A new family-owned Italian restaurant in Fort Worth is drawing raves: Called IL Gusto Fort Worth, it's an old-school Italian spot that just opened at 1601 Park Pl., in the Near Southside, in the same shopping center as Esperanza's, taking over a space previously occupied by a location of the loosely-connected Joe's Pasta chain.
IL Gusto — no relation to the similarly-named Gustos Burger, just a few blocks away — is from partners and Albanian natives Sinan Buci and Memli "Max" Morina, with a goal of offering Italian food at an affordable price in a fast-casual setting.
"We've known each other for long time," says Morina, who oversees the day-to-day operations and is the congenial front face of the house while Buci handles the administration. Before opening, they gave the space a renovation, with a casual non-fussy basic-tables-and-chairs atmosphere.
Not unlike its predecessor Joe's Pasta, IL Gusto follows the well-trod path in Dallas-Fort Worth of Italian restaurants owned by Albanians, featuring comforting, mostly red sauce, Italian dishes at budget-friendly prices. Which explains why the restaurant is already earning praise from diners who've grown up on this kind of DFW Italian-American food.
Il Gusto pasta with garlic cheese rollsCourtesy of Joey Turner
The menu spotlights pasta and pizza, with 20 pasta dishes: spaghetti Bolognese, fettucine alfredo, penne vodka, and pasta primavera; plus chicken-pasta classics like chicken piccata and chicken marsala; plus seafood pastas such as shrimp scampi and lobster ravioli. Prices range from $12 to $20.
The pizza is vaguely New York-style, with the crisp crust that Dallas-Fort Worth likes. Varieties include margherita, meat lovers, veggie, supreme, Buffalo chicken, and Mediterranean chicken. There are strombolis and calzones; killer garlic cheese rolls served with marinara; and sub sandwiches including chicken parmesan, meatball parmesan, Philly steak, and a turkey sub.
Salads include Caesar and an arugula salad, and there's a big selection of appetizers including bruschetta, calamari, stuffed mushrooms, arancini, fried zucchini, and even chicken wings. Lunch features economical pasta specials such as lasagna, manicotti, and baked ziti, all for $11. And since their liquor license is still pending, they're BYOB for now — another big hit with diners.
