Café Italiano is actually two restaurants in one. In the morning, and through the day, it’s the Café on the Green where you can eat breakfast and lunch. After dark, however, it morphs into something entirely different – and it’s far more than just a change of name.
The lights dim, the sound of mandolins fills the air and voila, you have Café Italiano complete with gourmet Chef, Alberto Avila. Café on the Green is now an Italian bistro.
As Italian restaurants go Café Italiano is unique. The view across the lake to the 13th green of the TPC PLAYERS Stadium Course, especially when the moonlight is glistening on the water, is hypnotic, not to mention romantic.
But when all is said and done, it’s really the food that’s important, and I have a few suggestions: To start, I can wholeheartedly recommend the crab cakes (these rank among the best I’ve ever tasted) followed by a tomato mozzarella basil salad. For the entrée, you just have to try the red snapper, pan seared and served on a bed of crab risotto cake with orange butter sauce and fried spinach. If you’re craving a red meat dish… well, you can’t go wrong with the 14oz New York strip with marinated Portobello mushroom and a red wine demi. Finally, you can top off the experience with delicious dessert, maybe tiramisu or a lemon almond tart.
