By J1 reviewer Natalie Cusick

After being informed that the Italian restaurant I planned to dine at had a whopping 90 minute wait, my disappointment soon turned into motivation to try a new, less popular Italian restaurant down the street. I didn’t expect to find myself at Avoli Osteria on 50th and Underwood in the heart of Dundee, but I am grateful that I did. 

Although there wasn’t much of a wait when we arrived at Avoli at about 7 p.m. on a Friday, my party of two and I chose to sit at the bar so we could cure our hunger immediately. The bartender was personable and attentive- he answered all of our silly questions about fancy Italian words without hesitation. 

We began our meal with an appetizer of meatballs, which came out very quickly and were eaten even quicker. They may have been the best meatballs I’ve ever had, and I would never call myself a meatball fanatic. 

Soon after, we ordered from the rather short menu and then received our main dishes. My friend and I both had the linguine with a lemon sauce and parmigiano. We both thoroughly enjoyed the perfect balance of the tanginess of the lemon and the simplicity of the dish as a whole. My other friend scraped her plate of spaghetti clean, and I could taste why she did so just from the one bite I managed to steal. 

The only downfall of our experience came at the end when we received our approximately $70.00 check. Judging from the fancy atmosphere, small size restaurant, and crowd of customers, we probably should’ve expected to receive a very expensive bill. I personally did not think the size of the dishes was worth the cost, although the taste was impeccable. Because we were seated at the bar we were also able to see the chef hand- making the noodles, which led me to believe we were also paying for fresh ingredients and authentic Italian recipes. 

Since we did not plan to end up eating at such a high-end restaurant, I don’t think most teenagers would be interested in it either. But, if you are looking for a place to splurge after a recent paycheck or take your parents out to tell them bad news, Avoli Osteria is the perfect place. I rate it four stars out of five with taste and price in mind.