Modesto Trattoria

vacation
huge portions
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Our celebratory dinner was delish! The music was great, the service very accommodating. The only issue was that the online menu wasn’t updated. However, the dishes we had made up for it.

This was recommended to us and we loved the food but our waiter wasn't not as attentive as the other waiters around our tables. It was tight quarters with the rain and moving people around.

The food was amazing and full of flavor and color.

The calamari was among the best I’ve ever had. Dinner was just OK. The eggplant parm was very different from what I’m used to, but I grew up in New Jersey with great Italian everywhere. The waiter seemed to turn off as soon as we didn’t order alcohol with dinner and asked for tea, which they didn’t have, or much of choice of local beer (in the beer Mecca of the east coast). He brought us tap water and didn’t even offer a choice of sparkling water. The neighboring table’s waiter was much more friendly and we overheard him interact with his customers, including offering sparkling water; ours had little character. Wouldn’t go there again and it was well overpriced.

First let me start out by saying that I lived in Sicily for 3 years so I’m very picky about Italian food. With that being said I wasn’t overly impressed with anything I ordered. You had to pay extra for the bread in the picture, most mussels come with bread. This was supposed to be Mussels Fra Diavolo but there was no spiciness at all. They were just ok. I ordered the Bolognese for my main course and again, it was just ok. It was served with rigatoni noodles instead of the standard tagliatelle pasta. I’m a firm believer in certain pasta sauces belonging with certain types of pasta. Modesto puts their touches to the sauce and pasta choice. There was pesto at the bottom of the bowl and an abundance of Rosemary on top. Not an authentic Bolognese sauce but it was good. The outdoor seating area is a nice feature although I ate at the bar. This restaurant is a little on the pricey side so just be prepared.

Excellent all around!

Excellent food and service. We had a little room off the main indoor dinning. perfect service and food. Wonderful Italian wine list.

Fabulous evening. Fred Flintstone was our server. Met our every need. Thanks.

Modesto is one of our favorites. Huge menu that changes daily with lots of pastas and seafood. Preparations of entrees are imaginative and taste great.

We sat outside so it was a little noisy because of some building construction (certainly not Modesto’s fault). The average score for ambience was due to the same. The menu is pricier than most in the area - $19/glass of house cabernet, etc., but for a special occasion that’s okay. I had indicated on Open Table that it was on our anniversary, but got no mention or notice. Overall, great service, tremendous flavors, and a return soon.

Continues to be our favorite Italian restaurant in all of North Carolina. We make special 90 minute trips to Asheville from Hickory often just to dine at Modesto. The seafood dishes in particular are unparalleled.

I have been enjoying Modesto for years. In the past wait staff were experienced and matched the quality of the kitchen. However, while treating old friends to lunch (who also love Modesto) we were all surprised by the indifferent waiter who appeared to be untrained. I do know that getting staff is huge issue right now so this will not prevent me from returning but I would want the owner to know.

Would like to get ice tea back. Also had to wait awhile for the food.

We sat outside so noise rating is relative. The best part of this experience was our waiter and the red wine. The fried green tomatoes were severely overbreaded and tasted like they had been prepared hours earlier. Appetizer portions are way too large which is really a turn off for me. The crab cakes were very good. Perhaps we will try it again for the pasta and some diners next to us had pizza which looked great and the tiramisu which also looked wonderful, yet again, too large a portion.

Undoubtedly the best restaurant in Asheville.

We ate in the bar and found it tastefully decorated and very sophisticated. Waiter was outstanding and the food was delicious.

My husband and I were visiting Asheville for our third anniversary and made a reservation at Modesto for our anniversary dinner. We were so glad that we did! The food was absolutely fantastic and cooked to perfection and the service was amazing. We will definitely be back!

Really bad expefience. Food was overcooked to the point of being inedible. The manager's reaction: Well, it was fresh, so there's nothing we can do. Thank you" And she walded away - no offer to give us another entree. And, at $12-$19 for a glass of wine, it's really expensive. We would never go back.

Delicious food and very nice service

Service was slow and inattentive...flys in the restaurant. Food was good.

I'll start from the beginning. We had an outdoor table so there really isn't any ambiance when you are overlooking a street. The server asked what we wanted to drink and I ordered a glass of wine and my husband said he just wanted water and I said I wanted a glass too. So he comes back with a bottle of water and fills our glasses. Then we shared a Ceaser salad which was very good. My husband ordered the veal marsala and I had a seafood pasta dish. My dinner was delicious. I had to ask for parmesan cheese for my pasta as it was not offered. My husband's dinner, not so good. The veal was thick and chewy. Never had veal so thick before. It's usually served very thin and tender. He was not happy with it. We told the server and the next thing we know, he sends out a manager and she asks him a bunch of questions as to why he didn't like his dinner. Then she offers us a free dessert which we declined. Next we get the bill. I see that they charged us $6 for water and $2 for the parmesan cheese that I asked for. Never did the waiter tell us there would be a charge for water and NEVER in all the times I have dined out have I been charged for parmesan cheese! How ridiculous is that? At that point, I was just fuming. So I go and talk to the manager and express my concerns and she removed the charge for the water and cheese. Honestly, I thought she should have removed the charge for my husband's dinner too instead of offering us a dessert. And oh did I mention that our server disappeared after we expressed concern. Never saw him again and his tip reflected that. Then after the manager said she would update our bill and remove the water and cheese, another person brought our updated bill to us. Overall, just a bad experience and will not visit again.

