by Dennis Augustine
Cecile and I had dinner with our foodie friends Sarah and Bill at Al Castello Ristorante Italiano in San Jose — which, in case your Italian’s a little rusty, means “The Castle.”
At 6:45 pm the restaurant was packed, and we got front-row seats to the open kitchen action. Our waiter, Arturo, and the whole crew were friendly, fast, and fun — you could tell they enjoy what they do.
They kicked things off with warm house-made bread for the table (big points there), and while everyone else dove into their pasta dishes, I went rogue and ordered the fresh grilled ahi special — perfectly cooked — with a side of penne tossed in olive oil and a hearty, comforting cup of minestrone soup.
The dessert menu looked dangerously tempting, but since we were all comfortably full, we went with our usual fallback: Dairy Queen swirl cones to cool the palate.
Verdict? 4.5 out of 5 stars. Great food, great service, fun atmosphere. Next time I’m going back for the pizza — and maybe I’ll finally leave room for their incredible classic Italian dessert dishes.
