Mora Italian Restaurant is by Celebrity Chef Scott Conant of Food Network and our local Pomo Restaurants. Mora Italian is a glamorous, stunning, modern somewhat upscale but also casual Italian Restaurant. The atmosphere is a mix of grand, rich and playful with an energetic vibe at prime time.

On my past visits to Mora Italian the food ranged from the outstanding – very good. Not everything we tried but some things we previously tried are pictured below.

This time we decided to try the tasting menu. I note that nobody made me try the tasting menu by twisting my arm…..or holding a gun to my head………but it just sounded fun and worth trying and I was planning on trying two of the dishes anyway and I also always wanted to try the signature pasta dish (pasta al pomodoro)…………… The tasting menu (at this time)…. cost $58 dollars a person at your table for five courses. That seems reasonable and we always enjoyed the food here so we gave it a try.

First course was the Focaccia di Recco.

I’ve had this before from Pomo Pizzeria and from Pomo it was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted in my life. From Pomo the crust was also whisper thin…but crisp with a melty molten middle of flowing pungent cheese that taste better than pizza cheese. Sadly Mora’s focaccia didn’t compare. From Mora the texture and flavor of the cheese differed and didn’t get all melty and molten and also didn’t have that special flavor. The Mora focaccia tasted burnt and over salted and was slightly unpleasant. It also turned doughy…I didn’t feel like complaining…..I just figured everything afterwards would be fine. Below are two photos of the focaccia di Recco from Pomo Pizzeria in Scottsdale.

Second course was the best course for both of us. An arugula with goat cheese salad and the burrata…….no complaints here…….only praises.

Third courses were Polenta and Meatballs over Semolina Pudding.

The creamy polenta was accented with fresh mushrooms and very hard burnt chunks of bacon that I honestly thought were inedible pieces of burnt wood. The bacon was so overcooked that it impossible to bite threw (I thought they were burnt pieces of wood). The polenta would have been excellent if it didn’t contain the burnt wood-like bacon. On the other hand the Meatball dish almost was the best dish of the evening. It was flavored very well but unfortunately for us the meatballs were hard and dry………just overcooked……

Fourth courses were the Signature Pasta Al Pomodoro (plain pasta with sauce) and Fettuccine.

I can’t say in any way anything bad about the pasta al pomodoro….. The pasta was prepared to a perfect al dente. The tomato sauce was seasoned nicely and came with the perfect amount of basil to make it delicious. The Fettuccine didn’t have much flavor to it. It was studded with several extra large whole garlic cloves that seemed slow cooked till sweet. I thought maybe a little bit of some kind of pepper or more escarole might balance out the flavors more. At this point I feel the effects from all the carbs and I ate less than one third of the previous plates.

Fifth course was the Caramel Budino and the Chocolate Torte.

Both desserts were too rich and heavy for our taste….plus I had carbs way beyond my limit already. The Chocolate torte was heavy and rich like a cheese cake and the Budino was like a whole bowl of sweet caramel.

Picking up the car from valet was odd. We had to walk to the valet when our car was by the valet stand and then had to walk back to the restaurant so the valet could drive our car to us.

Turns out the Tasting menu isn’t always a good idea. It was too many carbs for me. I do note I did enjoy the food from previous visits to Mora Italian. For me it’s better if I pick out my own plates in a restaurant.

Even from a really Nice Restaurant The Forking Truth is that The Tasting Menu isn’t always a very good idea. www.MoraItalian.com

Your experience may or may NOT differ and EVERY FORKING THING is subject to change.

As a slight update the manager from Mora read a review from me and did apologies for the unpleasant burnt tasting focaccia and poor execution from some of the food that was prepared for us. He told me to make sure I say Hi to him the next time I dine with them.