The Sicilian Butcher is a very unique newly opened Sicilian Restaurant located in Phoenix. The specialty of the house are the Craft Meatballs in about 9 varieties that you mostly customize with a choice of sauce and a house made pasta or polenta, risotto, bread or salad. They also offer Charcuterie Boards, Pane Cunzatu (Sicilian Style Bruschetta Boards), Schiacciata (flatbreads), Salads, Panini and more!

The atmosphere is clean, airy and whimsical. My photos don’t do justice. There are so many details to see, such as a see through meat case and Butcher Hook light fixtures. They some of the playful reminders to remind you of where you are. Patio dining is also offered.

I thought for my first visit I had to try one of the Meatball offering with one of the House made pastas.

Went for the Sicilian Ahi Tuna made with raisins, pine nuts, pecorino cheese, lemon and herb bread crumbs in arrabiatta sauce.

Oddly my first meatball was already cut in half but arrived looking like it was together.

This meatball seemed to differ from my other two meatballs. It seemed dryer, dense and didn’t have as good as a flavor as meatball #2 and #3.

Number #2 and #3 had more raisins, were moist and were much better tasting….I don’t know why?????? Was it because the last two meatballs had more raisins they seemed much better or if it was because they sat in the sauce longer?????? Or perhaps it was a combination of the two…? ???? Don’t know….. (If only the meatball could talk)

Well any who two of the Sicilian Tuna Meatballs were good but the sauce and pasta were VERY GOOD! The Arrabiatta Sauce was very flavorful and MUCH more spicy than I was expecting. That sauce sure isn’t for the masses. That’s a one spicy sauce! The Paccheri Pasta were wide open tubes.  When you ate them they were like mini lasagnas in your mouth. I liked the way they held sauce and cheese. It was like putting a little gift in your mouth.

My husband had the Sausage Meatballs (pork, veal provolone, fennel, wine braised green onions, garlic and Calabrian Chili) also in Arrabiatta Sauce. But with Mafalde Pasta (long ribbons). He loved it!

I wasn’t able to finish my meal but I did want to try dessert.

We took out a hard to come by Sicilian Cassata for later.

It was a well crafted melt in your mouth sponge cake with all kinds of surprises. There was citrus, a little marzipan, ricotta, imported cherries and it was all yum!

Our server Christie was awesome! She was friendly, efficient and knowledgeable on the menu. She checked on us often. Gave and offered us things like extra ice, cheese, crushed peppers without us asking for them. She was on top of everything!

Sicilian Butcher is newly opened …..maybe not 100% perfect but seems to already be Worth a Fork!

I went back and my second visit did differ…….

We sat on the patio. The menu has changed little bit and the Tuna Meatballs are no longer on the menu. I went with the eggplant parmesan meatballs and stuffed gnocchi. We were served and nobody offered us grated cheese……

The gnocchi were mushy and served in oil but they were stuffed with spinach and cheese….maybe an off batch?

The Eggplant Parmesan Ball was very mushy and COLD!!!!!!!! in a sauce that differed from the delicious spicy arrabiatta sauce I had last time. Maybe they gave us marinara sauce???? Sauce was good just not the same. Nobody checked on us during out meal. We did inform someone that acted as a manager. I left the two mushy balls in my dish. I ate one because I was very hungry and I managed to eat the mushy oily gnocchi….I was asked if I wanted the remaining balls wrapped but I didn’t because they were awful. The woman acting like a manager said she’d tell someone who could do something about the situation. We were offered a dessert by our server and that was it.

Any who…….

www.TheSicilianButcher.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience (OR MY EXPERIENCE) may or may not differ.