Better than Southern Italy and much closer to Home

Maruizio’s, an authentic Italian restaurant in downtown Morgan Hill, CA is better than Southern Italy and much closer to home! It is casual & friendly and exactly what you would expect to find in a neighborhood restaurant in Italy. Maurizio, the owner and chef, began his studies of the restaurant business at the age of 15 in Bari, Italy and quickly rose to the top of his class. After moving to Morgan Hill in 1993, and succeeding in several business ventures, he opened Maurizio’s at 25 East First Street in 2004. Maurizio focuses on fresh ingredients of the highest quality and good customer service. We have dined their twice on our way to/from the San Francisco airport and had wonderful experiences both times. Even though their menu is small, we were told on our first visit that Maurizio is happy to please and could most likely prepare anything you request!

The staff there is highly competent and knowledgeable and they treat you with such warmth that they make you feel like family. You are presented first with a wicker basket of fresh baked Italian bread and a small bowl of roasted garlic in olive oil. The garlic is sweet and soft enough to spread on the bread – just delish!

 Combining the two visits, we enjoyed several starters.

Calamari Fritti; Calamari, Shrimp, and lemon served with a sweet basil syrup (to die for!) and a spicy tomato sauce. The seafood was seasoned, lightly floured and quick fried Italian style and not heavily coated and saturated in oil as so many American restaurants serve.

Involtini di Melanzane; Eggplant, ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese served rolled and tasting very similar to a lighter version of eggplant parmesan with a fresh, bright and delicious tomato sauce.

Insalata Cesare; Fresh romaine hearts, Parmigano-Reggiano, Caesar dressing, crostini and our requested anchovies. Perfectly delicious!

Our mains were:

Rotelle di Parma; Fresh rolled pasta, mortadella, parmesan, mozzarella, basil in a tomato cream sauce. It was unique and exquisite; incredibly delicious!

Salmone alla Griglia; Grilled mesquite salmon with a pepper coating, parmesan polenta cake with a sun dried tomato pesto, served with perfectly prepared haricot verts. The sauce was divine as was the rest of the dish.

Chicken Piccata; Two scallopini’s of chicken cooked in a light lemon, caper sauce served over angel hair pasta with the same perfectly prepared haricot verts! I ordered it- not on the menu, and Maurizio was happy to oblige my request. It was yummy!

 

 

 

 

 

We finished the lighter of our two meals with Espresso and a Cannoli; Traditional crisp tube-shaped pastry shells stuffed with ricotta and chocolate chips. The filling was dense and savory, a wonderful balance to the sweetness of the sugar dusted pastry shell and chocolate chips & drizzle.

Since there are other interesting restaurants in Morgan Hill, it is a testament to the impression Maurizio’s made on us, to have us return so quickly! We thoroughly enjoyed both visits and wish we lived close enough to become weekly patrons.