During our last visit to Marco Island, Florida in late November, we visited DaVinci’s Ristoranté for Happy Hour, which is from 4:30pm to 6pm. DaVinci’s Ristoranté is a sister restaurant to Marco Prime and Oyster Society. Just like the sister restaurants, they have a nice big outdoor seating. The mosaic at the entrance was quite stunning!
In order to get the Happy Hour deal, we had to sit at the bar. The bar was towards the left of the entrance, taking up the entire wall, and then goes around to the outdoor area. The outdoor bar seats were all taken, so we sat in the inside. A friendly and talented man with an accordion came around and entertained the patrons, which was fun to watch.
We started our evening with a couple of cocktails, Rucola and Rhubarb Old Fashion ($8/Happy Hour) and Strawberry Basil Margarita ($8/Happy Hour). The Rucola and Rhubarb Old Fashion is made with Bourbon, Rucolino, Zucca Rabarbaro, Peach, and Bitters. It was super strong, with a notes of citrus and fruits. The base ingredient for Zucca Rabarbaro is rhubarb, adding that bittersweet flavor to this unique Old Fashion. It certainly helps mellow you down after a long day.
Strawberry Basil Margarita is made with Tequila, Fresh Strawberries, Basil, Fresh Sour, and Salt Rim. The bartender asked if I wanted salt on the rim first, which was very considerate. I guess some people don’t want the rim to be salted. I got one with salt rim. It was very flavorful, I love the combination of strawberry and basil, and as it is made with fresh berries, it had great aroma and flavor of the strawberries. It was nice and strong too!
Once we put in our order for food, a staff brought us the bread and dipping oil. The dipping oil had olive tapenade, giving that extra deep flavor. There were two kind of bread in the basket, fluffy and tasty!
For the food, we started off with Polpette Alla Parmigiana ($7/Happy Hour), made with Beef Meatballs, Marinara Sauce, topped with melted, smoked Mozzarella Cheese. The staff who brought the dish to us asked if we wanted more cheese. How can we say no to cheese? So we got some extra cheese dusted on top. The meatball was a good size, meaty with earthy tomato flavor. Melty cheese was just hugging that meatball, keeping it hot and juicy!
Then we moved on to Cheese Ravioli ($8/Happy Hour), Ravioli stuffed with Ricotta Cheese, in Pink Vodka Sauce. Ravioli was soft and a bit chewy in a good way. Nice amount of cheese filling. I liked the sweetness the sauce had, we were enjoying all the comfort food here at DaVinci’s Ristoranté for sure!
At this point, we were ready for our second drink. This time, we ordered Violetta ($8/Happy Hour) and Mojito Mule ($8/Happy Hour). Violetta is made with Vodka, Lemon Juice, Black Berries, Sage, Creme de Yvette, and Luxardo. It had a beautiful deep color, as Creme de Yvette is made from violet petals and berries. It was so very berry! Great aroma and flavor of sage that complimented the berry flavor.
Mojito Mule is made with Rum, Fresh Lime Juice, Simple Syrup, Mint, and Ginger Beer. It was the most “basic” or I should say classic kind of cocktail, without any unique twist. It was nice and minty, strong and refreshing. The classic done well is the best!
We added two more Happy Hour dishes to go with our second cocktails. We both really like eggplant, so we ordered Rollatini Di Melanzane ($9/Happy Hour). It is made with Sliced Eggplant Stuffed with Ricotta Cheese, topped with Mozzarella Cheese and Marinara Sauce. It was different from what I imaged or expected it to be. I was thinking of something that is distinctively eggplant, with that deep purple exterior. It ended up similar to their Cheese Ravioli, just much bigger. It was stuffed to the max with ricotta! With that, it was quite filling.
The last dish of the evening was Greek Shrimp ($9/Happy Hour). We wanted something different from meatballs or something stuffed with cheese… This one is made with four Shrimps, Black Olives, Garlic, Tomato Sauce, topped with Feta Cheese. Shrimp was big and super plump. Tomato sauce was packed with flavor, great sauce! Salty feta and sweet tomato sauce complimented each other. The acidic flavor from olives gave the overall flavor a nice balance.
We were completely stuffed after that, and everything was super affordable, thanks to their great Happy Hour menu! I must say, for seafood lovers like us, the Happy Hour at their sister restaurant, Oyster Society has been the best so far… But if you want some cheesy comfort food from an Italian spot, DaVinci’s Ristoranté is the perfect spot for you.
DaVinci’s Ristoranté – 599 S Collier Blvd, Marco Island, FL 34145