Davio

UGHHH LOVED THIS PLACE!
Now closed? Thanks for posting… after we walked down there twice trying to use our Groupon. I’m already sad that you’re closed, but, can you post it maybe? :(
I’m sad.
*Update 10/​27* I emailed the address listed on the website, asking if they were opening back up… I got an email back about Mr. Davio having health problems, and that being the reason they are closed. While I do sympathize, I think as a business it is important to let patrons know what is going on. Especially since they just had another groupon available (which we bought). So I do hope they open back up.

CLOSED!
Restaurant reported as closed by Post Gazette in their October 4, 2013 issue.
Erratic schedule was reported before closing.

I ate here a while ago with my fiancé for dinner. Whenever we heard about Davio I was surprised to find out that it was located in Beechview as it wouldn’t have been my first place to put an expensive Italian restaurant but it seems to work here. Whenever we walked into the restaurant I was reminded of an old house with fancy tables covered in white table cloths, knick-​knacks all over the place and then the painting from their website. I am not really sure what is up with that picture but I personally found it rather creepy but that is my own opinion. We were also seated in full view of a table from which I was assuming the owner conducted his business? Throughout dinner he was making phone calls and many of the waitresses stopped back to talk to him. I thought that was a little weird and all but it didn’t negatively affect our dining experience.
One of the first things that they do whenever you arrive here is bring you out some homemade bread along with 3 different dipping sauces. The bread was excellent, especially with the white bean sauce which I loved. There was also a wonderful olive oil with lemon juice and Parmesan cheese and finally and olive tapenade type sauce. For our appetizer we decided to go with the Calamari and jumbo shrimp which was sautéed with spinach and ripe olives in unfiltered olive oil with garlic. They were not joking around whenever they said jumbo shrimp either as they were some of the biggest shrimp I have ever eaten and tasted good too. The calamari was also pretty good, cooked nicely so that it was tender and not too chewy. For my entrée I had the NY Sirloin Strip Steak which was described on the menu as a generously hand-​cut, seasoned with olive oil and cracked black pepper to create an intensely flavorful steak. Once again generously hand cut was an understatement as my steak was humongous. The seasoning on it was perfect as well and it was tender leading to a very enjoyable entrée. It was so large and combined with the rest of the food that we had eaten so filling that I actually ended up taking about half of it home. I honestly can not say the last time that I had a hard time finishing my meal.
The bottom line for me is that I would head back here again in the future. Yeah, it’s expensive for an Italian restaurant in Pittsburgh but I feel like you are definitely getting what you pay for here. All of the food that we had was really good, now if they would only do something about the décor.

went with a groupon… meal portions so HUGE they actually discourage the appetite. One gentleman seated nearby sighed in frustration when his double big jumbo portion of steaks were served. yes, they serve a two steak meal… another couple left with two doggie bags containing 5 take out boxes. and another couple seated closest to us just kept eating and eating and eating. Davio’s is an orgy of excess. the concern for quantity apparently making up for merely adequate food. Why are the portions so incredibly huge? what’ the deal with all the complimentary dips and 6 different types of bread? is this dinner or a pacific northwest potlatch? davio, get rid of the excess and concentrate on some quality well prepared food served in human sized portions. The décor is pseudo Italianate decorator outlet, but more fun than the dinner. i could not stop staring.

Food is generally very good, but the prices are sky-​high and the service is hit-​or-​miss.
This restaurant is reasonably food-​allergy friendly, but it is expensive.
Personally, I think Casa Rasta next door is a much better option!

