On Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale, is a fantastic Italian restaurant.

If you are looking for a romantic dinner, the perfect people watching cafe, or just authentic Italian food, then Mancini's is your place. Settled in the midst of Fort Lauderdale's upscale Las Olas Blvd this restaurant is a star that blazes with individuality and quality.

During a visit to Fort Lauderdale we met with friends over a holiday weekend. Looking for a place to eat lunch that Monday was a challenge. Fortunately we stumbled upon Mancini's. We entered as the only diners and were warmly greeted. All the waiters are straight from Italy and have obviously been school in Italian fine dining. We were first presented with the lunch menu. When we asked for the dinner menu we were told that of course we could order from either menu.

The food is best described as Tuscan. We began with calamari, which was done perfectly. It wasn't over breaded, but done with a light coating. It came with different sauces and the waiters immediately brought me lemon wedges for my calamari (you never get marinara sauce in Italy with your calamari).

Salad seems to be one of the easiest dishes to create, yet it is amazing how many restaurants cannot seem to create a good salad. Our salads were excellent with a champagne vinagarette. I do not like too much vinegar in my dressing and this was just right. It was light and allowed the flavors of the lettuce to come through.

One of our main dishes was the house made gnocchi with Gorgonzola and walnuts. I really like Gorgonzola. The gnocchi are light and tender, almost like little clouds that carry the sauce to your mouth. The casarecci with Italian sausage was also delicious. The sausage is made in house as is the pasta. The flavors took me back to a trip to Puglia. The pasta, sausage, and sauce were homey yet sophisticated.

One of our group had the Dentice Mediterraneo, red snapper with potatoes, artichoke hearts, and caper berries. The lemon butter and white wine sauce was delicious and played well with all the other ingedredients. The fish was perfectly cooked, served at just the perfect moment. My husband had the rack of lamb. The wait staff asked how he wanted it cooked. It was grilled perfectly medium and topped with a rosemary-red wine sauce. The lamb was served with spinach and mashed potatoes.

Mancini's has an extensive wine list. We had an excellent Montepulciano. At one point my husband lifted the bottle the refill his glass and a waiter rushed over to do it for him and appologized for not being attentive enough.

The espresso and cappucino made an excellent ending to the meal.

If you only have time to have one meal in Fort Lauderdale you should eat it at Mancini's.

Mancini's
1017 E Las Olas Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
954-764-5510

We were able to park on the street at a parking meter. There is a lot where you can park for $5.