Amarsi Ristorante

10/20/14…THEY ARE NO LONGER OPEN.
Came for dinner this evening, for lease signs in windows… all baron

We came to Amarsi for the first time tonight for dinner. On first glance, the restaurant is nicely decorated and has a jovial atmosphere. We were seated and quickly realized that the waitstaff here is really awkward. Our waiter’s general timing was odd, but he also made awkward comments to my wife about her pregnant belly and told the diner next to us that the chianti selection was «right in front of him» on the menu. The young man who refilled our water only did so when the glasses were already full but then completely ignored us when our glasses were empty. Weird. Luckily, the food was pretty good. I ordered the fettuccine Alfredo and my wife had the tortellini with vodka sauce. Not sure if the Alfredo sauce was fresh or not, but the vodka sauce was excellent. Our main comment apart from the service, is that the restaurant should use salted butter to accompany the bread. Unsalted butter is weird unless you’re cooking with it! Overall, maybe we were just here on an off night, but feel that in general the price doesn’t merit the awkward service.

My husband and I ate here about a month ago. We each had an entrée and I a glass of wine. We had a coupon that was published in the local paper. The coupon was 15% off, small print advised that a 18% gratuity would be added. We usually leave that amount so were willing to accept that. Since the total bill included the gratuity, nothing was added to the bottom line. We got our credit card bill this week, someone had added a 20% gratuity…$ 14. My husband stopped by to talk to the owner, she was not there. He asked that she call him. No call received. The next day he went back to the restaurant and did speak to the owner. She said she was sorry this happened. That sometimes they get real busy… and refunded him the overcharge.
The food has been good but when a blatant theft occurs, why would you go back?

We tried this place for the first time and was very happy with it. The food was great! The portions were normal sizes so no sharing them. This is not a family friendly place. We took our 2 year old and while he did good, they told us it was the first time they ever use the booster. Everything was very elegant and the table had formal settings. Great place to try for a date night.

This place is SO good! We’ve been here several times and have never been disappointed. The food is real Italian, not frozen and reheated crap like you get at chains. It’s also delicious! I could eat the creamy vodka sauce with a spoon. The drinks are great, and the wait staff are friendly and professional. The restaurant owner greets us by name each time we come in. We definitely recommend Amarsi!

I’m so surprised to see so any bad reviews of Amarsi on here. We live nearby, so eat here quite a bit. The food is great, and the menu is diverse. I’ve liked everything I’ve ordered there, except the Lobster Ravioli – bland and boring. The caprese salad is yummy, the pasta dishes are fantastic, and even the martinis are amazing. The wait staff actually have personalities and have always been helpful in their suggestions.

When I tried Amarsi for the first time I was quickly impressed with the quality of the food, the service and the atmosphere. I have revisited for a special occasion and was again impressed by the quality of the food, the service and atmosphere and now consistency of each. For a dinner service on a Friday night, it was steady but not overwhelming for me as a guest. I think one of my favorite things about Amarsi is the team effort put into ensuring guests are satisfied and cared for. Dare I say family? The owner is invested in her business, and it is refreshing to see her truly assuming the role of proprietor. That investment translates over to the camerieri.
The food, because that’s the good stuff. I am a sucker for calamari and I’m a double sucker for the calamari served here. Heaps and heaps, I can’t help myself. Trust me there are other things on the menu like the shrimp and artichoke dip served with bruschetta… YUM! It’s been a long time since I have gone to a restaurant that informed you vocally of the evenings soup and dinner specials. I did enjoy the special of the evening which I am kicking myself for not remembering the name of. Not to worry, I have pictures. It was a pork with a red wine reduction and mashed potatoes and spinach. My husband was making fun of me because I was like «I’m going to need a knife» as I poked my fork into the meat only to find that I –did not– in fact need a knife as it fell apart. TENDER, yes sir, yes ma’am. My husband had the veal parm, with the foodgasmic looks on his face and and near empty plate, I would say he enjoyed the meal.
Amarsi has become my favorite place to eat in Oro Valley. I cannot wait to go back and devour the menu one item at a time. This is my goto establishment for friends, for family, having a wedding? Amarsi. Having a date? Amarsi. Nice night with friends? Amarsi. By yourself? Amarsi. They have a bar :) Lunch? Amarsi.

