Modesto Trattoria

The food was fantastic! Our server Tyler recommended a wine which was amazing. Overall experience was great

Generous portions and nice wine list. A bit cramped in a small location.

One of the best chefs in Asheville. Will definitely go again.

Food was terrible. Lacked flavor. Felt Very rushed. In and out in 45-50 minutes. Would not recommend or eat there again.

Food, service, and ambiance was excellent. Would go back for sure!

We had a great meal and Tyler was an outstanding service! Thank you.

Excellent and unusual food and service!

Great service, atmosphere and food plus great menu choices.

The food was delicious! We had a reservation for 2 at 8pm. We got there around 7:45, but still had to wait outside for our table until about 8:30 due to capacity of the restaurant. We were able to order a bottle of wine while we waited, so that was nice, but it was very cold out even with the heaters. Other than having to wait in the cold for an additional 40 minutes, it was a great experience once we got to our table.

Amazing food and great service!

A friend and I met Saturday night for dinner at Modesto Trattoria. It was a rare opportunity to get out of the house after quarantining for the last 8 months, so we wanted to make it a special event. I'm a seafood lover and she's a pasta lover, so the food choices worked for both of us. The Trattoria has a nice, old world sort of ambience, and we got a table looking out onto the sidewalk so we could people watch. Modesto also has an extensive wine list and food menu, and portions are generous (American portions). Our server was very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. He was attentive but didn't hover (perfect). The dishes are novelle/Spanish cuisine. I love when chefs add their own unique touches to cuisine to improve it, and Modesto did not disappoint! for example: I ordered the calamari fritti as an appetizer before our main meal. The squid was fresh, tender and fried to perfection. But the chef added their own touch...fried slices of orange and lemon. There was a nice lemon aioli sauce and a tomato -based sauce that both complimented the calamari. I could have made a meal on that alone! For dinner I ordered the Putanesca on a bed of colorful fettucini. The seafood was fresh, tender and delicious! I would order it again. My friend was also just as impressed with the quality of her meal! I will be back again, and would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who is a foodie and appreciates good food. We stayed beyond the requested 1.5 hour visit, so I want to publicly apologize to the management for that, though they courteously never said a word to remind us. This restaurant is an Asheville treasure and I hope they survive the pandemic. Bravo Modesto Trattoria!

Small space with great food and drink menu. We’ll be back

We went for dinner on Valentine’s and we had an absolutely FANTASTIC experience. Our server (who I am completely blanking on the name) made our night. We came from Florida on a road trip and it turns out he was from Daytona, FL!! He ended our night giving us a cookie sampler dessert and small sparkler since we were Floridians. He is by far one of the best servers I’ve ever had and I’ve been in the service industry for 7 years. Now on to the food... I ordered the special of panko and crab encrusted blue NC snapper with risotto and sweet potatoes and my date had the lobster ravioli. Both dishes were absolutely superb and we would return in a heartbeat. The only small annoyance was we were seated at a half booth/table and there was a very small walkway between my chair and the other table. The servers were very polite when trying to get by but I did end up getting bumped several times throughout the night (mainly guests) but it wasn’t a deal breaker. They were following proper COVID procedures and social distancing so that was awesome to see as well. Overall, 5 stars.. go to this restaurant!!

Went for Valentine’s Day and looking forward to a nice evening. Started off by host asking us to limit our stay to 1.5 hrs so they could stay on schedule. That was odd. Ordered a drink and was asked to about a top shelf liquor when declined I was asked if I was sure and offered others (odd again). Requested water with lemon and told they don’t serve tap water- of course. However food was outstanding- very good! If the food wasn’t good I would say find somewhere else.

Out to dinner with our friends, pre Valentine’s dinner. The food was delicious, service as good. We did not feel rushed at all. It was our friends first time there...they enjoyed it and will be back.

Excellent dinner with super helpful staff, look forward to going back next time we get to town.

Warm and inviting atmosphere . Tiler gave excellent service

Love this place so much. The staff and food are exceptional. Ate here last night for my friends birthday. The bar made her a specialty cocktail and the service was impeccable. Love and adore Modesto.

One of the coolest restaurant atmospheres I have experienced. Excellent service, and the food was delicious. I appreciated the variety of options on the menu as someone who does not love Italian food (I got seafood).

The waiter was friendly and helpful in providing suggestions. The food and drinks were delicious. Definitely will be coming back!

Very accommodating for gluten free dining; red snapper and pasta bolognese, for my partner, were excellent . Darren provided perfect service!

Excellent service and food! We will most certainly go back next time we visit Asheville.

Good food. Server was very kind but you could tell he was in training. Octopus appetizer was very rubbery, but entrees were tasty.

As always, Hector and his team at Modesto didn't disappoint! Our meal was delicious and the service superb. Tiler, our bartender/waiter was exceptional - she had great recommendations on wine pairings, made some mean cocktails, and was an engaging and fun addition to our dinner. Modesto is such a lovely restaurant with a warm ambiance and outstanding fresh, house-made dishes, it's a treat to bring newcomers here and watch their eyes light up throughout the meal.

Excellent as always! Thank you for keeping us safe during the pandemic! It is such a treat to come and dine at your restaurant!

Our second visit since Nov. Excellent calamari, pizza & salads. Veal chop was undercooked and raw. By the time they brought it out again others were done with dinner. Food was very good though. I had the lobster ravioli with scallops. Also just a suggestion they need to serve real bread! Both times here I had to order bread and pay for it which is really just cooked pizza dough cut into pita like shapes. Not very Italian!

Service needs improvement

New Years Eve dinner and the service and food were both outstanding

Poor management and food quality. One of our meals was served partially raw. The restaurant didn’t take the other meal back to the kitchen and, as a result, we weren’t able to enjoy dining together. Very disappointing and unexpected.

-Honest Review

Food and Service were great... can’t complain other than I wish that they offered wines from other regions... beggars can’t be choosers... especially when in an Italian Restaurant with an Italian theme. I was happy to get a reservation for New Year’s Eve and the restaurant accommodated us.

Amazing food and service. Blown away!

Jorge was our waiter, he was wonderful! Made wine and entree suggestions! Food was wonderful! Will definitely come back during our next trip to Asheville

Wow. I love food, and have worked in nice restaurants. This was amazing! I couldn’t stop talking about the meal I had for days. If I see monkfish anywhere I go, I order it. It was FANTASTIC! I highly recommend this cute little place!

I was just passing through for a day and found this gem. The service was impressive and the food was incredibly delicious. The chef changes the menu often so it gives the menu a wonderful edge on new tastes and spices. Thank you for the amazing service and delightful food. I would recommend to anyone in the area.

Was expecting more traditional Italian flavors, not South American Italian.

Just great food, great service, great ambiance.
We can’t wait to go back and try more but everything we had was with a lot of thought and packed with flavor intensity.

Amazing food! Will be coming back

Went there to celebrate kids Bday. Pizza had good ratings and with COVID there are limits as to where to go. Food was delicious we tried the lobster soup and the octopus plus a pizza. Everything was delicious. A bit on the expensive side but overall would repeat for another night for sure.

We got reservations here day of so were happy to have gotten in during COVID. The place was so nice, loved the ambience & atmosphere! Our waitress was super nice but there were a couple of times we needed service and it took her a while to get back to our table. It happens! Not a big deal, still all in all a great experience and awesome food!

Delicious! Excellent service