Al Fresco's - Ocean Springs

I had been looking for a place for a casual early dinner and liked the idea of being able to sit outside in the courtyard of Al Fresco 's. First impression: The hostess was about to seat us outside when her phone rang and she turned her back to us to answer it and left us standing there for several minutes. We decided to seat ourselves when it became apparent that she would not finish the call soon or call someone else to take us to our table. After we picked a table outside a waitress came immediately, friendly and competent. With our drinks we received a complimentary 'amuse gueule ' grated fresh Parmigiano cheese with olive oil and warm bread very nice idea. Appetizers: We ordered Bruschetta and green fried tomatoes and weren 't too thrilled about that. The bruschetta was smothered with Mozzarella cheese you couldn 't taste anything but the cheese: a bit too much for our taste. The fried green tomatoes were all soggy from the 'house dip ' which was rather generously poured over them. Taste was okay but it would have been nicer to have the warm dip separately. The salads were fresh, the Balsamic dressing way too sweet, but with some salt and additional Balsamic the salad was edible. Entrees: We all had pasta, we all got pasta smothered in oil which made them too greasy and I prefer fresh grated Parmigiano on my pasta and not whatever the cook decides to pour over my meal. Also there was no sign of 'al dente ' the pasta was not only oily but also over cooked. Overall: The tables were sticky and should have been cleaned better. Service was acceptable but not what I expected. All of this would have been okay for a seven dollar lunch but not for thirty dollars per person.

I am always reluctant to order spaghetti and meatballs in a restaurant because, I have always been disappointed. Al Fresco is the exception...hands down the best I have ever eaten. With fresh baked bread and the best house dressing it is a great value (dinner around $13 and lunch around $7). The canolli is to die for and to convince you, my friend from Sicily said it was the best she ever had in the States.

I was looking for a place for a casual early dinner and liked the idea of sitting outside in the courtyard of Al Fresco 's. First impression: The hostess was sitting outside when her phone rings and she turned her back to us to answer it and left us standing there for a few minutes. We decided to sit down when it became obvious that she wouldn't stop the call soon or call someone else to take us to our table. After choosing a table outside a waitress, immediately came friendly and competent. With our drinks we received a free 'Amuse-Gaule' grated fresh Parmigiano cheese with olive oil and warm bread very nice idea. Appetizers: We ordered Bruschetta and green roasted tomatoes and were not too enthusiastic about it. The Bruschetta was tasted with Mozzarella cheese, which you could not taste, but the cheese: a bit too much for our taste. The fried green tomatoes were all soggy from the 'house dimmer', which poured quite generously over them. Taste was okay, but it would have been nice to have the warm bathroom separated. The salads were fresh, the Balsamico Dressing way too sweet, but with some salt and additional balsamic the salad was edible. Entries: We all had pasta, we all crushed pasta in oil that made them too greasy and I prefer freshly grated parmigiano on my pasta and not what the cook decides to pour on my meal. Also there was no sign of 'old dente' the pasta was not only oily, but also boiled over. Overall: The tables were sticky and should be cleaned better. Service was acceptable, but not what I expected. All this would have been good for a seven dollar lunch, but not for thirty dollars per person.

I am always hesitant to order spaghetti and meatballs in a restaurant because I was always disappointed. Al Fresco is the exception...hands down the best I have ever eaten. With fresh baked bread and the best house dressing it is a great value (dinner at $13 and lunch at $7). The Canolli should die and convince you, my friend of Sizili said it was the best she ever had in the states.