I just don’t understand it. How can a restaurateur responsible for the makings of such knock-​your-​socks off good Italian joints such as Alla Famiglia operate such a let down?
I’ve been to Davio twice now (both thanks to Groupons), and both times, what ensued was more a less your standard grotesquely over-​portioned, bland-​favored yinzer Italian reminiscent of the Grandview Ave restaurants that are now well past their prime.
This doesn’t count the one Sunday morning we had reservations made to try brunch, only to be locked out of the restaurant (literally) with other patrons and no advanced notice given. We later found out the chef apparently just quit and decided not to let anyone know.
Props for BYOB, but other than that, I’ll pass. My fish had no flavor whatsoever and the wife’s lobster pasta was the same story. The bread at the beginning of dinner was decent, but the «complementary» dips provided were better left be. Same can be said for the «complementary» macaroons and truffles at the end of the meal. While the macaroon was at least edible, I actually spit the chocolate truffle back out due to an overpowering metallic taste.
3 strikes… you’re out!

Not impressed with dinner at Davio. Service can make or break a dining experience and I have to admit, I felt as though I was eating at Eat ‘N Park. The food was ok, but not on par with other similar restaurants. The server was unprofessional and had no idea what was on the menu, or how to answer questions regarding it. Do not waste your time, spend a few more dollars and go to Arlecchino or Alla Familia.

Very disappointing. For a $ 100 meal for 2, I would expect something more than amateur, overcooked, falsely seasoned entrées. Gordan Ramsey please yell at these bloody clowns!
Forgot to mention;I felt bloated for 4 hours following our dinner and dreamed of vomiting over $ 50 worth of food. The only thing that kept me from doing so was the thought of tasting this food again.

We had a Group On here and had a pretty good meal here! The bread and selection f complimentary dips they bring out at the beginning is a nice touch. The restaurant is BYOB, so we brought a bottle of prosecco. Our meals were both good. My fiancé’s scallop portion was kind of tiny but my pasta dish was huge! The complimentary macaroons at the end were a nice way to wrap up the night. The ambiance and décor are welcoming, though the service was admittedly a little uncomfortable.

I was very excited to try this place given the many great reviews. When I called to make the reservation a lovely man on the phone asked me what table I wanted, reminded me to bring a bottle of wine, was very funny and gracious on the phone. When we arrived we were promptly seated. We were off to a good start when they served us a basked of assorted breads and 3 spreads/​oils for the bread. When I asked the server what the spreads were he looked at me as if I had annoyed him and quickly rattled off what they were. I actually did not catch what he said, so can’t describe them. The salads were very good. The addition of the dates with the balsamic dressing is something I hope to repeat. The server, again with no personality at all, took our orders. We ordered the Linguine allo scoglio and Linguine di duminica. The seafood in the allo scoglio was good and the dish was spicier than expected, but with us that’s a plus. I found the meatball and the sausage in the di duminica to be rather bland though. Both pasta dished were good by all means, but nothing that make me what to rush back to this place. I tend to like places were the food and the service are very good, and the server seemed bothered that he needed to wait on us the entire night. I kept wondering were the great guy was that had taken our reservation on the phone. There also were two women who were working and they certainly seemed friendlier. At the end of the night he brought us 2 biscotti with our check. We have a favorite Italian place already and I was hoping to add this one to the list since we live so close to it, but I don’t thing we’ll be back. Perhaps some of the specialties are the better items on the menu given their high price tag but these basic pasta dishes just didn’t make the cut.

Eeew no! Very disappointing. We came here for brunch since it’s really cheap compared to their dinners (very expensive!), and it wasn’t good. The fried dough was very good, but my Farmer’s Wife frittata sucked! It had no flavor except for sour asparagus. Our server was brusque and inattentive. She kept bitching about us not makin a reservation even though we called ahead and were told it was ok to come over. it wasn’t busy either. She then ignored us when it came time to settle up and didn’t total up our check, which meant we had to use our calculators on our phones. Nice décor though, but you can’t eat that. lol. The clientele is mainly rich, old, stuffy people too even though it’s in Beechview which is not Mt. Lebo. No thanks.

