Bambinelli’s Café Italiano: Restaurant Showcase
Warning! Please save plenty of room in your stomach for a large, delightful meal at Bambinelli’s in English Village. Bambinelli’s is the family owned and operated sister restaurant to Salvatore’s Pizza and Pasta, which is located in Hoover and Inverness. The family’s 25 years of service to the Birmingham area are evident in every bite.
Bambinelli’s promotes a family atmosphere and welcomes all children, even those furry creatures with four legs. The patio makes a wonderful hangout for those with paws and their owners. But, make sure you look cute because the owners love to take pictures of their patrons with their pets. You may very well find your picture on the wall at your next visit.
The dining experience itself was superb and worth discussing. I must, however, write this review backwards because the cheesecake was anything but typical. The desserts are made at the restaurant, and they are obviously made with the love of a grandmother. The cheesecake was light and fluffy with a fresh cream sauce dripping from the top down the sides. The crust was just buttery enough to bond the crumbs together and just fresh enough to crumble perfectly. My friend had the chocolate shell cannoli, which also received rave reviews; but I spent more time guarding my cheesecake from wandering forks at the table than worrying about the experience of the others.
The meal itself was great, but I am glad that we ordered some to-go boxes and saved room for dessert. Had I eaten, everything on my plate, I would have not only missed dessert, but I may have been unable to breath. At the table, we ordered three entrees: Italian sausage, peppers, and onions parmigiana, Meatballs with angel hair pasta, and Shrimp scampi over angel hair pasta. Everybody raved about their choices. The meal had very little conversation because everyone was much more concerned with the mounds of great food than the company at the table.
The parmigiana had a mixture of green peppers, onions, sausage and marinara sauce all smothered and baked with cheese. The thick cheese surrounding every bite made for an absolutely delightful meal. To the side of this baked magnificence was angel hair pasta with marinara. Once I had that slightly decorated with freshly grated parmesan cheese, I mixed many of my bites with the pasta and was anything but disappointed. I may have found this to be so wonderful and seem so fresh because of the owners’ use of local farm fresh organic ingredients in their dishes.
Bambinelli’s professes to have one of the South’s best wine lists, and their website is currently advertising “wine down summer,” in which all bottles of wine are ½ off every day. With wonderful appetizers such as the stuffed mushrooms and the mozzarella caprese salad, a great wine selection with less than retail prices, and the relaxed environment, Bambinelli’s will make a fantastic place to relax after a hectic day at work.
Grab your family and your friends and head to English Village for a great, big plate of Italian food that won’t break the bank. Bambinelli’s is definitely a lot of bang for your buck.