I’m giving the lunch food two stars because it was just ok. Too much breading on the chicken and eggplant parmesan sandwiches. Meatball sandwich was dry and not very flavorful. Sandwiches come with fried Italian chips and a little tiny salad. They should just nix the chips and stick with a larger salad (carb overload). I will give our server and hostess 4 stars since he was the only one serving at the restaurant, and she was doing her best to help out. The bar area is a warm, rich wood and cozy-​looking, so if I was to go back, it would probably only be for an appetizer and a glass of wine, but at this point, it is not at the top of my list.

I have been here several times and love the place. Great bar with good beer and wine selection. Very personable staff. I have met the head chef and owner personally each time I come in. The food is wonderful and not slathered with heavy sauce. Very nice atmosphere. The private dinner nights have some of the best food I have had, compared to 4 and 5 star restaurants in Las Vegas and Phoenix areas. Amazing to have a neighborhood restaurant like this!

Nothing inedible. Nothing that would make me go back.

Came here twice during our vacation. Had great service both times. Pizza Is the best in Tucson!!!

Love, love love. Service was excellent. Food was wonderful. Nothing negative to say about this place. Was our first nite in the area. Hope everywhere we eat is this good.

We’ve been looking for a good Italian restaurant for the several months we’ve lived in the Tucson area. So we tried Amarsi out of curiosity as well as it’s close location. After eating there, we are STILL looking for a good Italian restaurant.
The drinks and bread served were both without distinction. (Neither of us care for flavored butter, but it seems that’s the norm here in the southwest.) I’ve had better diner food. My wife’s chicken parm was cold and tasteless. The sauce tasted like something out of a can.
I ordered lobster ravioli. The sauce it came with was thick, white and almost unseasoned, except for the overly speckled parsley. So much parsley that it was grainy in texture which made it very unappealing. Whatever flavor the lobster provided was overwhelmed by the sauce.
The waiter was disinterested in serving us, as his conversations with others on the staff, and maybe a few friends coming in to eat were more important than we were. When we asked for a few more moments to decide, he was from that point on very gruff and rude. We were now a thorn in his side and exhibited visual impatience with us until we finally ordered. (Should have paid for the drinks and left then if I knew the meal was going to be so bad.)
This place is horribly overpriced. Given the poor quality of the food, mediocre drinks and rude staff, I would have been hesitant to pay half of what they charged. Will never go there again.

OMG! This is by far the WORST Italian food I have ever eaten in all my 63 years. It is not only the worst Italian food, but quite possibly the worst food ever. And at their inflated prices a genuine rip off. This place certainly deserves to go out of business.
What is it with Groupon lately? Are they only being offered for restaurants that are so bad that they are about to go out of business?

«In order to have good Italian food you need to be from New York» said, the lady owner of the business. (Not a plug for Tavalino) «But isn’t the owner of Tavalino from Italy? someone replied «It doesn’t matter our food is good.» She replied back.
The food was good, I had the eggplant parm and The BIG slice of the chocolate cake.

This was my second visit. I tried this place not long after it first opened and vowed to never return. However I saw a Groupon and figured I would give it a second try. I really really wanted to like it as it is so close to my house.
Bruce the bartender is awesome and we really like him (met him when he worked at Carrabbas) and if I could review him and the bar — I would give 5 stars! This is a place to go have drinks as he makes some tasty drinks (sangria is yummy) but stay away from the food.
The food is not good at all. Bland and very average. I don’t like the Olive Garden (actually despise it and it’s interpretation of «Italian food») but would rather go there than come back to this restaurant. I really don’t understand the good food reviews. We shared the bruschetta and the garlic bread and knew as soon as we tried these two appetizers that the entrees would not be good. How can you mess up something as simple as garlic bread and bruschetta??? I had the wild mushroom alfredo and the sauce was barely noticible on the store bought dried pasta. My partner had a seafood dish with a garlic wine herb «sauce» over linguini — this pasta was so dry if it weren’t for seeing herbs on the pasta we would have thought they served the store bought dried pasta without any sauce! There was absolutely NO FLAVOR in either of these two entrees.
We will go back to have drinks with Bruce but will either eat before we go or we will go someplace afterwards to grab a bite.