«You should have made reservations,» our harried server repeated to us ad nauseum throughout our Sunday breakfast here last weekend, This was in spite of being told over the phone that it was fine to come down sans a reservation, and it’s not as if the restaurant was packed when we arrived.
So as you can tell, Davio’s long-​held mystique is dead for me. Ever since I joined Unilocal,and especially since I moved to Beechview, I’d been very interested in visiting Davio, but their exorbitant dinner prices kept me at bay. Davio’s Sunday breakfast, along with their menu overall, is a fascinating read. Hyperbole abounds, long Italian phrases and wordy descriptions are abundant (Hey stop it! At least I don’t speak Italian. Be glad I speak no French! My anti-​literate haters would really be steamed!). However, unlike their criminally expensive dinner menu, their breakfast bill of fare (it’s only done on Sundays, and for some reason, the breakfast is CASH ONLY) is charitably reasonable. Our two meals combined came in at around $ 28, which is much less than the majority of their single dinner entrees.
The décor is as quirky as a spinster’s apartment. Large, odd-​looking, aged ceiling fans and other such fixtures hung imperiously over our heads. If they were animate, they would not give a damn what we or anyone else thought of them.
Unfortunately, none of the staff seemed to care about what I might have thought of the much anticipated Eggs Poached In Tomato Sauce With Bacon and Polenta. The bland eggs were cooked hard and had no runny yolk inside, the bacon was akin to the synthetic, freebie strain offered by chain motels in the morning: think of savory, fatty plastic. A pungent, rustic, chunky tomato sauce almost saved the dish, burying all of its negative traits, almost.
«Something tastes burnt,» I mentioned to Kay.
Ah, it was the polenta. Mystery solved. Hoo. Ray.
Sfinci Di San Giuseppi, called something else on the menu and offered by many Italian restaurants and pizza parlors under numerous names, was the lone highlight of our bleak brunch. Weighty pieces of fried dough were dusted with powdered sugar and served with an array of jams, some of which tasted to have been made in-​house. Scone-​like in their appearance and composition, the zeppoli (???) were chewy and dense like pretzels yet possessed a saccharine flavor reminiscent of donuts.
Awkwardly enough, our waitress brought them out in a basket covered with a cloth napkin after a lengthy wait, put one on each of our plates, covered them back up, and placed them way on the other side of the tablem making them difficult to reach without standing.
Awkwardly still, she left us our check before our meal was finished without a total and then ignored us for the remainder of our visit. Thankfully, I have a calculator application on my cell phone and was able to determine a sum. We left our cash on the table and quietly left while we watched our server dote on Davio’s stuffy, monied, middle-​aged regulars. Methinks they ain’t neighborhood folk based on the decadent, strident, rub-​our-​noses-​in-​shit conversations that were impossible not to overhear.
Also strange were the assortment of supposedly fresh-​baked pastries that were arranged on plates on a table in front of us. We were never told they were complimentary and didn’t find out until one of the battleaxes I speak of went and helped herself to them right before we departed. They sure looked delectable, but we got the sense that we weren’t wanted (‘you should have made a reservation’) and had since lost our appetites due to the unfulfilling main courses and choppy service. Eager to escape we were.
We could see the «clown» painting from their webpage on the wall catacorner from us the entire time we dined. He looked sad and apologetic, as if he saw us coming, knowing that we’d be left chapfallen by our experience.
P. S. I had a taste of Kay’s Farmer’s Wife Frittata and only tasted the canned asparagus. Goat cheese was also present, but you’d never know if you were blindfolded.
P. P. S. Being a class-​conscious person of modest means in a modest neighborhood, I resent Davio charging so much for dinner. I doubt most Beechview residents are able or willing to fork over $ 30 for some pasta.

Davio, I really wanted to love you. I wanted so much for you knock my socks off. I had the bone-​in Rib-​eye. It was too under cooked for there to be that great crust you expect on this cut of meat. One of my companions ordered the same but well and she got rare. We were having too much fun to complain. The other guest had the hair of five angels. This tasted very good. It included these GIANT pieces of lobster. Giant mushy/​dry pieces of lobster proving the adage that bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better.
On the plus — the wine was great — Davio is a BYO and the bread is too good to admit that I ate most of it.

