As-Yet Unrealized Potential
BRiOSO Fresh Pasta – 601 Main Street, Suite D, Columbia, SC 29201
This restaurant has been “coming soon” for months. The concept seems to be an Italian diner concept (think Pei Wei with pasta.) The staff-to-customer ratio on my visit was 1.56:1. This should be unnecessary in a restaurant where customers order at a counter. Service was attentive, if not particularly sophisticated or professional. The house wine is a terrible flabby, sweet pinot grigio which is so lacking in acidity that one wonders whether sarcastic quotation marks surround the words “pinot grigio” on the label. The black truffle ravioli was very bland, literally gray in color, and served garnished with a very fine herb chiffonade, which did nothing to enhance the flavor profile of the dish. The pasta was served in a sugo di funghi which was the culinary equivalent of a thick fog: dense, gray, and utterly uninspiring. The prices were comparable to nearby establishments. The table cards promised exciting dishes (sausage and pear ravioli) which did not appear on the menu.This restaurant stands to improve quite a bit if they can iron out a few kinks in service and overhaul their menu.
4.5/10.
