518 West

Located smack in the middle of Glenwood South, a strip of Downtown Raleigh packed with restaurants and nightclubs, 518 West sits above the rest. The two story Italian-Mediterranean Cafe offers a small seasonal menu along with their traditional and non traditional pasta dishes, small plates, wood fired pizzas, and appetizers. A perfect lit setting for romantic evenings, comfy enough for family get togethers, and the location for a great friends night out. Reasonable prices and great food, I wonder why Olive Garden is still in business here. Why would you choose to go to a restaurant with granted, great salad, but pour-out-of-the-bag entrees when you could go to a locally owned restaurant who takes pride in their cuisine and service?

We both started out with a side Caesar salad (which was actually created by a Mexican chef-did you know that?) and my husband ordered it with shrimp. The salad was the perfect ratio of lettuce to dressing with the pleasant bite of garlic and black pepper. His shrimp were cooked to perfection. For our entrees, along with a bottle of pinot noir- he had the spaghetti bolognese, piping hot with a rustic style sauce. Chunks of carrots and full of meat, you can tell that this sauce was made fresh and with lots of care. I had the lemon linguine-sauteed shrimp, roasted tomatoes, garlic, scallions in a white wine with lobster butter and clam broth with gluten free pasta (available on request-oh yes!) do I need to say more? It was delicious. Simple as that. The lobster and clam flavors add two extra layers of flavor that cannot be achieved in a shrimp scampi. This dish was perfectly balanced in every way and grew more and more flavorful as I kept eating it. Dishes are also available in half sizes, for those with lighter appetites. We take home the leftovers (a lot) from the regular portions (which reheat beautifully and will have your coworkers sniffing at your office door)

No need to order dessert, just a cappuccino with the homemade biscotti. Oh and did I mention the homemade focaccia?

Spaghetti with Bolognese Sauce

Lemon Linguine