Review: Albero Cafe’s beautiful Italian dishes taste as good as they look

For a town in perpetual mourning over Angelo’s, the original WichItalian restaurant that closed in 2006, it often feels like there’s just not enough Italian food.

There have been a few bright additions over the years, including Bella Vita Bistro in 2010 and Bocconcini Italian Eatery, which opened in 2011 at 4811 E. Central but closed two years later.

Now, an excellent replacement – Albero Cafe – has opened in the old Bocconcini space and is serving vibrant, bold Italian dishes that have many foodies in town talking. (“Albero” means “tree” in Italian.)

It’s owned by Hassan Ballout, who worked for 10 years helping Bella Luna Cafe owner Matteo Taha put out excellent dishes at his three restaurants. Ballout finally decided he was ready for his own place, took the Bocconcini spot and remodeled it.

The restaurant opened in July.

▪ On the menu: The menu is filled with homey Italian dishes, some of which are lighter (crispy flatbreads, salads, panini sandwiches) and some of which are cream-sauce-laden, rich and heavy (fettuccine Alfredo, chicken Parmesan, shrimp scampi). Though the list of dishes is somewhat typical for a Wichita Italian restaurant, the preparations aren’t. Ballout’s entrees emerge from the kitchen beautifully plated and covered with expertly seasoned and deeply flavored sauces, fresh herbs and big ribbons of fresh Parmesan cheese.

The menu also has several appetizers, Tuscan white bean and chicken lemon orzo soups, a couple of fish dishes, a steak, four Italian desserts, a list of Italian sodas and a full bar.

▪ Don’t-miss dishes: The dishes at Albero Cafe taste as good as they look.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the Italian nachos, a dangerous selection off the appetizer menu, days after I had them. Albero’s version is made of fried pasta chips piled high and drenched with an unbelievable homemade cheese sauce that’s rich, thick, creamy and addictive.

On top is a mixture of shredded lettuce, sliced peperoncini and tomatoes that’s tossed in a tangy dressing and called “Mediterranean tomato relish.” Customers can opt to top the nachos with chicken or sliced Italian sausage; we chose the latter. Despite the fact that we had several other rich dishes on the way, we ate this pile of goodness until it was almost gone and made plans to return some night to eat only the nachos with a bottle of wine. The nachos are $7, an extra $3 with the chicken or sausage.

We also tried several rich pasta dishes, including the excellent Carbonara ($10). Albero’s version is made with fettuccine, bits of crispy pancetta, peas and thick Parmesan shavings, and we added some blackened chicken for $3 extra. The cream sauce holding it all together had a deep flavor with accents of nutmeg, and its texture was pure silk.

The waitress recommended the Italian sausage penne, which was $12 and came with two large grilled Italian sausages cut in half and artfully arranged over a bowl of penne coated with a tangy tomato cream sauce. It was topped with lots of Parmesan cheese, both powdered and shaved, and chopped basil. It was rich and heavy, and we couldn’t finish it, even though the portion was a reasonable size.

From the sandwich menu, we tried the chicken saltimbocca, which featured a fresh ciabatta roll neatly filled with flattened, grilled chicken; provolone; a thick layer of prosciutto; and melted provolone holding it all together. It was dressed with a garlic pesto aioli that gave it a fresh-from-the-garden flavor and a generous pile of peppery arugula. My advice: Choose Albero’s homemade potato chips for a side; they are house made and perfectly crisp. (Pasta salad is your other option.)

Other recommended dishes: the Margherita flatbread topped simply with thin-sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil for $8; the antipasti plate ($10) featuring Italian meats, thick-cut discs of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and marinated veggies like olives and peperoncini, all artfully arranged on a cutting board; and the fish Parmesan ($14), a spaghetti dish with a creamy marinara sauce. It’s also topped with melted mozzarella and lightly breaded tilapia that blends into rather than overpowers the dish.

We tried Albero’s tiramisu ($5), which was fine. The desserts aren’t made in-house, so I’d save the calories for the pastas.

▪ Ambience: There’s very little to complain about at Albero Cafe, but the acoustics are a problem – as they were at Bocconcini, too. The high ceilings and laminate floors combine when the restaurant is full (which is often) and make it almost impossible to hear even those seated at your table.

▪ Price range: Appetizers are $7 to $10. Flatbreads are $8 to $10. Salads are $4 to $9. Sandwiches are $7 to $10. Pasta, fish and steak dishes are $9 to $19.

▪ Service: Our waitress was attentive and offered suggestions when asked. Ballout also occasionally appears from the kitchen to check on customers.

This story was originally published September 10, 2014 at 4:06 PM with the headline "Review: Albero Cafe’s beautiful Italian dishes taste as good as they look."