Old world Italian meets new world construction at new Trinity Groves hotspot, Saint Rocco’s. Saint Rocco’s New York Italian is a celebration of family and a tribute to the culinary heritage of Italian-Americans. The newest addition to the Trinity Groves dining scene, Saint Rocco’s is a restaurant concept from industry legend Phil Romano and Executive Chef and Co-Owner Jay Valley. Located in Dallas’ Trinity Groves, this upscale casual eatery takes its inspiration from the family dinner tables the two grew up with as first-generation Italian Americans.

Saint Rocco’s interior is also an homage to family with wall-to-wall vintage photos provided by Romano, Valley and other friends and colleagues. And printed on the back of each Saint Rocco’s menu are their personal thoughts about growing up Italian in America. Saint Rocco’s décor is a modern interpretation of the Italian-American clubs that Romano grew up going to with his dad, featuring red and white subway tile, a lively open kitchen and a hand-carved wooden bar that spans the length of the restaurant. It’s the Italian restaurant Dallas has been waiting for.

We loved the Carpaccio of sliced tenderloin and shaved parmesan ($12) with caper aioli for its freshness and high quality. The calamari ($13) is a classic not to be missed combining semolina crusted squid with fennel tomato sauce. Light and crispy and not to heavy! Another light starter was the Strawberry Arugula Salad ($9) with grilled balsamic berries. My only wish was that there was less dressing and the nuts addition wasn’t noted on the menu, which some guests may raise issue due to allergies.

For our main plates, we settled on classics with a modern twist like Lobster Ravioli ($23) swimming in a decadent truffle cream and Sole Milanese ($26) served with the same caper butter and arugula salad as the carpaccio. Which both were delicious, it seemed like a component was missing on each that would have elevated the dishes and made them stand out a bit more.

A lovely surprise, each guest receives a box of Saint Rocco’s signature cookies with the bill but we craved more sweets. The Ricotta Cheesecake was gone in a second and super creamy. Also tasty were the cannolis, a traditional Italian dessert that was a bit overpowered by almond flavor that lingered long after our meal.

A taste of family in a friendly and old world atmosphere, Saint Rocco’s is worth the visit and cheers to a legacy of love.