location. I wish I had read the reviews here before I went to temper my expectations a bit more. In a restaurant I am focused on food, followed by service, atmosphere, and management. While our young server was really inexperienced (as were the bussing staff and food runner), they earned a solid 3.5 for the place. The food, atmosphere, and management took it down to the 2.0 average.
Many have posted here about the atmosphere. I agree, it is an attractive place with plenty of space that transformed the old retail area into an environment that looks inviting over all. There are several issues to be addressed, however.
— the noise is over the top for a location with $ 25 average entrees. The decibel level made intimate conversation a challenge.
— The stairway to the upper level looks forbidding.
— The reception desk is so far from the entrance that it looks more decorative than functional. It leaves guests wondering if they should walk over to it or wait to be greeted a dozen feet away.
I know that management is generally not mentioned in reviews online. However, this location suggests it is necessary here.
— With plenty of room in the restaurant, there was a child of under 8 years old seated at the bar. As a parenting issue, this is dubious. As a management issue, this is unacceptable.
— Servers ask diners if they have been to the restaurant before, then follow by saying they serve authentic northern Italian cuisine. Clearly, this is a management decision. I would suggest that if management wants to educate its guests, they could improve the menu and the execution of the dishes.
— It appeared that there were two hosts on duty for the evening we were there. Still, there was no one at the front desk beyond others waiting to be greeted.
Then there is the food. The seafood risotto was bland and the seafood on top was cold, not even room temperature. Half of the side of asparagus was too tough to navigate with a dinner knife. Simply peeling the bottom half of the stalk would have corrected this in the kitchen. The duck ragout was tasty and very hot, the pasta itself was delicious and fresh. There was just the right amount of sauce. The only problem with the dish is that I ordered it as the lesser of evils. I dislike cream in my pasta dishes and most on the menu listed cream in their sauces or described them as creamy. My side of spinach was so salty it would not be eaten. While a word to my server about the dish got it removed from my bill, it never should have left the kitchen. In my view, a meal with one dish that was quite good, two that were not, and one that was inedible is unacceptable and reflects poorly on all involved.
I will be pleasantly surprised if this place improves. Management seems too sure of itself to learn. If it doesn’t change, the Northshore will likely end up with another attractive family pizza place with pretty good wine.

Great vibes along with amazing pizza, though I am kinda sad they took off the Quatro Formaggio pizza, and the main Chef, Andrew, left, Zarletti offers a pretty good bar. I recommend the Zarletti Burger from the lunch menu as it is probably the most thought out dish they have. Mequon Zarletti has a great location with a exquisite Italian feeling, and looks, including amazing food.

We love this place! Elegant feel but they still welcome children. We have had many stellar experiences. On one of the nights that stands out, we ordered the meatball appetizer and they brought it right away for the kids. They were delicious! We then had the vegetable of the day (green beans cooked perfectly!) and the Del Re pizza (truffle crema, yum!!). The owner even stopped over to check on us. And the waiter was attentive and friendly. We continue to have wonderful experiences and we crave Zarletti’s on a weekly basis!

We’ve been to Zarlotti’s twice and the first time the food and the service was great but they were very busy and the noise level in the high ceiling dining room was loud. Today we went earlier in the day and the volume was perfect. My wife ordered the veal bolognese and it was great. I ordered veal Marsala and the veal was tough but an exceptional server asked if I would like something else and she quickly brought me the same thing as my wife. Overall we were very pleased.

Enjoyed a quick Tuesday nite out. Decent beer selection on draft, as well as wine. Surprised us with half price pizza so that was a bonus. Enjoyed the Spinaci pizza and the the Padrino pizza, each very different and fun to share @ only $ 6.50 each! Service was very good, dining room set up and ambiance was ok, don’t like the very bright light above table when you have a booth. Will go back.

