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Vito's Ristorante

7521 N. May Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK
(405) 848-4867

With Italian restaurants I generally find one or two dishes that stand out among the rest, and which I will usually order on return visits. At a few restaurants, though, the red sauce and cheese are so good I can imagine that I would enjoy just about anything served with them, and so far this has been the case with Vito's Ristorante.

Located in north Oklahoma City, Vito's is among the several Italian restaurants I would have tried simply because of its proximity to me. Fortunately, though, I also consider it one of the better choices that can be found anywhere in the city.

Vito's home made bread
Vito's home made bread

Customers begin the meal with complimentary home made Bread. This fresh bread and olive oil dip is addictive, running the risk that you will feel nearly full before the meal even arrives.

Vito's tomato soup
The tomato and basil soup is one of several "soups of the day"

Many dinners come with a choice of soup or salad, and usually the salad is a good choice. When I tried the Tomato and Basil Soup, though, it was truly memorable for its flavor, freshness, and quality. The soups change daily and probably seasonally, but I was very impressed with the quality of this one.

Lasagna
Lasagna

One of my favorite dishes at Vito's has been the Lasagna, a wonderful concoction of beef and pork meatballs, pasta, cheese, and sauce that is not quite like any other lasagna dish I have tried. The meatballs are cooked into the sauce, and would be easy to remove if you are a vegetarian. I have found the meatballs, though, to be one of the most outstanding features of Vito's, and are definitetly one of the best parts of the dish. So far this is the best lasagna I have found in OKC.

The Chicken Parmesan was excellent as well, with tender chicken and a light sauce. The parmesan cheese slices lightly melted on top contributed as much as anything to the excellent quality of the dish.

Chicken marsala
Chicken marsala

The Chicken Marsala was frankly not my favorite dish here, but it impressed me by having a better flavor than the cream sauces I have tried in many other restaurants.

Spaghetti and meatballs
Spaghetti and meatballs

Spaghetti and Meatballs were memorable not only for the meatballs, but also for the sauce. The meat seemed to be the same as the one used in the lasagna, only formed into larger balls (two meatballs were served with the order). The sauce had thick chunks of tomatoes and vegetables that made it delicious and filling. It had a noticeable sweet flavor, but I think it is the same sauce used in all the dishes at Vito's. It just seemed sweeter with the spaghetti due to a lack of distractions such as cheese (cheese is not served in this dish) that would offset the sauce's flavor. A generous amount of basil was used, but this seems to be the case with all the dishes at Vito's. I was particularly impressed with the spaghetti for being a very satisfying dish with no cheese (although the server will add parmesan cheese if desired).

The biggest disappointment I have had at Vito's has been the Eggplant Parmesan that had the same excellent sauce and cheese as the chicken parmesan, but had an overly salty flavor (this seems to be a common problem with eggplant dishes). The eggplant had a good flavor, though, and this is probably a dish I would have liked otherwise.

Vito's is a small family run operation, and it is obvious that much care is taken to assure high quality. While there are some occasional misses, such as the eggplant, overall I would expect a great meal here. I did not try to send the eggplant back to the kitchen, nor am I sure that it was at the point that it should have been sent back, so I do not know what the response of the restaurant would have been if I had raised the issue. However, this seems to be the type of restaurant that would certainly try to make things right when necessary.

Wine is available from the wine list or the house wines. Vito's used to be open only in the evenings (I suspect the staff was trying not to spread themselves too thin so they could maintain the high quality that comes with cooking small batches of food). In 2008, though, it began serving lunch, giving a greater opportunity for people to enjoy the food.

To me both the prices and the serving portions are somewhat of an issue at dinner, and perhaps both are smaller at lunch. I find the dinners very good for sharing, though.

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RESTAURANT DETAILS

RATING: 23

Cuisine: Italian
Cost: $$$
Hours: Closed Sun. & Mon.
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No Smoking
Alcohol: Full Bar

Most Recent Visit
Jan. 10, 2009

Number of Visits: 4

Best Items
Lasagna, Spaghetti and Meatballs

Special Ratings
Lasagna:
Spaghetti and Meatballs:
Chicken Parmesan:
Eggplant Parmesan:
Chicken Marsala:
Salad:
Tomato Soup:



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