Attending a conference in Pittsburgh and wanted to get out of the downtown area where I have eaten a hundred times before. Not sure how I got there or what part of town I was in, but was happy to have gotten there. This is a house, turned into a restaurant, it’s BYOB so we didn’t have anything with us (being out of towners) The food was great. I asked for something spicy to which I had a wonderful concoction of sausage, meatballs and a very spicy arriabiata sauce. My business partner was equally happy, though I don’t recall what he had. The service was very friendly and prompt. It is a rather intimate location so probably not so great for a business dinner, however I wouldn’t let that prevent me from going again. I’m posting this a bit late so I can’t recall everything we had, but we were very happy and I remember it was good enough to post a very delayed review!

Love it everytime I eat here. I friend introduced me to this place 6 years ago and it was love at first taste. Thanks Giaco. Its BYOB so come prepared. The lamb chops are my fav. Really its tough to go wrong.

The first time we went it was amazing but we paid 55 dollars a plate for pasta, the next time was ok but very inconsistent we got the same dish and things were missing on my dish when we complained they were very rude. we decided to try it one more time and I got my dish and my lobster tail was completely raw inside so once again I had to complain they took the dish back to cook the lobster and once again were very rude I will never go back the serving size is large but if you want to split a meal they charge you a 20 dollar fee

Great food, totally old-​school Italian. Bring a bucket to either vomit in or take your leftovers home with. Seriously. This is a minimum 2-​hour experience complete with 6 courses. The pasta entrée I ordered must have been two pounds of pasta. And this was after two apps, the standard salad that comes with each entrée, and the assorted bread and wonderful dipping sauces.
Service was a tad slow and they don’t have a liquor license — which makes the pricing on the menu ($ 40 for a pasta dish!?) a little suspect. But overall it was a nice experience.

A fantastic place for a great & intimate meal;
We loved our experience tonight! :)
PROS:
Amazing food
Fantastic/​Cozy Atmosphere
Very intimate – maybe 25 tables total with a few window seats in the front
Nice service
Relaxed meal – I wouldn’t recommend rushing things here. Just let the evening unfold.
BYOB :)
CONS:
pricey (but, IMO, worth it)
Davio’s prints their menus on a regular basis so its subject to change frequently.
They have some phenomenal specials! Ranging from $ 30 – 75, typically.
We started our meal with some great breads and they came with three different dipping choices. A Holy Oil that had a really nice spicy finish to it. A Tuscan bean dip (delish, and it also a little spicy kick), and a Gorgonzola/​Olive (black and green olives) dip.
The breads were a nice crusty Italian bread (super crunchy/​chewy on the outside and super soft on the inside – perfect!) and a tasty focaccia with cheeses and herbs baked on top.
Next was a really great salad topped with raisins, candied walnuts and a great balsamic vinaigrette – the sweet raisins/​walnuts were so good paired with the dressing! Please believe me! :)
Dinner was also amazing – I went for the Pasta with a light butter sauce with lump crab meat, pignoli nuts and spinach. This was a serious event. There was so much crab meat and when they say «lump», they *mean* «LUMP»! There was an awful lot and the portion of the meal was huge!
My husband chose the Scallops which he raved about which was a part of their meal deal, so to speak.
They offer (for $ 32) the bread, salad, entrée choice from those listed in this selection, coffee and Italian dunking cookies as a dessert.
Quite a deal, actually. It was also served with a huge side of cauliflower that was nicely seasoned and perfectly cooked.
(There are basic dinner entrees, a la carte items, and the $ 32 deal mentioned above – its your choice so you’re not limited at all in terms of choices).
The cookies must have been hand-​crafted by angels…
The plate consisted of 4 hand-​rolled chocolates, 2 filled cookies and two other cookies. All of the cookies and the truffles were really great.
(Especially the chocolate!)
We did take a bottle of wine with us.
For the two of us, our meal ran approx $ 75 and was followed by a complimentary liquor finish to your meal or your «Ammazzacaffè» («Coffee-​Killer»).
The Hubs had the Anisette and I had Limoncino.
I can’t even stand the smell of the Anisette, myself, but the Limoncino had a nicely sweet flavor and very strong!
It was a great evening!
I highly recommend this place.
DRESS CODE: We were Quasi-​Casual – in jeans and nice tops, I wore heals, he wore dress shoes.
Other folks came in wearing a dresses and dockers, and yet another couple came in wearing jeans and t-​shirts.
Tough call on this one, but I think I would go again as we had this time.
Possibly better dressed, but definitely not dressed to any lesser degree.
TIP: Make a reservation! Better safe than sorry!!!
TIP: Snag the window seat @ the front corner; it’s cozy :)

