How ‘bout a quick review of the fairly new restaurant in downtown Wausau. It’s “Ciao”..that went into the place where Daly’s was. It came as a shock that Dalys would close in the first place. They had customers galore..they supported live music..and Jim and Tee Daly were wonderful advocates for downtown business and charity events..loved going there. So now it’s Ciao’s turn. My wife and I tried it for a big occasion in our lives..our 38th wedding anniversary. No pressure, right? I always think about that going into a restaurant because my wife and I are both foodies. We love and talk about food culture all the time. I personally root for restaurants to do well..especially in Central Wisconsin. I love talking to chefs about menus, recipes..and my wife and I have the attitude..”let’s eat something at a restaurant that we wouldn’t normally make at home.”
At Ciao..the menu takes care of a lot of different tastes at several price points. I’m sure it’ll get a reputation as an expensive place to eat..but there certainly are enough selections that you can work around that. For us..it was our anniversary..so we didn’t really worry about that..so we had drinks and ordered a few different dishes so we could test out as much as possible. For an appetizer we tried the Pork Belly. Super good and prepped in a way that shouldn’t work. they serve seared pork belly with cabbage and bacon that’s been marinated in balsamic vinegar. To us it sounded like a weird combo..but it really worked..really tasty. I had the Lobster Bisque..deelish. And then for the main course..we ordered the Jumbo Raviolis and Crab Cakes. Both were great. I gotta have those crab cakes again sometime..those were outta control good! We walked out of there with a bill just under $100…so keep that in mind. I think one of the signature dishes on the menu is perfect for a double date…the Tomahawk Steak! Yes..it’s that steak that looks like meat axe..LOL. It would take 2 to 4 people to eat one..and the steak costs $150. They don’t hold back telling you the cost. They’re proud of that steak and they should be. The main thing and unique selling point to me is how fresh it all is..they make their pasta in-house..and the service..they have a great wait staff. The one other thing helping is valet parking. Our parking is not the best in downtown Wausau..this combats that problem head on!!
Give this restaurant a chance..got a big client coming to town? Anniversary? Wanna give a great gift certificate to somebody really special? Birthdays? OR…just want eat great food..then Ciao should be on your list.
