When we arrived at the Scampi Grill on a recent evening, it was immediately obvious we weren’t the only ones who think this attractively decorated trattoria has risen to the top of the Vero dining pyramid.
Even though the season was not fully underway, the cozy trattoria was packed (good thing we had a reservation). Fortunately, waiting at the bottom of the steps was Mimmo, the original proprietor.
A couple of years ago, Mimmo turned the kitchen over to his son, Chef Alessandro Amelio, but he can still be found most nights performing front-of-the-house duties, bustling about greeting old friends and making new ones.
Mimmo quickly ushered us to the lone available table, and smoothly handed us off to one of the Scampi Grill’s veteran servers. (It’s always a good sign in a restaurant when most of the servers are familiar faces from previous visits.)
Having sampled most of the Scampi Grill’s appetizers over the years, we have pretty much settled on the Rhode Island little neck clams and the calamari as our two favorites.
We were about to share an order of the calamari, sautéed with roasted garlic and tossed in a spicy marinara sauce, when our server mentioned that they had just made their mozzarella fresh that day.
So I completely shifted gears and decided to start with the Mozzarella caprese, and my husband ordered the blueberry and apple salad (both a $4.90 add-on with dinner).
His salad consisted of baby mixed greens with blueberries, slices of Fuji apple, candied walnuts, and crumbled blue cheese, tossed in a pear and citrus vinaigrette. Good, but my salad – slices of vine-ripened tomato, served with the fresh housemade mozzarella, basil and extra virgin olive oil, finished in a light shallot-infused balsamic reduction – was the perfect start.
For entrées, I was again a bit indecisive. Too many tempting choices. I asked about the snapper, and was told they were featuring it prepared in the traditional puttanesca style. “But we make it in 20 different styles,” the server said. “You can ask for it any way, any night.”
So what did I order? The veal and shrimp a la Scampi ($22.95), which I somehow had never had on a previous visit. My husband opted for one of the evening’s specials, the salmon picatta ($26.95).
The veal scaloppini with jumbo shrimp, herbs, capers, pine nuts, roasted garlic, Vidalia onions and roasted red bell peppers was finished in a citrus butter sauce and served with angel hair pasta. Delicious.
The hand-cut salmon, however, was the evening’s surprise hit. Who knew that marrying a beautiful piece of salmon with a caper, white wine and lemon butter sauce would taste this good? Absolutely fantastic.
For dessert, we shared a slice of lemon mascarpone cake – a great end to a great meal.
Dinner for two with a modest bottle of wine, before tax and tip, is likely to run you $120.
Mimmo is rightfully proud of the nightly creations of son Alessandro, who has proven that culinary talent runs strongly in the family DNA.
With Mimmo increasingly channeling his own creativity into painting (his art, hand-painted ties and bow ties adorn the trattoria walls), this longest-running hit in Vero’s Old Downtown just keeps getting better and better.
When the only thing anyone can find to complain about is the somewhat chaotic parking, you know things are mighty good. With a young, talented second-generation chef in the kitchen, Scampi Grill should enjoy a long run at the top.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com.
The reviewer is a beachside resident who dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
