Pellegrino's Trattoria Troutman

Best Italian restaurant in Charlotte. Both Amber and I love traditional Italian cuisine. Amber is Sicilian. I ordered the Rigatoni Sicilian which was tasty and the fresh sauteed vegetables complimented this pasta dish. Amber went for the Penne & Broccoli and said it was delicious. I like the large portions and the way the entrees were prepared. The ambience was perfect and the prices very reasonable when you consider all you get. The service was very good as well. We've tried other Italian restaurants in the Charlotte area before but found this one to be the most authentic NY style Trattoria. Definitely worth the drive.

Good Authenic Italian with some Liberties Taken. My wife has been wanting to try this restaurant for a number of years and we finally had the opportunity. Little hard to find tucked into the back of a little shopping center and a very small sign which buried in a much larger cluster of signs on a busy street.

Food is quite good, portions are large and the pricing is reasonable for the qualtiy and qauntity of food you get. Atmosphere is nice and the mood is appropriate for the cusine.

The liberties taken refers to the use of none Italian ingredients such as shitaki mushrooms. Don't get me wrong. The dishes prepared this way are still excellent but with a different flair than traditional Italian.

I had the Mozarella Caprese as an antipasto. I was fairly good but the moazarella could have been fresher and I'm used to a light splash of Balsamic Vinegar to compliment the tomato and basil. Only dressing was Olive Oil and from what I could tell, it was just Olive Oil and not the higher quality Virgin or Extra Virgin grades.

My wife had the Veal with the Shitaki mushrooms in a brown sauce and she idicated that it was quite good. I had a shrimp parmagiana and while it was fairly good, the marinara could use some work.

Biggest probelem we had was the server. Service was spotty at best with long lulls between visits. When he served our meal, he tried to funny by telling my wife "here are your anchovies and mushrooms" and in my case "here is your Calamari" First reactrion was ' I didn't order that". Bottom line, when serving the food, it's a time to showcase off the efforts of the chef and the restaurant. There is a time for Comedy Central and that was not it.

In conclusion, I would return and take friends there. With a few added touches, this could move from a good restaurants to a great restaurant.