Valentine's Dinner at Caffe Pranzo

I was raised in San Paolo, Brazil, a city where the Italian culture has been fully embraced and it is often celebrated. We take proud in the flavorful and authentic Italian food served in restaurants throughout town - from the traditional “cantinas” to the new cuisine eateries. I have always liked the Italian culture and their incredible cuisine. Thus, when I go out to eat with my family, I often pick an Italian restaurant. I have eaten in several Italian restaurants in the Oklahoma City metro area, searching for a genuine Italian eatery.


Last night, my family and I went to Caffe Pranzo, in Oklahoma City, to celebrate Valentine’s Day. We were excited to try a new Italian restaurant. Thought Caffe Pranzo has been open for over ten years, last night I ate there for the first time. We started with fried calamari, my kids’ favorite appetizer. It was precisely cooked and served with a delicate anchovy dipping sauce. It was the best calamari I have had a long time!

Caffé Pranzo offers a wide selection of other starters, from soups to salads. The French onion soup is made with a delicious broth but I wish it was served with the traditional crusty and cheesy toast on top. I also tried the ceaser salad that, in my opinion, lacks flavor. When the entrees were served, I tried my kids’ garlic linguini that was cooked al dente and it was pleasantly seasoned. The tasty meatballs are definitely made with good quality ground beef.

I ordered the “tri formaggi” ravioli stuffed with ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella topped with pesto and marinara sauces. Unfortunately, I was not impressed with my entrée. The creamy pesto sauce was blend and the marinara sauce was a little too sweet. The cheese filling was not well balanced. It tasted mostly like ricotta cheese that is a very mild cheese. When combined with these two sauces, the results were disappointing. On the other hand, my husband enjoyed his angel hair pasta with grilled portabella mushrooms. I tried a bite from his pasta and it was well sautéed with garlic, olive oil and tomatoes.

Lastly, we had to end the evening with dessert. I am a chocolate lover, so I had to order a chocolate dessert to celebrate Valentine’s Day. My girls and I chose the Kahlua torte with whipped cream and raspberry sauce. We rated it as an average dessert. My husband tried the crème brulee and he seemed quite dissatisfied with it. Naturally, many of you may argue the must have dessert in an Italian restaurant is the “tiramisu”. It certainly is! I hear their tiramisu is light and delightful but I personally don’t have any impressions to share with you at this point about this famous Italian dessert.