M-​m-​m-​m, Davio!
I decided to do something sweet for my husband and, borrowing an idea from a friend of mine, take him out on a date. I dolled myself up after work and had him meet me at the Wood Street «T» station. I didn’t tell him where we were going.
Davio is one of those hidden, hole-​in-​the-​wall gems that are oh so worth checking out. It’s one of those places existing solely on word-​of-​mouth advertising. But it’s been a neighborhood fixture for over 20 years. If you’re passing by on the «T», blink and you miss it.
We got off the «T» at Boustead Street and Rick wondered where the H-​E-​double-​hockey-​sticks I was taking him. Beechview is a very nice residential neighborhood but it’s not exactly known for its fine dining and nightlife. He was amazed at this little place. Even more amazed that it actually exists. I told him to enjoy himself and order whatever he wanted, the evening was on me. (Yeah I know. We have joint credit cards & bank accounts! So sue me!).
Davio gives you a choice of how you want to order. You can have the prix-​fixe complete dinner, or you can order ala– carte. Rick opted for the prix-​fixe and you know, it ain’t a bad deal. For $ 32.00 you get your bread with fagiolini and gorgonzola spreads course, your chef’s pasta of the day, your main course with chef’s choice of vegetable, your Biscotti, and coffee or tea. Rick opted for the filet mignon as his main course.
As for me, I wanted pasta. I’m a type-​1 diabetic and I wanted to give my insulin a workout! Really though, their pasta here is just s-​o-​o-​o wonderful. My Linguine al Pescatore (linguine with shellfish feast of lobster tail, shrimp, and scallops) was simply divine. I thought about trying something different for my antipasta, but the buffalo milk mozzarella is just too good to pass up.
I don’t believe they serve alcohol here, but they might allow BYOB and they might have a corkage fee. I’m a non-​drinker so I don’t pay attention to that sort of thing. Call them before you do the ol’ BYO thing.
Rick and I had a wonderful meal at Davio. He loved that I took him out on a date and planned the whole evening. Um, too bad we had to ride the «T’ and the bus home!

I was in Pittsburgh for work awhile back and I remembered someone telling me this place is amazing so I thought Id check it out but I was totally blown away by the experience of this restaurant.
When I think of Pittsburgh as a city I dont think of it as a culinary city well until I went to Davios that is… To start we had the lobster bisque and Escarole and beans in garlic oil, The bisque was delicious but I live in new england so that I sadly say wasn’t the best but the escarole and beans were pure deliciousness and then for dinner, I had the caloppini «Tosca» which was veal layered with crabmeat and fontina cheese, sautéed in lemon butter it was f*in amazing and my friend who is an epicure or snobby foodie ordered the ravioli with gorgonzola cream and walnuts and and it was the only time ive seen a 90 pound girl lick a plate but she loved it.
Its a little on the pricey side but you get what you pay for and with place its so much more then a meal its a culinary experience. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was the service was a little rude but we it was super busy they most likely were stressin. None the less if your in Pittsburgh and want a classy and delicious meal hit this place up. Top Notch.