Toscana’s Ristorante
Meatballs, pasta, sausage, chicken parm. Italian food is all about simplicity, freshness and family. And on the North Shore, the Perrina family serves some of the region's tastiest traditional and creative Italian food here at Toscana Ristorante in West Peabody.
Angelo Perrina: “Toscana's is a family owned restaurant. We've been established in this community for about 12 years. We pride ourselves in having authentic Italian food friendly, fun atmosphere and a place that you can go seven nights a week.
The vibe is friendly, it's energetic, it's not stuffy when you come in, you know, you know, you're going to get a good plate of food, you know, you're going to get friendly service. We try to make everybody feel like family.
If I was to describe the menu, I would say it is classic Italian with the modern twist. We have everything from Italian broccoli rabe provolone spring rolls, to your classic chicken parm to vinegar, peppers and potatoes. Everything is made fresh from scratch every single day.”
Toscana has all of your favorite Italian starters like big boards of antipasto and some unexpected apps like these broccoli rabe and provolone spring rolls.
Angelo Perrina: “You get like the provolone with a bitter of the of the broccoli rabe and the crunch of the outside of the spring roll. It's really just a nice blend.”
Toscana's meatballs are like getting a warm hug from your nonni. Three big hand rolled meatballs, tons of flavor tons of herbs and spices in there. Topped with the ricotta cheese served with their crostini breads. You can dip it because it is swimming in that homemade sweet pomodoro sauce.
Angelo Perrina: “They're not too soft, not too hard. You can cut it right through with a fork. They've got tons of flavor, not too much garlic. It's the perfect balance. And we slow cook them in our sauce. So they really are tender taste excellent.”
If you ask me the number one appetizer, you got to get it Toscana is this one. The sausage with vinegar peppers and potatoes. Check out thin slice hand cut potatoes like the best french fries you've ever had. But then it gets even better because then you have that thin slice of Italian sausage. And then you have those red peppers that are marinated in vinegar. So you have tangy and sweet and spicy and absolutely mouthwatering way to start your meal.
Angelo Perrina: “Oh, man. It's just it's it's crunchy. It's soft, it's spicy. It's garlicky. It's everything all in one shot. It's awesome.
The kitchen at Toscana does Italian entrees right, offering lighter fare like Veal Scallopini layered with arugula, cherry tomatoes and shaved parmesan
And big bowls of Cioppino loaded with lots and lots of fresh seafood.
Angelo Perrina: “We have clams. We have little necks. We have haddock. We have shrimp. We have scallops. I mean you really have everything.”
Yes, they have chicken parm on the menu. And it's not just any chicken parm. This is one of the best chicken farms anywhere on the North Shore because it is classic. Not too thick, not too thin. nice and golden brown. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside completely blanketed with cheese. And then the little dollops of pomodoro sauce on top and plenty of pasta. That's a good parm. No, no, no. That's a great parm.
Angelo Perrina: "We're using a great a chicken breast. We pound it out nice and tender but not too thin. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. And it's nice and golden brown crispy. Great chicken parm.”
Gnocchi is one of my favorite foods on the planet and Toscana knows how to do Gnocchi the right way so they are not thick. These are light. These are fresh little pillows of potato pasta. Absolutely delightful. Especially when you add in some of that Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese and their homemade tomato sauce.
And what makes it so special is they what makes it so special is they bake it in the oven inside its own little clay pot. So this thing is just flavor upon flavor upon bubbling layers of cheesy flavor. That is gnocchi done right.
Angelo Perrina: “They taste like like beautiful individual potato dumplings where they just melt in your mouth. We smother the whole top with fresh mozzarella cheese. That's how it's finished in the oven. And everybody you're just string and cheese right out.
And if you're in the mood for meat, Toscana's has you covered. There's the perfectly prepared 14 ounce bone in pork chop served with house-cured vinegar peppers & potatoes in a garlic white wine sauce. And the show stopping Mixed Grill.
Angelo Perrina: “So the mixed grill has steak tips. It has sausages, chicken, roasted peppers, potatoes. When it comes out, it comes out sizzling on a fajita platter, where it literally leaves a trail throughout the restaurant of just beautiful odors. And, and people they gravitate towards it. It's awesome.”
So if Italian food is really all about freshness and family, that's why you come here to Toscana, ultra fresh flavors, a great Italian family and just an awesome experience. Overall, you're not going to go wrong at Toscana.
Angelo Perrina: “We have a little bit of something for everybody. We have a place that we welcome you with open arms. It's a place where you can come with friends, you can come with family. We welcome everybody into our into our restaurant like it's our family. And you'll be happy you found us here at Toscana’s.”
