Torino Ristorante is Oro Valley Favorite

Unfortunately Oro Valley isn't known for having great restaurants, but there are a few if you know where to look. Torino Ristorante Italiano is one that has a well deserved reputation in the community. Originally known as Cafe Torino, this tiny restaurant started out serving coffee and pastries in the morning and dinner at night with a maximum of 10 tables. As their reputation and business increased in the community, the owners purchased a larger space in the same retail center, and designated that as the new dinner restaurant while keeping the original space for breakfast and lunch.

Torino Ristorante is owned and operated by a family from Torino Italy, so as you can imagine all the recipes taste about as authentic as you can get. The restaurant offers a warm and inviting atmosphere, with dimmed accent lighting and muted walls with watercolor murals like you might find in a Tuscan restaurant. A small open bar is located at the back of the dining area, but seats might be hard to come by as Mike packs 'em in with his a reputation for being the best bartender in NW Tucson. On some nights there is live jazz, but there is generally soft jazz music in the background. Dress is semi casual, although almost anything goes. During the winter months and on weekends you will want to make reservations as they get very busy. Anyway, on to the food!

Whenever we dine Italian we always like to start with calamari. It's our favorite and if it's good then the rest of the meal tends to be good as well. Torino makes a great calamari, the batter is light and crisp with no taste of oil, just freshness. It's served with marinara sauce on the side, but I enjoy the calamari as is; it's just too good to cover the flavor. Squeeze on a little lemon and I'm good to go. The Bruschetta is also very good, and we've heard great things about other appetizers, but we've yet to try anything different yet. Always saving room for dessert!

I've ventured to try a few different entrees on my visits to Torino, and all have been terrific. The lasagna is always my favorite because it's a simple dish with a clean and rich combination of flavors. Ribbons of pasta and ground sausage are covered in the perfect blend of marinara and bechamel sauce, which is great for me as I tend to favor white cream sauces. The portion is not too big which is good because the dish is so rich. The Veal Osso Buco is also excellent, with tender meat that falls right off the bone. My husband's favorite dish is the Pasta Gorgonzola, and I have to admit it is incredible. I don't like anything that tastes similar to Bleu Cheese, but the creamy rich sauce and the slight bite from the Gorgonzola over fettuccine is perfection.

If you can make it to dessert I would go for the chocolate gelato. This creamy gelato is rich to begin with, but is then rolled in crushed chocolate which makes the flavor even more intense. Not enough chocolate? Well chocolate sauce is drizzled over the gelato, so it's about as chocolaty as you can get. My old stand by dessert is the tiramisu which is is quite good, but not the best I've had.

Torino has a great selection of Italian wines as well as a martini menu. If you are just looking for a beer or mixed drink they can do that too.

Service is very good in general, but on occasion it's been spotty. My husband and I like to enjoy our wine before dinner, so we tend to go when the restaurant is a little busier and the meal can be spaced out. If it's a slow night the service will be quick and you'll be done before you know what happened.

Overall you can't go wrong with dining at Torino Ristorante. Great food, great service and the perfect location in Oro Valley makes it the local hot spot that's not to be missed!