I am always in search of great Italian food, but I don't think I've found it in South Orange.
Located on South Orange Avenue, Bottagra South is a quaint, beautifully decorated restaurant offering "modern Mediterranean flare," according to their website. While the atmosphere was perfect for a date night and the service was decent, the food left me feeling confused.
The menu is small but strong, offering a variety of options from both the northern and southern regions of Italy. After careful consideration, I chose to eat simply their chicken francese. The presentation of the plate was beautiful and featured seasonal vegetables as well as garlic mashed potatoes. While the food overall was decent, I found everything to be over-seasoned.
The mashed potatoes, while good, tasted too much like garlic, and my chicken francese tasted too much like lemon. There wasno balance in the ingredients; rather, you tasted one thing more than the other.
While I wasn't incredibly excited about the food, everything else made up for it. Although I didn't fall in love with Bottagra South this time, I'd be willing to return.
The Setonian gives this 3 out of 5 stars.
Ashley Duvall can be reached at ashley.duvall@student.shu.edu.
