Serena RTP
Looking for a fun, funky and somewhat loud atmosphere and food at a reasonable price? Try Serena on Miami Blvd. just south of I-40 on the outskirts of RTP. The place hops at lunch and sometimes at dinner, this past Friday evening it was hopping, mostly due to a huge bus full of University of Maryland women. By eight pm, my party was left alone in the place and the music changed form top 40 to 70’s so that was nice; you don’t hear Carol King while out too much anymore.
Expect pop music, expect sports on big screen televisions and expect a wait staff that is very friendly, warm and helpful. We were a party of seven and our waitress was great and funny too.
The menu is marketed as Sicilian influenced Gastropub. Ok, I can go with that. I started with Bruschetta which was exceptionally well done. The toasted bread was seasoned just right and the Roma tomatoes were fresh and delicious and swimming in a pool of slightly vinaigrette marinade.
My entre consisted of Gnocchi in Tony’s of Endicott Sicilian-Style Tomato Sauce with Moorish Meatballs. I’m pretty sure the Gnocchi was indeed homemade; I loved it. Tony’s sauce is delicate and light; my guess is that no tomato paste is used; a happy thing for me. It is so easy to weigh down the gravy and completely overpower the pasta. That said; the meatballs, oh the meatballs; yes, yes, yes. They are exquisite and I highly recommend them.
Friday night out at Serena RTP, fun, music modern, atmosphere neato and food oh so reasonably priced at $17 total; so I suggest that you go if you can.