December 26,2015
My entire family was in town and we were a sick of cooking so I suggested this restaurant based on previous experience with the pizza being good
We were a large party of 13 and seated on the upper level, it was 6:30 in the evening. Right off the bat the waitress was in a bad mood, taking quite a while to bring the requested high chair. My daughter and her family are vegan and she asked about the ingredients in the pizza dough. The waitress apparently had to go downstairs for the answer, this didn’t make her happy.
We then ordered drinks and two glasses of the red wine tasted old, when the waitress was told she did swap the wine for another. The people who had pizza were happy. My meal of shrimp scampi with an olive oil dressing and linguini was marginal. The shrimp were cooked fine but the pasta was overcooked and saturated in the sauce., when I had requested a light amount of dressing. Some of the dishes were all right, some marginal. A halibut and mashed potato combo seemed to be the pick of the night.
The biggest disappointment was with the pasta itself, for a restaurant with these high of prices and advertising home made pasta, it was nothing special. Considering the small groups up stairs the waitress was very inattentive, but the gratuity was included in the tip.
I will not return except if we are in the mood for a pizza

Eh. Wanted to like it. Excited to try. Sorry but super dry bread, bland olive oil… Needs balsamic and Parmesan or something. Pasta was overlooked and sauce was bland. Service was great.

This review is from my Oct 1, 2015 dining experience.
Beautiful Restaurant, but t the food is Horrible!
Started with the Sangria where the berries were muddled to such a degree that the beverage was un-​drinkable due to the unnatural consistency and thickness of the liquid.
Our appetizer was Burrata, a very generous portion with more than enough «toasts» served alongside. Some of the bread was charred too much and some not at all. Most disappointingly the Burrata tasted as though it was a few days beyond its sell by date and we did not enjoy it. After complaining it was removed from our bill.
My main course was the Rigatoni Carbonara and I choose to add what I thought was grilled chicken. When the dish came the chicken and pancetta were congealed together with the cheese on top of the rigatoni there was no evidence of any type of carbonara sauce which includes an egg and is usually creamy. The entire dish was just seated in oil that it seemed to come from the pancetta and/​or the cheese. The pancetta was cooked to such a consistency that it made it nearly impossible to chew. The chicken was not grilled at all but was diced and cooked it seemed in the fat of the pancetta.
We also ordered the salmon with mashed potatoes that came presented very nicely but proved to be overcooked and tasteless that too went uneaten and was removed from the bill.
Overall this was a very disappointing dining experience we will not be returning and suggest you do not even try it!
One more thing, our waitress was also one of the bartenders. This seemed very strange to me because she was very busy and I’ve never seen a bartender utilized as a waitress before. Also both of us have suffered from gastrointestinal distress since our visit! One more reason to stay away!

I would put this as 1.5 star if possible. One star is a TOTAL FLOP and that’s not the case here. However two stars indicates «Meh» and it was a tad worse IMHO.
Firstly, service is always relevant but not what should generally drive a restaurant review as far as I’m concerned. Its the FOOD that should drive a review and that’s what the problem here is.
I really wanted to enjoy this place and have waited a while to take my whole family as the summer activities haven’t given us much of a chance to go out as a fivesome. So we finally did and I told them all how hopeful I was for the place and that we’d enjoy a really nice end-​of-​summer Sunday dinner together.
So…Food. Five different dishes and perhaps 2 of 5 that we’d even think about repeating on.
The much heralded Burata — Sorry total flop. It is served cold-​ish and has a rather unappealing textural mix along with a bland flavor. The prosciutto helped but whatever. One of my daughters did enjoy it. The other four of us gave it a big thumbs down. There was even a little left over as we had no desire to finish it off. With that said… friends of our have all recommended so go figure.
The chicken and farfalle dish was ultra-​mediocre and had way too many onions for an Italian dish of this type. There were other tings going on here but I can’t remember them. What I do remember is feeling that this dish should be a lay down for an Italian restaurant.
The Carbonara (my personal favorite always) was extraordinarily BAD. Large rectangular chunks of Pancetta were strange as well as the choice of rigatonni for the pasta. Perhaps its a standard pairing somewhere in Italy but I’ve never seen it. Regardless, that’s not entirely where it failed. It failed in that had no creamy, egg-​parmesan texture/​taste and instead seemed like it was in a thickened broth. Another real flop.
Seafood Risotto was bland and made with obviously pre-​prepared rice that was reheated with some veggies, a little salmon, some functional but not-​quite-​warm-​enough scungilli and three underwhelmingly flavored shrimp.
On the decent side was my wife’s Salmon which was well flavored and finished (prepared entirely?) in the brick oven which lends wonderful taste and a rustic texture to the fish that I’d gladly have ordered. However the mashed potatoes (who serves mashies with salmon?) were bland as well and mushy/​gritty in texture ala reheated grits. Even my wife, the mashed potato freak, left them barely touched. One bite test from me and I agreed completely.
Lastly was the Margarita pizza for my son. This was tolerable if not inspiring. The oven yields a crust that is great. The basil was a bit much for him but I knew what to expect. With that said, I’d opt for a CPK version here but I’d also give some of their alternative pies a try first as they did seem to have some combos that were more fitting an adult’s taste that I’m sure they’d execute well on.
Overall I got the impression that the execution is off. Perhaps we could have made better choices from the menu but I don’t sense that was the problem. The menu design seems well thought out and has genuine Italian offerings. Its the execution that really fails here. Uninspired or rote line work generated an entirely forgettable meal. Add the fact that with salads or apps, drinks and perhaps deserts, Salotto is not even remotely a casually priced meal, and I can assure you we won’t be coming back for a long while.
Darn, I was hoping for a hit in Mequon.