It’s interesting to see the comments from others indicating they tried the restaurant based on use of a Groupon. My situation involved a
certificate and it did not go well.
The food was all right at Amarsi Restaurant. However, when we got our bills they were very rude about my
certificate.
The place is expensive and as indicated by another review — not what you consider a fine dining ambience.
I called two days before to check on using my
certificate because we were with a party of eight and six had Tucson dining cards. I was told by a gentlemen answering the phone that he «didn’t see why it would be a problem».
That evening, before we ordered I showed my certificate to the waiter (it was on my phone) and asked if he needed to see it before we ordered. He said we would deal with it when he presented the bill. He did NOT say — we don’t accept them.
When the bill came, the lady that came to take care of the checks was very rude about it and said they didn’t accept them and something about there was a bunch of fraud and she would not accept it. After I told her I’d called as well as shown it to the waiter before ordering, she finally did agree to accept it. She told me in a very unpleasant tone that she would NOT accept the other one. (I bought two cause it’s near us in Tucson). I understand if they discontinue accepting them, but they had two occasions to make me aware of that. It was a poor way to treat a customer. In addition, in other instances when restaurants choose not to continue to participate,
contacts you to allow you to request an exchange.
I have contacted them regarding the situation.
We were celebrating anniversaries and had ordered after dinner drinks when this took place. It ruined the evening and I won’t go back and I doubt that anyone else in our party will feel differently.

If I had to rate this restaurant on food alone it would most likely get 4 stars. I ordered a veal dish and the flavor was wonderful and I would recommend it. The portions were not as filling as I would have liked, but I left feeling satisfied and not overly full.
The menu is a bit too large, I’m not a fan of larger menus because it not only causes delay in making a selection but too many dishes equates to many mediocre dishes. This place has, by no means, a menu with a short novel of selections such as the cheesecake factory, but a reduction in items would be good.
We went with our friends and we are in our 30s and late 20s and we were by far the youngest people in the restaurant at 6:45pm. By the time we left a few younger couples had shown up. The sever informed us that having the groupon was the restaurants intent to influence a younger crowd to come. It worked, there we were. The décor was nice and pleasant. There was a glass heart candle holder on our table which was chipped and should have been removed. I think that the bar area looked nice and inviting and next time we go we will choose to sit in the bar area.
Our server meant well, but was a little overbearing. He included little back stories on the dishes which I could have done without. It also seemed like he lingered too close to the table often. At one point he was bringing out dishes to a couple and his wrong rang, he almost slammed the serving tray and that told them he would be right back. The management at this restaurant should not allow servers to have their cell phones on in the middle of service, or at least have them not audible.
Overall we will be going back and it is not solely because we have another groupon. It is because the food was good, the environment was pleasant and we had a good time. It is on the pricier side with an average of about 18 dollars an entrée, but check it out if you want some decent food. Definitely a step above some of the other local Italian offerings.

Sadly, this authentic Italian restaurant is across the street from an Olive Garden in an area where most people want cheap «Italian» food and don’t care about quality or authenticity. This place is Olive Garden’s antithesis and is therefore quality, unique, and DELICIOUS.
We got the ensalata caprese (a special that night) and the mozzarella was obviously handmade and tasted wonderful. We also shared the wild mushroom alfredo and mussel linguini served over a somewhat spicy marinara sauce (I made an exception to my vegetarianism and tried the mussels — they were delicious).
The server was incredibly friendly and extremely knowledgeable about wine. In fact he wrote the extensive and detailed wine list and could tell you a lot about each bottle. We tried four glasses of wine, two of them Italian. All were delicious. We were also informed that the restaurant has a port wine that was bottled in 1929.
We finished with the tiramisu. Ths biscotti was soaked in amaretto and espresso, which made for a light, consistent texture. Also excellent.
We will definitely be back!

