Radio Milano - Phoenix

[barry]

It seems we are going to Radio Milano this Saturday with some friends. I recall seeing mostly medium to bad reviews since its opening. How long a wait will we find for a table for 6 on Saturday night? Any great cocktail recommendations? Any can't miss dishes on the menu? Anything you can do to convince my wife's friends to go somewhere else? Thanks.

Barry

[hollyeve]

While RM is not on my "top 10" list, I do like it. It is a nice addition to the neighborhood. I have been three times and haven't had to wait more than 20 minutes on any occasion. The pomegranate 40 cocktail is very good. I like the grilled artichoke with breadcrumbs and aioli, and the vegetable platter, which has been a little different on each visit. Last time it had a selection of grilled vegetables, fresh mozz, some bean bruschetta (not quite as good as Postino's), and I don't remember what else! The olive oil cake for is delicious, but I might have to vote for gelato at Arlecchino for dessert.

[HomeCookKirsten]

I feel you Barry - I had a not-great experience there, but I will say the wines we tried were good and the housemade pasta was outstanding.

[HomeCookKirsten]

Whatever you do, don't let anyone you know and love or even moderately tolerate order the Gimlet. Very, very bad (at least when i had it).

[mmcooks]

Does anyone know who the chef is there?

[nigletdos]

i know who the chefs are.

[Sammy9662]

I would go as early as you can, valet, put your name in for 6 at RM and have a glass of wine at Postino if the wait is more than 20 minutes. I live nearby and rountinely see people circling for parking at 6pm and later. You can also park on some of the sidestreets and walk.

[barry]

I called Radio Milano to get an idea of how much of a wait to expect. After talking to the gentleman who answered the phone for a bit, he offered to make a reservation for me even though they don't take reservations. I don't know if it's because we're a party of 6 or what, but I have a reservation on Saturday night. I'll let you know how dinner goes.

Barry

[jock]

Please let us know how the "reservation" goes.

[AZBconcierge]

exactly my thoughts.

[HomeCookKirsten]

I went back last night (was meeting someone, didn't chose it per se) and found some improvements.

First, they have rearranged the seating so that walking between the tables and the traffic flow is much improved. Also, our server was very polite, informative and helpful.

We didn't order much - the ahi with white bean salad (excellent) and the scallop crudo which was good, but so flavorful (citrus oils, mango, thai chilis) and spicy it really was almost Asian in flavor to me? I actually kept feeling like I needed chopsticks. :)

Anyway, this is just a mini update, but thankfully it's a better report! Parking is still and as always a major cluster.

[nigletdos]

yeah, they don't accept reservations there or at the other two restaurants. unless they are feeling extra nice or you "know someone" there will be no reservations made. i hope you liked it tho

[barry]

Six of us visited RadioMILANO on Saturday night. My wife and I arrived about an hour early, so we could have a cocktail and talk before everyone else arrived. I took the liberty of checking on my "reservation" and sure enough, they didn't know what I was talking about. They were holding a table for 6 in another name though, so my impression is they sometimes make exceptions to their no reservation policy if you have a group of 6 or more. I should have taken down the name of the gentleman I spoke with by phone, but the important thing is how well they handled the situation. The hostess was very polite, didn't act as if I was making it up and told me they would absolutely be able to accomodate us. She said, "I can't guarantee we'll have a table ready for you at 8, but we'll be close." Sure enough, our table was ready at 8, even before the rest of our party arrived (have I mentioned that our friends are always late). She handled it perfectly, and I came away more impressed with the service than if the reservation had actually been taken down in the first place.

As with Chelsea's Kitchen, the LGO Group took an older building and made it something new again. This is a very cool space. Not big by any means, but it puts out a cool, comfortable vibe from the moment you walk in. I didn't think it was stuffy or "sceney" at all, and in fact, my wife commented that she felt almost over dressed wearing nice jeans and a fancy top. There were plenty of diners in shorts and casual shirts giving off a very neighborhood restaurant feel as opposed to a destination spot. The dress picked up as the evening got later, but it always felt very comfortable.

