The Gossiping Gourmet: Ti Amo reopens as Ti Amo in Laguna Beach

Ti Amo, the once popular Laguna eatery, closed its doors about three years ago and the site lay dormant.

I always checked when I drove by, hoping to see a sign indicating that a new restaurant had taken its place. Well, at last there is a new restaurant there and its called — guess what — Ti Amo.

Apparently, the restaurant has been in rehab, with owners working to restore it to its former glory.

It opened about two months ago with a new chef, Leonel Villa, who has been in the business for more than 20 years. Victoria Scala is the new operating manager, and Francesca Lacobellis is the new manager. What these three share is a passion for real Italian food made fresh daily.

The interior looks much the same but refreshed. The big, ornately framed landscape paintings are still there, as is the huge fireplace with the chimney rising to the ceiling. A new hardwood floor has been added, and the tables are covered in white linens with a candle atop each.

Several different dining spaces include one with a nice ocean view, another with a glass ceiling and one downstairs that can be used for larger parties. It features a huge tree in the middle of the entry.

I began with the grilled octopus salad, which was made of very sweet grape tomatoes, arugula, white beans, olive oil and fresh lemon. It was a very refreshing starter, but the octopus was a little chewy and the beans were bland.

My dining companion ordered the salsiccia alla Pugliese, which is a specialty of that region. It contains rapini (broccoli raab), the salsiccia sausage, Pecorino romano cheese, spicy peperoncino and tomato sauce. The tomato sauce is what made this dish special. It was freshly house-made and it was excellent. It had very subtle notes of heat, and the sausage was very flavorful.

The dish was topped with two long slices of toasted bread to sop up the juices. The bread, by the way, is also house-made and comes to the table still warm. It is served with a little bowl of peppers and oil and another of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

For the main course, my fellow diner ordered the linguine alle vongle, which consisted of a big bowl of little clams resting on nicely cooked linguine pasta in a light broth of white wine, garlic red pepper flakes and parsley. This was a simple but pleasant dish.

I ordered the cannelloni. The two long fat tubes of pasta were stuffed with spinach, chopped artichoke and ricotta cheese, then baked in the oven in marinara and béchamel sauces. Again, the marinara sauce made the dish. The rich, creamy béchamel was also good, but the whole dish tasted as if it had been left in the oven too long — the good ingredients were kind of mushy even though tasty.

For dessert, I tried the torte caprese, a flourless almond chocolate cake topped with salted caramel ice cream. The thin cake was on the bottom of the plate, resting on some pretty drizzles of chocolate syrup. I found the cake to be a bit gritty, but the ice cream was rich and delicious.

I also tasted the cappuccino crème brulèe. The crème pudding was actually chocolate, and the brulèed top was a crispy layer of burnt caramel. It was a nice change from the traditional custard.

The menu at Ti Amo offers eight antipasti, including a selection of Italian cured meats and a cheese plate with three selections. The house-made meatballs sounded good too. Available also are two risottos and three kinds of gnocchi.

Of course, the list of house-made pastas is long. And meats, chicken and fish are also plentiful.

Mangia, mangia!

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TI AMO

Location: 31727 Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach

Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Sundays, 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays

Prices:

Appetizers: $12 to $28

Soup and salads: $10 to $16

Entrees: $17 to $38

Desserts: $8 to $10

Wine:

Bottles: $30 to $440

By the glass: $ 10 to $22

Corkage: $20

Information: (949) 499-5350