It has always been a place to go and I go when ever I am downtown --

Fantastic crab cake appetizers and delicious seafood pasta entrees. We’ve eaten here many times and it has always met our high expectation.

Extremely large menu - it makes you wonder if anything is fresh. For a foodie this restaurant is not worth visiting. It is also way over priced for what they have to offer. Zero ambience. Ordered an expensive bottle of wine (too expensive for what it was - we are familiar with the wine) and it was corky. We were given many reasons for the corkiness. Ended up ordering another bottle of a different wine. Will never return to this restaurant again - Much nicer choices in Asheville with great food and they don't gouge you. Don't think that this restaurant will last too long.

What a treat! Always. Crabcakes are delicious.

Food was good, some of it on the spicier side, and in unexpected places. Pizza was great, seafood carbonara was good but not amazing.. Veal Marsala was very good, and snapper was good. Crime Brûlée was very good, as was the apple dessert.

We sat outside with friends that we haven’t seen for years. The food was great...I’ll get to that, but the service was dodgy. (After we left the restaurant we realized that it was understaffed) one of the problems around the country right now, post pandemic.

We ordered 3 appetizers: calamari, octopus, and crab cakes. They were all delicious. I could’ve stopped there and had a salad, but we persisted with entrees. I had eggplant Parmesan. It was nice and light and served with goat cheese on a large bed of pasta. There was a “pesto” of some sort top, which I didn’t care for and the pasta was just alright, even though the sauce was tasty....my husband order veal Marsala and raved about, our friends had fish...the gentleman had tuna and the lady had trout. They both enjoyed their food. We were full and a bit chilly as the wind kicked up and we sat outside, so no desserts. Next time

Modesto's is a quality gourmet Italian restaurant. I'm bothered that I have to pay for water when tap water would be fine. I asked how large the pizzas were thinking one would be a good appetizer for the two of us. "Oh, 8-10 inches," the server replied. That seemed perfect as a starter but the pizza was a sizable 16 inches. Yet it was a great pizza with a sourdough crust. The veal marsala was one of the best I've had and I'm in the eighth decade. During the meal we met the pastry chef and being a CIA pastry graduate myself, I asked for a prelude and what her favorites were. She liked the tiramisu and my wife quickly chimed in about what she did about the raw eggs. Her response was what I wanted to hear. She doesn't use them and made the creamy part with mascarpone and whipped cream. So we ordered the tiramisu, the lemon rosemary creme brûlée and the warm caramelized apple bread pudding with ice cream all to sample. Our favorite was the creme brûlée. The tiramisu was strongly chocolate and a little too intense for us. When my wife couldn't decide which wine to choose the server kindly brought tasting samples of two. The restaurant has a small space and while we could choose our seat being first in, the seats were very tight. Because we were behind a structural beam, there was little noise to bother us. It was an enjoyable meal.

My fiancé and I had the BEST experience at Modesto last night. The food and drinks were incredible, but honestly the real MVP was our server, Fred. He was personable, funny and very sweet! We had to wait a few (very few, seriously) minutes for our drinks, so they bought us dessert. If you don’t take home some tiramisu to eat in bed later, you are missing out!!! Thank you Modesto and to Fred for a fantastic date night!

We go to this restaurant at almost every week and always have had an enjoyable experience not only with the food but also with the service; this time in the other had, the service was terrible and the food very mediocre. Pasta was cold, wrong order for one of our guest, a plate at a time so we all have to eat "alone";not a good experience.

Quite a nice dinner. Very creative twists on typically Italian dishes and well executed. Experience was comfortable and not rushed but prompt and friendly service. Look forward to going back if in Asheville.

Our experience did not meet our expectations. Modesto has an excellent wine list neither of us could finish our meals. Service was excellent. Unfortunately, the meals themselves were passable but not great. My wife's octopus pizza was okay but had relatively little chopped octopus despite the size of the pizza. My meat ball pasta was also okay but the rigatoni was a bit undercooked. A decent meal, but we will probably not return.

We were three good friends sitting at a high table in the bar. Our first visit to Modesto. Service was tops. We began our meal with the dolmades and a lovely Pinot. Wow! Great start. We totally enjoyed our evening.

Super! The crab cakes were the best we have ever had! A nice light curry and pickled veggies complemented the super fresh crab. Also enjoyed the pork tenderloin Parmesan and the meatballs. Everything was great and our server Bridgett was lovely. Will be back when in Asheville!

The food was good - the service was not. We wouldn’t go back.

Jack was our server and was knowledgeable about the menu and friendly.. not to mention efficient. We thoroughly enjoyed the Caesar salad with an unusual flavor and texture combination. Diners enjoyed veal chop with lemon risotto, seafood carbonara and trout with pork belly and mushroom risotto. Definitely will return!

The food was absolutely wonderful. We had the snapper and the flounder and it was perfection! Will definitely dine there again when we are in Asheville.

Great service and extensive menu. Mixed between Italian and Mediterranean food, you won’t be disappointed!

Salty oysters

Tylers service was fantastic

Drinks and food were great!