Nobody wants to be the first person to buy anything that has just come to market. My first Mac in 1994 was a piece of junk. But of course now I wouldn’t dream of existing without my Apple products today.
It is with this suspicion that my wife and I entered the brand spanking new Amarsi Ristorante. We had low expectations but high hopes.
Our expectations began to erode, rather, to be raised as soon as we got in past the strip mall doors. The place was beautiful. And, quite full for a late Wednesday night. We were seated promptly and immediately taken under Lionel’s wing, our older, savvy and paternal waiter. Not in a bad way, but in that «I know what I am doing and I am going to take you on a food journey» kind of way.
Menu’s are useless to me. I rely solely on the waitstaff suggestions. There is an obvious logic to this, of course. Any server worth my tip will be honest and let me know what to eat and, more importantly, what not to eat. Plus, it establishes a relationship and human nature is such that we tend to take care of those we have a relationship with. A good server will key on this, understand that we are not occasional diners, and begin a regimen that concludes with both of us being a little richer for the experience. Lionel was just such a waiter.
We discussed the wine list and I learned that he was the one who built it. Score. He suggested a Valpilocella from Tommasi which was stellar at $ 29.00. A heavy mouth feel full of leather, raisins, vanilla and plenty of lush plum flavors. Lionel told me this is one of the better producers in Valpolicella and that they passed the wine over Amarone pressings which gave it that richness. We were off to a great start.
Lionel told me that they have excellent veal dishes and a terrific veal provider. I went with veal saltimbocca and my wife the more rustic spaghetti and meatballs. However, we first tried the fried calamari. My thinking was that a new restaurant better be able to do a basic calamari right. Amarsi came through. Light, cooked perfectly and ample portions; the calamari was excellent. Best of all was the sauce, which was obviously home made and bursting with tomatoes and light garlic and I believe grated Pecorino Romano cheese. The warm, crusty square ciabatta bread was kept supplied on the table by a quiet, but proficient back waiter, as well.
I watched Lionel interacting with a table of six older folks – three men and three ladies – nearby and he was entertaining them with the same bottle of wine he had suggested to us. It appeared from my eavesdropping that the ladies of the table didn’t care for the wine, this after they had drained the bottle. Lionel took it in stride. Clearly the ladies had no idea what good wine was, but I’ll reserve my personal jabs. He went and brought them another bottle of a pedestrian Merlot and said it was on him. While they were impressed, they refused the bottle out of embarrassment I think. Lionel scored points and I believe the impression he intended was felt by all at that table, and ours, which nobody knew about.
Our entrees came and both of them were just terrific. My veal was rolled into a roulade with prosciutto and fontina cheese. Not tough at all, full of flavor, and a nice browning on the outside. My side dish was what a lot of places will call «dirty» mashed potatoes – basically chunky, and full of herbs or skins. They were perfect and full of flavor. My wife’s meatballs, which she generously shared with me, were the best I have had in a very long time. I am guessing they were made with a combination of pork and veal (?) and very tender and flavorful. Her dish also came with just the right amount of spaghetti and sauce with roasted peppers on the side. A garlic lover’s dream. Seriously. The sauce just kicking and screaming with garlic.
Lionel told the hostess who was close by to bring us desert on him. Totally unnecessary, of course. But he said to her that «we» had a love of wine we shared and he knew we would be having a long relationship. How do you like that? We had understood each other and I had a momentary glow of connection with my fellow man through the power of food and wine that I cherish so much when it happens.
Desert was a New York style cheesecake slice shared between us and two black coffees. It was delicious. The raspberry sauce and white chocolate flakes in just the right proportions. Not because it was free, but because it was quality.
I was satiated, and my low expectations slain. The bill was $ 91.72 with tax. As part of my silent bargain with Lionel, he received $ 20.00. We will certainly be back with very high expectations now.
*I have since learned that Lionel is not the owner. He sure fooled me.