I like Aurora. It’s a nice city that has a lot going for it. One thing I always felt was lacking though were quality restaurants – restaurants worth the trip (depending on where you live, Aurora can be a hike).

The now closed Christopher’s was good. We actually were quite impressed with our meals, but the decor was way off and service lacking, which is why we never went back. And they do have Cafe Tandoor – my favorite for Indian, but I much prefer the Cleveland Heights location. Finally, there’s Vito’s. This is not a stellar restaurant by any means, but they make a good pizza and it’s a nice place to go as a family.

Enter Cafe Toscano. We went a few months ago on behalf of Metromix. I had heard promising things, but given it’s location my initial thought was that it wouldn’t live up to the chatter. I was wrong.

If you’re looking for traditional Italian fare, I’d recommend them (it’s owned by Carl Quagliatta – Giovanni’s, Tuscany). Now given its location, I don’t know that I’d make the trip from the west side, but if you’re in the vicinity, it’s a wise choice. I was pleasantly surprised, by both the food and decor. What a nice evening we had; we will definitely be back. And the best part – we had Natalie with us and they couldn’t have been more accommodating and simply wonderful to her. I don’t think I’d necessarily call this a family place, but they were beyond great and in return, Natalie smiled and flirted right back and didn’t drop a single goldfish on the floor (if she did, we would have scooped them right up – I always hated cleaning the floors after kids when I was a server).

Here’s part of my review, or you can read it in its entirety here.

Food: Simple, traditional Italian comfort food using a minimal amount of ingredients is the focus of head chef Chris Licht.

We started off with hot, crusty ciabatta bread served with a wonderfully addicting combination of olive oil atop a mound of parmesan and other Italian herbs. An order of wedding soup proves to be a good idea as it’s one of the better wedding soups we’ve sampled.

The menu is a nice representation of classic Italian favorites including pizza, 13 different pastas and a nice selection of chicken and veal entrées all served with a house salad and side of pasta. There’s even a steak and fish option if you’re so inclined.

We tried the veal piccata; scallopini with artichokes and capers in a lemon butter sauce, and the pizza prosciutto with roasted marinara, mozzarella and prosciutto.

The piccatta, which was encouraged by the server as a house specialty, exceeded expectations. The paper-thin, tender veal bursts with the right amount of citrus and capers galore. It was a wonderfully satisfying dish that could go up against any version in town.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the pizza. While the sauce had merit, both the prosciutto and crust were overcooked and almost too dry, like a cracker.

Décor: While it’s hard to imagine from the outside, the dining room is surprisingly beautiful. The contemporary space features a dry-stacked rock wall, open kitchen, warm woods and a floor-to-ceiling glass wine closet that makes up one wall of the intimate room.