Server had too many tables and ignored us the majority of the time. Waters sat empty, appetizer plates weren’t cleared, another round of cocktails/​dessert weren’t offered.
I had the classic pasta with meatballs; it’s the best way to tell if an Italian restaurant is worth it’s salt. It wasnt. It was bland and room temp, at best.
My boyfriend had the Chicken Farfalle. He said it was decent but reminded him of Chicken Helper and the peas were awful. It was as if they were frozen or reheated.
Won’t be visiting again.

We went over lunch so this is a review of that menu.
So much potential here. Going to try again for dinner. Overall, just missed on some key fundamentals.
The atmosphere is nice, for a strip mall location. The servers were polite and knowledgeable on the menu.
We started with a caprese salad. The mozzarella was tough to bite. And it was missing the balsamic. Though it had pesto instead. Not my favorite. Also the bread service was tasteless and dry; even with olive oil.
Then we had the pomadoro pasta. Wow. It was really good. Apparently a family recipe. Garlic, basil and pepper. Tasty.
We had the 10 layer chocolate cake. It wasn’t very good.
Pros — atmosphere, service and pasta sauce
Cons — bread service

Note, my visit was closer to 4 ½ stars, but not quite 5 stars. Hopefully, ½ stars get added to Unilocal some day.
I found out recently that the chef, Andrew Miller, was leaving to work on opening his own restaurant in the former Prodigal space, so I wanted to try his menu before he left.
It was a beautiful evening, so my friend and I sat on the patio bewteen the fire place and the water fountain.
We ordered a glass of wine and a few appetizers to get us started. Grilled Baby Octopus ($ 12) is served with «olives, blistered tomato, calabrian chile (from Calabria, Italy), and chickpeas. I’m generally not a fan of the texture of whole chickpeas and had a hard time appreciating these. They were crunchy, intentionally I’m sure for texture contrast. The grilled octopus was perfectly cooked. It wasn’t too chewy as octopus can often be. I didn’t get the overall «wow» flavor I experienced with another Grilled Baby Octopus dish I had at AP Kitchen & Bar, but this dish was definitely solid!
The Veal and Pork Meatballs ($ 9) were delicious. The texture was on the soft side, and the flavors of the seasoning and sauce were right on. After having a few different meatballs made with pork recently, I think I’ve decided I prefer meatballs without pork in them. They’re good. I just prefer the texture and flavor profiles of meatballs without pork.
The Housemade Burrata ($ 13) was out of this world! Creamy and delicious, it was served with housemade grilled bread. The serving was huge. We picked at it throughout the entire meal, adding it as an additional topping to the pizza we ordered. The prosciutto is available to add and really took the plate to another level!
We decided to order the pizza called La Bomba ($ 15), and it was indeed The Bomb! It’s topped with tomato sauce, fresh mozz, pieces of meatballs, and giardineira. Every bite was a flavor explosion, and it was enhanced when we added pieces of the burrata and prosciutto. WOW! All pizzas are the same size, around 12 inches and there are plenty of options to choose from ranging in price from a $ 9 Margherita to an $ 18 Del Re with a black truffle crema.
Gluten free pizza, and pasta, is also available.
Our last dish was the Seafood Stew ($ 25) with calamari, scallops, fish (I believe we had salmon and perhaps another type I cannot recall) and shrimp, served with grilled bread to dip in the broth, which was rich with the flavors of the seafood and shells it was made with!
I didn’t see what the retail store looked like, but I definitely love the design of the restauarant space on both floors. Although, I think the second floor would benefit from a movable divider to create separate rooms if overflow is needed for dining. It would also allow for multiple private event bookings.
Our service was excellent, the wine was great, the food was great… it was an overall great dining experience. I learned that the sous chef drom Zarletti (downtown MKE) will be taking over as Executive Chef after Chef Miller leaves, so I expect great things to continue at Salotto Zarletti!

