This hot new Scottsdale eatery is good. Why are we so bored?

When a new spot opens in town, we’re eager to check it out, let you know our initial impressions, share photos and dish about menu items. First Taste, as the name implies, is not a full-blown review but instead a peek inside restaurants that have just opened – an occasion to sample a few items and satisfy curiosities (both yours and ours).

At il Bracco, Scottsdale’s newest Italian hotspot, not one seat is vacant. Not at the restaurant’s lengthy travertine bar, in one of the plush booths spanning the tiered dining room or on the patio that traces the perimeter of the midcentury modern-styled brick building.

Like its popular siblings in Dallas and Houston, the Scottsdale outpost has been a hot ticket since it opened at the end of March. Il Bracco, just south of McCormick Ranch, draws an eclectic mix of well-heeled retirees, parents dolled up for a date night and groups donning club wear, gearing up for a night out in Old Town and making a stop for dirty martinis and bowls of pasta. 

There’s plenty of reason for the fanfare. The new restaurant is the Texas-based Western Addition Restaurant Group’s first foray into another state. Its ownership team has prior experience with the beloved upscale American chain Hillstone and the acclaimed fine-dining chef and restaurateur Thomas Keller. The Western Addition team built the restaurant from the ground up on the bustling Scottsdale Road. And it’s probably a coincidence, but we can’t help but speculate about the decision to open across the street from Houston’s, one of Hillstone’s sibling restaurants.

Ahead of opening, il Bracco co-founder Robert Quick described the menu as “very complicated, thoughtful food that we hope the guest isn’t thinking too much about.” He added, “We don’t want the food to come across as fussy.”

Quick presents an interesting calculation: well-sourced ingredients plus good execution, minus the esoteric cheffery. Will il Bracco’s bet add up with diners?

What to order at il Bracco

Due to the swarms of customers, we’re seated at a table along a stretch of the patio that hugs the front of the restaurant. The evening temperatures hover just below triple digits. And to make things even better, the fan isn’t working.

Luckily, the Italian restaurant’s signature cocktail is a frozen Greyhound. The Bracco comes together simply with gin, Aperol and fresh ruby-red grapefruit juice. With one ice-cold sip of the well-balanced cocktail, we found ourselves wishing we could order Braccos by the pitcher. (Note: customers can buy 32-ounce bottles to stock their home freezer.)

The bar also turns out a playful riff on a negroni, swapping in the digestif Barolo Chinato, which brings notes of juicy cherries and herbs to the bittersweet tipple. Skip the tequila-based Bianco Daisy, which is far too sharply acidic with citrus.

As we sip and chat, our appetizers arrive. Crispy Artichokes, finished with a squeeze of lemon, have the satisfying savory crunch of potato chips. They’re just as challenging to stop eating, especially when dipped in the accompanying olive aioli. 

Meatballs formed from a trinity of beef, lamb and pork give way with a fork. They’re enrobed in a simple tomato gravy that’s easily sopped up with bubbly batons of housemade, rosemary-studded focaccia. Those skipping meat should try il Bracco’s tangy whipped feta with the focaccia. 

The Amalfi Tuna, lightly seared ahi paired with an arugula salad and a punchy citrus vinaigrette, could be a meal unto itself. For a group, it works well as a shareable crudo.

Il Bracco’s larger plates include sandwiches, housemade pastas and steak and seafood entrees. We chose chicken piccata, spicy gemelli and bolognese to share.

The piccata and gemelli offer counterpoints on our plates. The chicken cutlets, juicy and golden-crusted, are topped with a generous amount of bright, lemon-forward butter sauce and piquant capers. A kale salad, dressed with a citrus vinaigrette and briny tendrils of ricotta salata, accompanies the cutlets. The citrus takes center stage with this classic Italian-American main. If the piccata is a ray of sunshine, the spicy gemelli is an inferno.

The electric orange vodka sauce serves as a warning of the fiery spice within. It’s so bold that there’s audible surprise from the group after their first bites. One dining companion notes she’s glad we’re sharing and not committed to the bowl as her only entree. I can’t help but agree. Beyond the heat, the pasta is verging on overcooked. It’s not gummy, but softer than a toothsome al dente.

Though the gemelli is the restaurant’s most popular pasta, we’d return for the bolognese. The meaty ragu offers unbridled comfort in a bowl. The ruddy dense sauce of pork, beef, lamb, red wine and parmesan melds over hours of slow cooking. The bolognese clings to every squiggly nook in the long strands of mafaldine, which are perfectly cooked and garnished with a flourish of parsley and craggy bits of parmesan that offer pops of freshness and salt.

Though we’ve already ordered enough food to feed an army, the restaurant’s Italian sundae, topped with extra-virgin olive oil, is too enticing to pass up. So, too, one of our group decides, is the tiramisu. His insistence on trying the dessert, his personal favorite, rewards the entire table with an exceptional rendition. The sturdy, rectangular slice reveals layers of soaked ladyfingers and cream. Contrary to its structured, almost dense appearance, the dessert is light as air. Each bite offers the classic interplay of cream and bold espresso, ideal for a nightcap.

The restaurant’s Italian sundae, served in a metal footed dessert dish, takes a playful swing. Whipped cream, pistachios and a very, very generous glug of local extra virgin olive oil top scoops of vanilla ice cream. The intention is celebratory decadence. Some bites are more olive oil than cream, leaving a greasy coating in one’s mouth.

Throughout the meal, a large team of staff timed drinks and multiple courses with warmth and aplomb, keeping up with the crowd on a bustling Friday night. Il Bracco’s team may be new to Scottsdale, but the well-oiled operation made it evident this isn’t their first rodeo.

The food is also as advertised: straightforward, approachable, not breaking much new ground, but largely well-made with top-shelf ingredients. There lies the fete and frustration of a place like il Bracco and what it says about us as diners. The restaurant and its throngs of customers are happy to play it safe and stick to mostly familiar standards. 

Is it exciting? No. Is it good? Well, yes.

When we leave, it’s after 9 p.m. Clusters of people stand on the sidewalk outside the restaurant, awaiting their cars from the valet. Polished sedans and SUVs continue to stream into the restaurant’s lot. The late-night crowd, young and well-dressed, arrives to fill those only briefly vacated candlelit tables. While some restaurants are winding down for the night, il Bracco looks like it’s just getting started.