360 E. Campbell Ave, Campbell, CA
Items ordered:
- Burrata Casareccia (Fresh Burrata Cheese served with Tomato, Basil & Arugula)
- Polenta con Formaggio Fuso (Polenta, Melted Italian Cheese, Asparagus, Truffle Caviar Perlage)
- Cozze Al Pepe (Steamed Mediterranean Mussels, Garlic, Pepper, Chili Flake, Basil, White Wine Marinara, served with Toast)
- Tagliolini Carbonara (Tagliolini with Egg, Parmesan, Pancetta, Black Pepper)
- Mafaldine Calabrese (Mafaldine pasta, Blackened Prawns, Calabrese Chili, Porcini Mushrooms, Arugula, Garlic with white wine)
Trattoria 360 is a place that we have been to many times before and generally probably our favorite Italian restaurant in the south bay. Tonight we were celebrating Kiki’s birthday. In Chinese tradition, you eat noodles on your birthday, with the very long length of the noodles signifying the hope to live a long life. Instead of Chinese, we decided to still go with noodles, but pasta style.
The restaurant is in the heart of Campbell downtown. We visited early evening on a Sunday, and we were the first in the restaurant. The service was generally excellent.
The food was still really good, but not up to the previous heights that we were used to. My favorite dish here previously was the mussels. I remember that what separated their mussels from a very similar dish in other restaurants was two things: 1) their mussels were really plump and fresh and 2) their sauce was a delicate balance of light, tangy, spicy, and flavorful. This time around, the mussels were fine, but the sauce had completely changed, to a very heavy tomato-based sauce. The two main descriptions for the sauce would be sweet and sour. Gone were the several layers of flavor that the dish used to have.
We had two other appetizers, a burrata with a small arugula salad, and a polenta dish. The burrata was fine, but pretty firm. I’m not expert on Italian cheeses, but to me it ate more like a mozzarella than a burrata. Usually, the best part of burrata to me is the liquidy center which is neither firm nor runny. This burrata was definitely very firm in the center. The polenta was really good, especially the (deliberately) burned asparagus. But I couldn’t help wondering just how much butter and cheese was in it, because eating it basically felt like eating parmesan and butter with more solid textures.
The stars of the evening were the fresh pastas. I didn’t even get to taste the carbonara, as our two daughters (including the birthday girl) mostly divided it up. But they absolutely devoured the dish, and it looked very good. The adults ate the mafaldine, which was a little more spicy. The shrimp that accompanied the dish were big red Argentine ones, and they were preparedly very well. The pasta itself was perfect. It was the right level of al dente, with real bite and chewiness. It tasted very fresh. And the sauce was nice and not too salty. This is, ultimately, what we came for, and we weren’t disappointed.
Because we were celebrating my daughter’s birthday, we were treated to a comp’d panna cotta flavored like cantaloupe melon. This was extremely good. I had never had a dessert flavored like cantaloupe before. I was stunned at how much cantaloupe flavor they got into it (and I could also taste small bits of actual melon).
For an old standby, this restaurant lived mostly up to expectations. Their food is executed at a very high level, and their service was top notch.
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