Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen brings authentic Tuscan Italian cuisine to the heart of Annapolis MD. Delicious food and wine, and a pet-friendly patio will make this one of your favorite restaurants.

This is a sponsored post. We were hosted for a complimentary visit, but the opinions are mine alone. 

Every July I go to Maryland to visit family and friends for a couple of weeks. I end up doing work almost every day, but I also take advantage of the time to relax/recharge. Because once I get back to Oklahoma, I hit the ground running to get ready for football season.

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen is part of the MONTE Restaurant Group. Co-owners Gennaro DiMeo and Lino DiMeo came from years of family-owned restaurants in Italy. In 1997 they opened their first fine dining restaurant, Café Mezzanotte, in Severna Park, MD. The restaurants in the Monte Restaurant Group include:

• Squisito Pizza & Pasta – opened in 1998 as their first casual brand, and grew to 9 locations in 12 years
• Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen & Wine Bar – opened in 2008
• Meatballs Etc.  – opened in 2015 as their newest fast fine dining concept

Originally, downtown Annapolis was the hub of activity in the area. Park Place was the first large development outside of downtown, and is home to Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen. As these surrounding communities began to develop, they became the hub of activity. They are more spread out, and don’t get the crush of people on game weekends and tourist season. Downtown Annapolis remains very popular during tourist season and on football gamedays.

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen is the only full-service restaurant in the Group. They also offer Carpaccio Pizzeria 2Go, a quick-service carryout next door. You can order from the Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen Menu, or choose from sandwiches, subs, and pizza.

We visited Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen on a Monday evening. It was a slow night, as Mondays tend to be, but perfect for us. Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen is a very inviting restaurant, with warm colors throughout. The space features a long bar to the right, partially open kitchen at the far end of the dining room, and the main dining room takes up the remaining space.

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen is open for lunch and dinner daily, and brunch on Sunday. There is one main menu, rather than separate menus for lunch and dinner. Some of the menu items are available in smaller sizes, and they do offer a few lunch menu items. The menu is not huge, and includes Insalate, antipasti, pizza, Italian sensations, risotti, entree selections and table sides.

Bread comes to the table first…except it’s not just bread…it’s pizza, cut into long slices!

I love this unique twist on the traditional, with a very simple recipe of red sauce, oregano, and parmesan. The homemade sauce bursts with flavor, and the pizza bread is at room temperature.

We began with an order of calamari

This calamari is fabulous. Lightly breaded, freshly fried, and cooked to a perfect tender bite. The seasoned breading, fresh herbs on top, and a final squeeze of fresh lemon create such a wonderful flavor combination. Even the last couple of bites, room temperature by that point, were delicious. The calamari comes with both red sauce and spicy chipotle aioli on the side. I’ve never had aioli as a side with calamari; it was good, with a very nice flavor, but my dad and I both preferred the red sauce.

My dad got the Penne Rafaelle

The dish came to the table screaming hot, as all pasta dishes should. The ragu sauce is light, yet very flavorful. Wheat pasta can have a very heavy taste, but the texture of this pasta was just like regular. The generous dinner portion was more than enough for him to take home leftovers.

My mom got the halibut special, with mixed vegetables and Tuscan potatoes

Halibut is a firm white fish, similar to sea bass. The light lightly seasoned fish works really well with the mango salsa. I didn’t try the mix vegetables, but I love the presentation. My mom said they were really good.

I usually don’t do restaurant specials. It already takes me forever to decide from the regular menu, and the last thing I need is more options. However, a guest at the next table had the pork chop special, and it looked so good, so I decided to try it. The dish comes with broccolini and Tuscan potatoes

I rarely eat broccolini, and I don’t know why. Broccolini is similar to broccoli, and I’ve always loved broccoli. This broccolini is delicious, lightly seasoned, and cooked to a perfect tender-crisp.

When I was a kid, the food on my plate couldn’t touch. If it did, I wouldn’t eat it. I’m much better about that now, but I still portion out my food separately. I love the divided plates at Carpaccio! They are perfect for someone like me, and add a unique dimension to the dining experience.

I almost never order dessert, because I’m usually too full from dinner. We decided to share a dessert this time, to get the full experience of each course. The Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen dessert menu is small, with only 7 items. We chose the Toasted Almond Cake

My goodness, this cake is fabulous. Three layers of delicious, light and airy cake, silky and very flavorful. I like that it’s a relatively small piece of cake, perfect for sharing. The cookie and almond topping adds such great crunch and texture.

We had a wonderful visit to Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen. Our server was good and the food was delicious. Carpaccio Pizza 2Go is perfect alternative for a quick meal, and I would love to sit out in the courtyard for an outdoor dining experience.