A while back, when I interviewed John Tesar for Local Profile, the iconic chef showed me concept images of Knife Italian. I remember him saying that it wouldn't be a red-and-white tablecloth joint. He was right. Walking into Knife Italian, I didn't see a single one.
But what I did see were pastel walls, olive green sofas with rattan backings, pink napkins and marble. At Knife Italian, color is on the menu. And the walls. And the floor. And even on the little red salt shakers. The restaurant isn't taking its cues from the wise guy red sauce restaurants in Martin Scorsese movies but from the films of Federico Fellini. It's not your typical Italian restaurant, which is perfect because Tesar is not your typical chef.
“Old fashioned modernism — that’s what you get when entering Knife Italian,” Thomas Schoos, founder of Schoos Design, Inc., previously said. “Imagine you’ve just stepped into a Fellini movie...only it’s in color.” Schoos designed the 170-seat restaurant, and it's a stunner. Every nook and cranny is its own mood.
"This is different from the other restaurants we have at our properties," George Daye, director of food and beverage, tells us soon after we take our seats. The Ritz Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas could've taken the safe route with a more traditional look. But safe is boring. And I love Knife Italian for being daring and striking. It is a thing of beauty.
But Knife Italian isn't only a looker. This is an excellent restaurant. The crudo slices are thick and not the thin shavings so common these days. The tomatoes are large, juicy and perfect. The lobster in the lobster pasta is generous. The burrata is creamy, milky and fantastic — and what's drizzled on top? A 25-year-old balsamic. No expense is spared. And no detail is overlooked: We're in an Italian restaurant with steaks, so we will have beautiful Sambonet knives.
Chef Tesar's steaks are great, but I've always loved his pasta. And here's a restaurant dedicated to pasta, but also with aged beef. "It's rare to have a dry-aging program, so that, combined with house-made pasta, keeps things interesting for us in the kitchen," Executive Chef Tony France tells me. There is so much flavor served here, but also welcomed simplicity. "One of my favorite things we have is the fennel salad," France says. It's very simple with lemon, truffle and pecorino, but when some restaurants can make things unnecessarily complicated, it's refreshing to get a dish that's stripped down to its delicious essence and done exceedingly well.
The flavors at Knife Italian are not an assault on your senses. They are simple. They are subtle. They are nuanced. And they are very, very good. Simple can and should mean "elegant." The ingredients are excellent and put together the best way possible by the most talented people.
The drinks are colorful and delicious. Standouts include all the variations on the negroni, Italy's signature cocktail, including the il posto, made with Malfy Italian gin, Cocchi di Torino, Campari, pistachio passion fruit, Italian mandarin, orgeat and fresh lime. It's a refreshing drink, and one that tastes like a Terry's chocolate orange. Throughout the drink menu, the names of cocktails reference classic Italian movies: la dolce vita, bicycle thieves and django — nods to the films of Federico Fellini, Vittorio De Sica and Sergio Corbucci.
At the bottom of the menu is an illustration of a close-up Clint Eastwood's eyes. Nothing better could sum up Knife Italian. Just as Sergio Leone put his spin on the Western in Italy, Tesar is putting his own spin on Italian food in Texas. Thank goodness for that.
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