Spasso Cucina Italiana Restaurant Review
1140 S. Seaward Ave. (Pierpont Blvd.) 
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Ventura, CA 93001
805-643-2777 | Make Restaurant Reservations
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Spasso Cucina Italiana Restaurant is one of our 2012
Hot 10 Ventura County Restaurants | Top 10 Ventura County Food Rating Restaurants
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Cuisine
Open
Dinner nightly, Brunch Sat.-Sun.Features
- Full bar
- Outdoor dining
- Parking available
- Casual
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 It doesn’t take a visionary to see the potential of Ventura’s Seaward Avenue. Yet this easy-access beach area with a sketchy reputation remains underutilized. Enter Francesco Cionti, a Roman restaurateur who, seeing the glass half full, rolled the dice. In a different location, Spasso would be packed and pricey; at the coastal terminus of Seaward, you’ll likely find empty tables. Which says nothing about the establishment’s quality and affordability. The menu reflects Cionti’s Roman roots. Meat-heavy entrées like breaded pork chops, pan-roasted and topped with a balsamic reduction, are alive with flavor. A marrow-dripping veal osso buco has been slowly braised to tenderness. The antipasto more closely resembles a charcuterie plate than a salad, and the spaghetti alla carbonara---offering the creamy texture of fresh al dente pasta tossed with egg and white wine---utilizes top-quality pancetta. For dessert, a Nutella-filled calzone will bring tears to the eyes of anyone who loves the marriage of chocolate and hazelnut. There’s even a full bar. And yet, on most evenings this coastal strip has the feel of an abandoned movie set: a neighboring restaurant, long vacant, crumbles like an unneeded prop. Spasso will not likely suffer the same fate.
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