Five stars is hard to come by me. I give it to them not only because of the good food, but the great service.
In fact when we had a problem with our order it was addressed right away. I am blown away by their hospitality and professionalism that is lacking in so many great restaurants. For that I will always come back. This place will remain one of my favorite hot spots in the MKE area!
If that doesn’t convince you, I even know my favorite waitresses name there Rosie – and if you know me, I can never remember names!
Their wine selection is to die for. Every one I’ve tried has had a wonderful bouquet and taste.
My favorite on the menu is the Apple Gorgonzola Pizza. It has blue cheese crumbles, nuts and the perfect tarte taste that comes from when you bite into the hot green sliced apples. Delicious! The best part is that it will fill you up but won’t make you feel like a million pounds afterwards.
A great place to go with a very close friend or if your looking for something romantic but still not overdoing it for a second date.

Ciao! As a student who spent 6 months in Rome, Italy, eating and drinking my way through the country, it’s extremely difficult to find Italian food that at the first bite, transports me back into the heart of Italy like Salotto’s. I had the pleasure of dining for my birthday, Easter Brunch and we are headed back for Mother’s Day. It’s extremely rare for my family to fall in love with a place like we have fallen in love with Salotto.
Anything and everything is good! We haven’t tried their pizza yet only because we decided to eat and drink our way through the rest of the menu first. It’s a beautiful setting and the style supports any type of dress from jeans to cocktail.
As a family we highly recommend the pastas, Italian Bloody Mary’s, and all appetizers and the homemade chocolate cake and the Italian doughnuts. And of course, the homemade limoncello!
Thank you Salotto’s for transporting me back to Italy, each time we eat here, it is a wonderful opportunity to share memories of my trip and to celebrate new family memories and events! Grazi Mille to the owner and staff for a wonderful and authentic experience, each and every time.

Love the space. I came early and ordered to go from the bar. The bartender was outstanding, friendly, knowledge. Ordered the Italian Manhattan (great).
I ordered two items, the burratta with grilled bread and the Valota Pizza, which is very spicy pizza. I live spicy, but I have a feeling it may be a bit two spicy for the average Wisconsinite. Don’t change it, it was perfect for me.
Getting the food too a little bit longer than expected, but I was in no rush.
This is a «no brainer» for Mequon. Its the best place to have a nice dinner, with nice ambience.
Tops in Mequon!

Came in last night for a meal with the bf. The dining room downstairs was full, so we were seated upstairs in what would normally be their function room. It had a full bar which was awesome for getting quick drinks.
Started with a glass of sparking wine, a beer and their appetizer of homemade mozzarella with toasted bread. It was decadent! The bread was hot and salty, and the cheese was so fresh and creamy.
I had the half roasted chicken with polenta cakes and rosemary chicken jus. It was a great portion! The polenta cakes were very yummy and had a biscuit flavor which I enjoyed. The chicken was tender and delicious. The bf got the hangar steak. For $ 26, the portion was incredibly small and came with no sides! The portion of the meat would have been okay if it had more sides. The flavor was lovely, though.
We finished with panna cotta and gelato with espresso over the top. Both were delicious! We really enjoyed the food here, and the atmosphere was lovely (besides being a bit chilly inside). We are glad we ventured out of Milwaukee to try this new Italian restaurant! We will be going back.

