From Italian and Portuguese to French and Spanish dishes, this family-friendly spot in Hamilton offers plenty of enticing entrees to choose from.
By: Megan Sullivan
Situated on bustling Route 33 in Hamilton, Tessara is a warm and friendly family restaurant, bar and banquet with an extensive menu and generous portions. The restaurant, formerly named Tiffany’s, was opened nearly three years ago by Adnan Bektas and Mustafa Ceylan. (Those who live in or around the area might remember when the Italian establishments Scozzi and Hemingway’s once occupied the space.)
|
Tessara |
The name change came about last year when jeweler Tiffany & Co. brought a lawsuit against the restaurant. Bektas says the new name, Tessara, comes from the Roman term "tesserae," or the pieces of colored tiles that decorate the Sistine Chapel. Just as the tiles come together to form a lively design, the wide range of dishes offered at Tessara creates an enticing dining destination. The menu categories which include specials, pastas, chicken, steaks and chops, veal, seafood and sandwiches/wraps/burgers offer everything from Italian and Portuguese to French and Spanish dishes.
On a recent evening, my guests and I were led to a section of booths, lit by Tiffany-style lamps, giving us a clear view of the restaurant’s open kitchen. I worried that we might be bothered sitting in close proximity to the action, but noise never posed an issue. Plus, it was reassuring to see that our food was coming from an extremely clean-looking and organized workspace.
Our server, Nevin, immediately brought us warm, crusty bread with a large plate of olive oil flavored with fresh garlic and spices, as well as packets of butter.
I ordered a glass of Covey Pinot Grigio ($4.95) and one of my guests had a glass of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay ($6.75). In addition to plenty of red and white wine selections, and bottled and draft beers, an interesting list of martinis, margaritas and mojitos are offered.
The menu is so extensive, we still hadn’t decided on entrees by the time our fried calamari ($6.95) and baked asparagus ($7.95) appetizers arrived. The calamari rings (no tentacles) were fried to a golden brown and served with a lightly spiced pesto marinara sauce. Although the rings were surrounded by a tasty crunchy coating, I found the squid slightly too chewy. My one guest, on the other hand, thought it was the best fried calamari he had eaten in a while.
The baked asparagus was cooked perfectly and nicely presented. The thick, green stalks were wrapped with roasted red peppers, slices of prosciutto and delicious fresh mozzarella, topped with a zesty balsamic vinaigrette.
Our salads, which came with the entrees, were served on ice-cold plates. The crisp lettuce, cucumbers, red cabbage, shredded carrots and cherry tomatoes were dressed with the homemade balsamic vinaigrette. My one companion decided to sample the chicken orzo soup instead, which was served exactly to her liking: piping hot. Although she found the rice a little mushy, the overall flavor was delicious with its blend of chicken, celery, onions and carrots.
Nevin was of great help when we selected our entrees. I initially wanted to try the Shrimp and Scallops Tessara ($23.95) with lump crabmeat in garlic white wine over linguini. I instead went with one of her favorites, Iberian Fantasia ($21.95), which features fresh shrimp, scallops and sausage, flamed with vodka, in a "spicy" tomato cream sauce over angel hair pasta. The scallops were slightly sweet and delicious, as were the shrimp, and the sausage savory and smoky. From the menu’s description, I expected the creamy orange sauce to have more of a kick, but the dish was good nevertheless. Portion sizes here are more than generous and the meal was still enjoyable when I reheated it the next evening for dinner.
One of my dining companions opted for Chicken Barcelona ($14.95). Two breasts of chicken, skin on, were neatly stuffed with Italian sausage with dill in brandy, dijon mustard and topped by the same orange tomato cream sauce that graced my dish. While it was good, she had expected the chicken to be stuffed with chunks of crumbled sausage, but the pieces were somewhat lost within a bread-like filler. A number of the chicken dishes, like this one, are served with green beans and rice. We found the rice to be unnecessary and the green beans a little overcooked, though flavorful.
My other guest chose the smothered steak ($23.95), a 16 oz. charcoal flamed broiled New York strip sirloin piled high with sautéed peppers, onions, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese. The certified Angus beef was perfectly cooked to his requested medium rare, the red meat tender, juicy and succulent and came with a silver boat of au jus (hardly needed). This dish definitely took the prize for the evening. It came with the green beans and browned red bliss potatoes.
Now that I know how delicious Tessara’s steaks are, I would definitely try our server’s suggestion of Tournados Eiffel ($27.95) on a return visit. The medallions of filet mignon are wrapped in bacon with jumbo lump crabmeat, mushrooms, tarragon and sage in a Madeira cream sauce with asparagus over grilled eggplant. At the time, it simply sounded like too much going on and perhaps a bit too heavy for a hot summer day, but with meat that tasty, who cares?
The service was excellent: Nevin promptly refilled our water glasses, packaged our leftovers and wiped our table before serving dessert. We were stuffed to the brim, but there’s always room for sweets. We couldn’t bring ourselves to have any coffee or tea (although the menu offers some unique options like an Espressotini and Tiramisu Café), and instead shared a cannoli ($3.95) and a slice of Chocolate Confusion ($5.95).
The majority of the desserts are not made in house. The cannoli had a crispy shell, with hints of cinnamon that contrasted with the smooth creamy ricotta cheese filling with bits of chocolate chips. The Chocolate Confusion was a moist chocolate cake with chocolate mousse, a crunchy cookie crust and chocolate icing and surrounded by chocolate chips. It sounded like it might be overly rich, but it had the perfect sweet satisfaction.
All three of us went home with full stomachs, leftovers and thoughts of our next visit in mind.

