Solare Ristorante
Italian · San Diego · $$
4.4(903)
Italian · Cloverhill, Nashville, TN · $$
Salento Italia is a cozy neighborhood restaurant in the heart of Nashville’s Donelson community anchored by an appreciation for superior ingredients, meticulous preparations, and cooking with heart. Pastas, pizzas, and beloved Italian dishes take center stage, as well as antipasti, salads, and a constantly-changing rotation of daily specials. Desserts center around classic Italian sweets, and our bar program offers a compelling, approachable array of wines, spirits, and beers, with a robust selection of by-the-glass offerings. Our two-floor dining room is awash in white oak woodwork and features 25-foot ceilings, inviting leather-wrapped banquettes, a dramatic white oak and wrought-iron staircase, and tons of natural light. Guests can choose to dine in the main dining room, upstairs dining room, at the bar, or on the heated and covered outdoor patio (open year round). The space is meant to transition seamlessly between day and night, welcoming guests for lunch, dinner, afternoon cocktails, happy hour, and after-dinner drinks. We hope to welcome you soon!
“Salento Italia might be one of Donelson’s best surprises. This was my second visit and I love when a restaurant delivers just as hard the second time instead of feeling like the first visit was luck. The execution is consistent, and it works equally well for a date night or a loud group dinner where everyone’s passing plates around the table. *I viewed a large party doing just this. As a group of four we completely overordered in the best way possible and tasted a little of everything. The standouts for us were absolutely the arancini, octopus, tonnarelli fra diavolo with squid ink pasta, and the budino. I’d order every single one again without hesitation. The arancini were deeply golden and crisp outside with that creamy risotto center you hope for. The octopus was beautifully cooked too, tender with a good char and balanced by the cannellini beans and bright sauce underneath. The tonnarelli fra diavolo was probably my favorite savory dish of the night. The squid ink pasta had a great bite to it and the seafood was cooked properly across the board, which is not always the case with dishes like this. Spicy, briny, rich without becoming heavy. Previously I ordered the pistachio crusted salmon which honestly introduced me to the idea of pistachio with salmon in the first place. Wonderfully cooked. The budino though? That’s the thing I kept thinking about later. I was already painfully full and only managed two determined bites before sending it off with our friends and I still regretted not giving that dessert the attention it deserved. Silky, rich, salted caramel yumminess. Service was warm all evening and the bartender personally delivered a few of the drinks which added a nice touch. I’ve sat both upstairs and downstairs now and the design strikes a balance between fresh and inviting instead of overly trendy or sterile. Only misses for me this visit were the broccolini, which was bitterly smoky, and the Negroni leaned sweeter than my preference. Still, Donelson really has a gem here. Plenty of parking, polished without feeling stuffy, and tucked into a location you almost wouldn’t expect for a restaurant this good. I’ll be back!”
“We went for a business dinner based on a recommdation from my daughter and so glad we did! The atmosphere is the pefect balance of Chill and Elegant. The service was also a balance professional and friendly. We started with the Arancini and it was delicious - the goat cheese came through without being overpowering . The inside was creamy while the outside had the perfect crunch. I went with the Strozapretty with Pesto Cream based on our server's recommendation and it was absolutely yummy. Pasta was al dente and held onto the creamy basil sauce. The Piccola (smaller portion) was plenty - and I still ended up taking some home. All in all a great experience - the only negative is it is a bit noisy when crowded - so conversing was challenging - eating however was a pleasure!”
“Looking for Italian and found Salento. What an amazing experience brought by excellent customer service by I believe Danielle. She really connects with the customer. I don’t usually start a review like this, but you could see how she connected with each table and wanted everyone to have a great time. 20/10 Customer Service. My fabulous wife started with a Forbidden Sour drink and it was really good. She also got the Bruschetta: Garlic Rubbed Focaccia, Burrata, Cherry Tomato, Basil & Arugula Pesto, and Balsamic Pearls. She said it was delicious. We both choose the Cast Iron Lasagna: Bolognese, Ricotta, Mozzarella, and Basil. Pure delicious comfort food. Hot and bubbly beautiful and so tasty. Very Satisfying. Excellent Ambiance and would definitely return. Fabulous Service.”
“Super nice decor. Excellent staff. Food was AMAZING! We got the Margherita pizza to start. I got the spaghetti and meatballs and my Daughter got the spaghetti and roasted cauliflower. It was more than we could eat in one sitting so we had plenty for lunch the next day! Our Server Haleigh was Awesome!”
“The servers were great. Although the hostess brought out our appetizer, she was very carless. She placed the appetizer on top of menus and there wasn’t much communication from her to move anything. Additionally when we checked in the hostess began clacking her nails on the counter as I told her my name. As a restaurant that is trying to portray a fine dining Italian restaurant, this is not the first person I would put as the face of the restaurant. Otherwise, the food was okay. Antipasto was great and the meats/cheeses were a great variety. The chicken parm was dry and the pasta did not really have much sauce on it. When we asked for Parmesan cheese, it came out in small portions and was not freshly grated which was very disappointing for an Italian restaurant. The drinks were good, go with the Italian margarita over the devil’s margarita; wine in a margarita is terrible. The risotto was delicious.”
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