Restaurant Review: Positano Ristorante & Bar

Restaurant:
Address: 21 W Lancaster Ave, Ardmore, PA 19003
Rating: ★★★ out of 5 stars
Style: Eat-In / Take-Out / Outdoor Seating
Food: Italian
Atmosphere: Romantic
Parking: Metered street or metered lot
Service: Knowledgeable, professional
Price Range: $10—$30
Unique Feature: The food is familiar, the service is professional and the portions are generous.

When it comes to Italian food, diners all have a different set of standards. What passes for homemade in one part of town could easily be scoffed at in another. One person’s perfect night out for all-you-can-eat breadsticks is another’s nightmare. With so many varieties of Italian food, it’s sometimes tough to differentiate between what’s impressive and what’s been around so long that it’s become part of the fabric of a community.

Its this feeling I had on a recent visit to . Growing up as a first generation Italian-American, my spaghetti standards are high, to say the least. Why buy someone else’s, when I can make it at home? This is the internal struggle I have every time I go out for Italian.

We arrived at Positano on what seemed to be an unusually quiet night in Ardmore. We were seated at a table near the open doors, looking out onto Lancaster Avenue.

The table was set with white tablecloths, and blue water goblets. A young back server began us with water, a basket of bread, some tabs of wrapped butter and a bottle of olive oil.

The ambiance was distinctly rustic and Mediterranean—but so much so that it was almost a caricature of itself. The paintings, the stucco-like wall paper, the clay pots and the gated alcoves reminded me of a trip to a museum I took as a kid, where you’d look into a room and see how colonists lived, way back when. It was kitschy, but sweet and kind of romantic.

Our server arrived, listing off the night’s specials. There may have been more specials than actual menu offerings, and our server had quite the knack for it; he’d obviously been there a long time.

The menu itself was moderately sized and offered variations on usual Italian specialties. We chose a pasta dish and a Caesar salad, to share. Our server offered to have our salad split for us. I went with a veal dish, my friend, the chicken and eggplant special.

Our pasta course, the Fettucine Masaniello—pasta with porcini mushrooms and parmesan in a light cream sauce—arrived first. The fettucine was al dente, some strands had stuck together and were undercooked. The porcini were mealy, and the earthiness of the mushrooms overwhelmed the dish. It needed something to break up the mushroom monotony, but the portion was generous.

Next out were our Caesar salads. The dressing was creamy and flavorful, the croutons crisp and crunchy, and the lettuce fresh. But the overwhelming amount of dressing made it impossible for me to finish.

Our entrees arrived looking suspiciously similar. The veal dish, Scaloppine Caprese, was topped with mozzarella cheese, and accompanied by fresh sautéed tomato, and a side of mixed green beans, carrots and potatoes.

The medallions of veal were tough but the vegetables, which were fresh and delicious, had been sautéed in butter and oil and seasoned to perfection. My friend’s chicken had been topped with fried eggplant, and prosciutto, and then prepared in the exact same fashion.

We wrapped what we didn’t finish and chose a tiramisu for dessert. The flavor of the cake was nice, but the cream tasted like artificial sweetener. Our check arrived, the bill coming in at nearly $80, including a glass of house red wine and an iced tea.

It wasn’t until the next day, when I opened up my takeout for a second go that it dawned on me. Looking down into the plastic container, the food inside resembled something I would have made for dinner.

Its not that the food at Positano wasn’t good; I just feel that today’s understanding of what it is to eat out has surpassed Positano’s offerings. But it’s good to know that in such a time-tested kitchen, the basics of Italian cooking, familiar ingredients, fresh vegetables, large portions and friendly faces have not been forgotten.

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I'm always looking for a new place within the Ardmore-Merion-Wynnewood Patch.