Modesto Trattoria

This is a must to eat there the food was excellent had the veal dish out of this world. The service was excellent ask for Rachel she is the bomb, Tom the mr hostess is great only thing he would not come to needless Ca to open another restaurant where we live 😢. The cook hats off to you. People come here to eat.

Such an amazing meal! I chose this place for my birthday dinner and was blown away! I don’t quite remember what we got and it looks like the menu changes, but we got an app with mahi mahi tuna and I got the filet and scallop entree with saffron risotto and farm fresh roasted vegetables. I did have to send the steak back to be cooked a bit more to reach medium temp but they did it quickly and then it was perfect. The scallops melted in my mouth and were super delicious. The tiramisu was the best part, though! They even put a little candle in it :) The restaurant was pretty cramped inside and it would have been nice to have a better seat but we didn’t let it take away from the incredible food. Our server was super friendly, helpful, and prompt. I would love to eat here again when I’m in the area!

Seafood this far from the ocean? I was dubious and had planned on grabbing the carbonara or something similar. But I asked the server about it, and she assured me they get 3-4 shipments weekly of fresh ocean fish (many are from not too far off the coast of NC). Plus, the owner is also the head chef. So, that's a couple solid green flags to the one red flag, and so I gave it a shot. I have to say that I'm glad I did. The squid ink tagliatelle was very pretty (it never tastes super inky, but that's OK with me), and the assortment of seafood topped with the flounder was excellent. I could whine about the shrimp not being extra jumbo or something, but really, the flavor was phenomenal, and it wasn't at all what I expected this far from the water. Asheville has once again impressed my family and I, and we definitely would love to come back to visit. I recommend for small groups, as it's a tight space, but they were able to accommodate my family of 11 with just a couple of days' notice for a reservation.

Consistently good pasta, pizzas, salads and seasonal favorites with a few missteps I have been going to Modesto for years, and I appreciate the consistency of their menu. Certainly they’ve had different staff and servers in rotation over the many years that I have been dining there, but unlike other long-term favorites in Asheville, the quality does not seem to waver. While I appreciate restaurants who have new chefs/staff, sometimes that means mixing up the entire menu and that includes throwing a lot of standards away. Not so with Modesto; I can always count on my favorites, yet they still manage to have seasonal ingredients as well. For example, they have my favorite appetizer that I’ve been enjoying for several years (woodfired Spanish octopus) but on my last visit they also had softshell crab from South Carolina, fresh snapper and a few other specials that were seasonal. I love seasonal specials! But sometimes the chef focuses so much on seasonal specials that some old favorites are neglected. Not so here. Some items were a bit of a miss. The salad that we received was excellent, and the tuna was seared beautifully, but the tomatoes were past their prime. They were a bit mealy. And the ravioli that was fried was good, but probably my least favorite dish. It was a bit too crispy, and so you lost some of the nuance and flavor of the mushroom inside, because it just tasted overly fried. It was so overly fried that the interior filling could’ve been spinach or any other element substituted for the mushrooms, that is how little the mushroom flavors came through the frying. But my woodfired octopus was super tender as usual, and my daughter’s seasonal snapper was extraordinary! So fresh! In addition, the servers here are always attentive without being obtrusive, and that’s really lovely. My only other complaint is a small one. Like Hector’s other restaurant, they tend to push the bottled water, when Asheville tap is perfectly fine. In fact, our tapwater is excellent! And I really wish they would return to having iced tea. Sometimes when I’m having a big lunch and a nice salad (and the octopus, of course) I just really like to have some good brewed ice tea, and they took it off the menu a few years ago, and Instead seem to be pushing the bottled waters and the bottled specialty sodas. I know, selling the bottles help with the profit margin, but Please please bring back good-old brewed iced tea.

Best restaurant in town. Chef Hector Díaz will give you the best experience of your life. He’s one of the only owners that still cooks for his guests! An original in this beautiful foodie town. Such a difficult choice to be made with his skillfully composed menu. Enjoy the beautiful ambiance and the greatest presentation/service this food could have (ask for bow tie Eli) Come hungry and you’ll leave full and satisfied.

Our “go to” restaurant in Asheville never disappoints! Been there dozens of times yet it always impresses both with the expansive menu and the top notch service. The gifted chef creates incredible flavor pairings in each dish. Unlike most restaurants where I order a reliable favorite, at Modesto I try a different dish each time… knowing it will be yet another gastronomic favorite! Nice wine selection round out the meal, but then again, we can’t resist the craft made cocktails by Josh at the bar! Make your reservation. You won’t regret it!