Ive been here a handful of times for both lunch and dinner. The lunch menu is a bit more compact and really highlights the pizzas and sandwiches that come out super quick.
The dinner menu gets a little more in-​depth that really focuses on various pastas and meat dishes. Of course, the pizza still has a whole dedicated page — it does only take 90 seconds once it is made to cook in the crazy hot wood burning oven. Upstairs there is a dedicated room with a bar for special events that overlooks the downstairs.
This space used to be an outdoor retailer so it was interesting to see what they did with the space — they did a great job making it flow as a restaurant.
There are 2 TVs over the bar and then there is a «lounge» that has two sofas and another large TV over a fireplace. This is a great place to have a drink and wait for your table to open up.
The bar seats around 20 people and wraps around. There are bar height tables that you can eat at in the «lounge» area. There are booths that line that one wall when you enter and the lighting is a bit dim here. Once you get to the other side of the restaurant they have tables to sit 4 – 6 people with old kitchen fixtures that are a great touch.
This is a great addition to the Mequon area for eating. The pizzas are all really good and unique. The few pasta dishes that I’ve had are also really good. The arranchcini (fried risotto balls with cheese in the middle) are an awesome app to start with.
Definitely recommend checking this place out if you work or live in the area.

So happy Salotto moved to the neighborhood. There are not many options in Mequon for lunch-​and 0 restaurants appropriate for client entertaining, until Salotto !
I put in a large take out order at 10:50am (10 pizza’s and 8 salads) and was surprised to hear the server say they would be ready by 11:30am. WHAT? AWESOME! The pizza and salads were ready to go when we arrived.
I tried 3 of the several we ordered:
Padrino-​was surprised to find it wasn’t my favorite– too salty
Diavola-​crumbled spicy sausage, very good.
my favorite was the Prosciutto con Rucola-​WOW! fresh mozzarella, arugula, prosciutto-​definitely would order that again.
While the pizza was good-​I think the pear salad was my absolute favorite-​arugula with goat cheese, thick cut cubed pancetta and walnuts. If you like pears and goat cheese you will LOVE this salad.
Welcome to the neighborhood Salotto!

Went here for the first time today, the inside was very well decorated and it gave a very authentic feel to the place. The appetizers and dinners were fantastic! The menu was well balanced and I have to say the homemade from scratch pizzas are absolutely to die for! The place wasn’t packed but had a good amount of people in the main room so it was a little noisy.
Overall
Pros
Food was awesome
Price was reasonable for the amount and quality of food received
Cons
The time between appetizers and entrees was a little longer than I would have expected
They don’t have curtains for the large windows in the main room, so if you are in a corner seat the sun will be moving across your face as the afternoon goes on
I’m conclusion, I think this place did a fantastic job hitting the ground running, over other restaurants that have had problems for the first few months, this place has created a great setting with fantastic food.

Yummmmmmmmmm!
Enjoyed my time at the salotto yesterday. They converted Laacke and Joys into a 2 story, modern Italian masterpiece. It ‘s looking really good in there. They have a few large flat screens at the bar, and one in a lounge area to relax before you are taken to dinner.
The beer selection was great. No cocktail menu, which I like when I’m going out for a fancier dinner, but I was satisfied with the Dogfishead 90 minute IPA. Don’t see that too often on tap. I know the restaurant is just a month old, so they are still workin out the kinks. Probably smart for now.
Our family got the burrata and a margarita pizza to split as appetizers. The burrata was «eh» but if you put some prosciutto on there it was pretty good. It reminded me of a big mozzarella ball, which I love, but I was expecting more flavor to be honest. I had better burrata at AP bar. Zarletti steps up the game though with delicious bread.
The rissoto verde was super delicious. It was a pesto inspired risotto with shrimp and asparagus. I loved it. It was creamy and full of flavor in ever bite.
The ultimate part of the meal was dessert. The tiramisu was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! I think there was a cream cheese frosting incorporated, because the tang was unlike any tiramisu I’ve ever had. It was honestly that good.
All in all, a great experience. I plan on going back again and again. I definitely would recommend that they start a happy hour there— so much potential with a great bar area, a patio outside, and those delicious little pizzas. I think that could be a gold mine.