We took two seats at the 5 seat bar just to the left as you walk in. The bar starts at the front window and then connects to the kitchen, so you can sit at the bar and watch the kitchen line in action. I really enjoyed this a lot. The bartender was great, and really seemed to know his stuff. All wines are $9 a glass or $35 a bottle. The list has 12 wines total, split between whites and reds. There are also 4 beers at $5 each, including a Racer IPA that looked great. There are 10 specialty cocktails at $10 each, and you can also order a regular mixed drink. My wife had a glass of the sauvignon blanc and I ordered the gin berry (plymouth gin, chambord, fresh lime juice and cranberry juice). Now, I'm a gin martini/gin and tonic guy, but I'll sometimes have one specialty of the house drinks just to try it. I usually find these drinks to be too sweet, and one is more than enough. The gin berry was fantastic. Great balance, not too sweet at all...it was so good I asked the bartender how to make it exactly, so I can try it at home the next time we have people over. Then I ordered another.

At the table we perused the menu and decided to try everything tapas style, like our waiter suggested. The entire menu is basically small plates made for sharing. Most everything is priced between $9-16. Everyone through in their two cents, and we quickly had a list. We ordered the radio chopped tricolore salad ($9), the featured pasta (I forget what it was, but it was great), grilled ahi with white bean salad & meyer lemon evoo ($15), pan-crisped acqua pazza white fish (striped bass) ($15), polpetone, italian meatloaf with wild mushrooms ($14), and a great octupus special that was amazing. The octupus was so tender I didn't believe it was octupus. We tried another special that I'm forgetting now, and I think another pasta.

The ahi with white bean salad was fantastic, as was the striped bass. Everything was at least good and most dishes were very good or great. We also had a couple of orders of the wood grilled focaccia with roasted garlic. Now, I remember reading that they serve burnt toast as bread, and we saw them grilling the foccacia while sitting at the bar. The first person at our table to try it said it tasted like burnt toast, and sure enough it kind of did. However, pop out a clove of the roasted garlic and spread it onto the bread and MMMMMMM.

We were heading over to Arlecchino for gelato afterward, but I ordered the olive oil cake with housemade jam and thickened cream ($7) for everyone to try. It was good, but no one thought it was great. Certainly no match for the incredible gelato we had a few minutes later after our walk across the street.

The service at RadioMILANO was very good from the hostess and bartender, to the waiters during dinner. Everyone was friendly and really knew their menu and dishes. It made my wife and I wish we lived near "the neighborhood" again.

I know most of the reviews have been mixed, so maybe they've now had some time to work out the kinks, but we had a great time. This isn't Mary Elaine's, and the food isn't going to break any new culinary ground (although I haven't seen eggs diavola (deviled eggs) on a menu recently), but everything was very tasty, well prepared and everyone had a great evening. I don't know what more you can ask of a casual restaurant.

Dinner for 6 with one bottle of wine and at least 6 cocktails was $240 before tip. I don't know that I would wait an hour for a table, especially if you couldn't find a seat at the tiny bar, but I expect we'll be back.

Barry

RadioMILANO
3950 E. Campbell
Phoenix, AZ
602-956-6600

[themis]

Thanks, Barry -- I appreciate the detail you went into. It's helpful to know what's available on the bar menu and about the general vibe. I'm going to have to try to make it over, the menu sounds right up my alley.

[hollyeve]

Glad you liked it :)

[HomeCookKirsten]

great review - thanks for sharing!

[mrfoody]

i'm not sure if this bodes well for the LGO group or not, but some folks that work at RadioMilano told me that Pam, the former GM of The Orange, Chelsea's Kitchen and now RM, quit the other day. If anyone knows Pam I'm sure you'll agree that she'll be tough to replace. We'll see if her replacement can help them turn things around....

[ciaogal]

Stopped in to RadioMilano around 7:30 last evening. After arriving home from an exhausting business trip....

The parking lot was full and the restaurant surprisingly quite empty.
We ordered two cocktails of stoli, fresh squeezed pink grapefruit juce served straight up in a martini glass rimmed w/ salt....
A modern take on a greyhound....loved the salt and sour/tart together!

We started w/ the celery caesar salad...enjoyed the flavor of the dressing and the crisp sweetness the celery added to the traditional presentation. From there we shared the Fire Roasted Clams and the Parpadelle with goat chesse and vegetables.....yum!
The pasta was fabulous and the order of clams was plentiful in a very tasty herb broth...and crusty bread for dunking.
We finished our meal w/ the olive oil cake which was moist and comforting.

It was a satisfying meal!

[JK Grence the Cosmic Jester]

If you enjoyed the cocktail, you can get it when you go to other places by ordering a Salty Dog. It's a little bit archaic, but you can always just ask for a Greyhound with a salt rim if the bartender gives you a blank stare.