Review: Da Campo Osteria in Fort Lauderdale
By John Tanasychuk, Sun Sentinel
Important: This article was last updated on July 15, 2010. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.
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 3333 NE 32 Ave. (iI Lugano Suite Hotel), Fort Lauderdale 954-226-5017 dacampofl.com Cuisine: Italian Cost: expensive Hours: dinner Tuesday-Sunday Reservations: suggested Credit cards: all major Bar: full service Sound level: can be loud Outside smoking: no Wheelchair accessible: yes  |
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First impression: One step into the lobby and there's no mistaking that you're near a restaurant: The whole place smells like a smoky grill.Background: Open since November of 2008, this was the first of three South Florida restaurants with the imprimatur of celebrity chef Todd English. The others are in Boca Raton and West Palm Beach.
Ambience: The water view is gorgeous, while the restaurant itself is a study in brown and beige with a wide open kitchen. Even tall people might find the chairs too short for the table height. The restaurant needs to work on both ventilation and air conditioning.
Starters: Don't eat here if you don't plan on ordering the signature house made mozzarella, pulled tableside. It's $16 for an 8-ounce ball of the freshest cheese you'll ever taste served with one of six different toppings. There's everything from prosciutto and fig balsamic to honey spiced walnuts and raisins. You can order all six toppings for $25. Don't overlook the tender Jumbo Meatball ($10), made with a rich mixture of veal, beef and pork and served with a simple tomato sauce. Trevisano Caesar ($12) isn't a Caesar at all. There is no discernable garlic, parmesan or anchovy. Calamari Fritti ($14) doesn't get beyond basic bar food with a wimpy tomato sauce and a spicy aioli that was hard to find on the plate. Asparagus Milanese ($8) is a great idea — battered and deep fried spears — but the batter needed salt.
Entree excellence: Seared scallops ($32) were cooked perfectly and served in a delicate sauce of braised artichokes, olives and fennel. Other dishes were less successful. Char-roasted filet mignon ($34) was cooked to temperature, but it lacked any intense aged flavor. Perhaps the creamy polenta made up for it. A shrimp scampi dish ($29) served with penne featured a watery tomato sauce on par with a family-priced Italian chain. Biggest disappointment was Garlic Roasted Chicken ($27) with sausage bread pudding. The bland pudding was nearly frozen in the center. It made me question whether I wanted to eat the chicken.
Side issues: From the Contorni section of the menu, we ordered spicy rapini ($8) that just wasn't spicy.
Sweet!: Don't call something tiramisu ($10) if it's really a chocolate souffle with mocha gelato and mascarpone crema. Another mascarpone-based sweet with fruit ($10) was much better, although a bit too formal for the rest of the menu.
Service: While the prices say fine dining, the service is less than fine. We poured our wine throughout the evening. Plates piled up repeatedly.
Dining deal: From 5-9 p.m. Sundays, a four-course prix fixe menu served family-style is $37 per person.
Contact dining correspondent John Tanasychuk at jtanasychuk@sunsentinel.com or write to him in care of Sun Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.