Mia Francesca, located at Del Mar Highlands Town Center, is celebrating Father’s Day this year with a special a la carte menu of Italian favorites. All dads dining at the restaurant on Father’s Day will also receive a complimentary appetizer created by Chef Woody Benetiz.
Served from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., Mia Francesca’s Father’s Day Dinner will feature:
· Crostini con Gamberi ($10.99): Garlic toast with marinated tomato, arugula, and shrimp;
· Insalata con Uovo di Quaglia ($7.99): Watercress, endive, pancetta, hard boiled quail egg, and white balsamic vinaigrette;
· Cavatelli al Sugo di Funghi y Manzo ($18.99): Homemade cavatelli with porcini mushrooms, braised beef, onions, carrots, garlic, and truffle oil in a natural au jus;
· Filetto con Linguini Arogosta ($36.99): 8 oz. filet mignon topped with pancetta, cipollini onions, and a red wine reduction, served with linguini tossed with lobster, peas, tomatoes, and a garlic white wine; and
· Torta Formaggi ($7.99): Upside down cheesecake, Oreo cookie crumbs, raspberry coulis and fresh berries.
We will be dining there very soon for a special blog review, but I will be dining from their gluten free menu. I will update here with my personal review as well as a few pics on Instagram. From the reviews I've been reading on Yelp and the looks of their menus, it sounds wonderful! Stay tuned...
Mia Francesca offers famous rustic, Italian cuisine, created by acclaimed restaurateur Scott Harris, friendly service and fair prices. The restaurant features a large open patio, indoor trattoria style dining, and a 50 person private dining room. Chef Woody Benitez leads the kitchen, providing Francesca's classic fare of zesty, earthy cuisine of Rome and the surrounding areas of Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio. Mia Francesca is located at 12955 El Camino Real, San Diego, CA 92130 in the Del Mar Highlands Town Center and the telephone number is (858) 519-5055. Connect with Mia Francesca on Facebook, Twitter or visit www.miafrancesca.com.
*UPDATE MY REVIEW*
We weren't sure of their location, it's in a large strip mall sort of place. It is upstairs next to the Cinemas & Ralph's. You may not see it from the road or parking lot. There is parking around the back of the shopping center, where you can walk right to it which was easier as we left.
They have potted lemon trees all around!
Yes they are gluten free and aware here!! My server was wonderful! They kept mention their wonderful chicken and potato dish, so I asked about it, and it is NOT gluten free because he knew they toss the potatoes in regular flour! Many of their regular menu items can be prepared gluten free, so don't hesitate to ask!
This week's regular dining menu, it changes every three weeks.The gal in their logo, is Sophia, the step daughter to the owner of Mia Francesca restaurants. She's in college here in San Diego.
For starters, I ordered sparkling water and lemon. For dinner I had asked for regular lemon water, but I guess they forgot. Mr. did finally get his soda, but still no water for me. :/
Oooh NO gluten for me!! Stay over there you soft, warm, yummy bread!
Mr. ordered the Calamari Fritti for appetizer. For himself, because I thought it'd be fried like other places. But the server stopped in his tracks to back up and tell me that it IS GLUTEN FREE!! They sautee it! :) yay! It was deee-licious!! It had capers, tomatoes, spinach, herbs....
Mr. ordered their Linguini alla Sora Assunta with broccoli instead of the spinach. This is sea scallops in a light creamy tomato sauce. He loved it!
I braved it and ordered off the gluten free menu, because...regular dishes can also be made naturally gluten free such as their Salmone alla fresca! My server reassured me it was also. Did you know this dish was my first time EVER having Salmon!! I've had it before smoked but was not a fan. I've always wanted to try it, but was afraid whomever would not prepare it right. I'm glad I trusted Mia Francesca! This was so delicious! To me it reminded me a little of trout? Could've been all the flavors playing in the dish, but I liked it well enough to give salmon a try again. This is grilled salmon with tomato, avocado, red onion, olive basil and lemon over grilled asparagus. There seems to be a balsamic glaze with it also.
For dessert, they brought me out a trio of lemon, pistachio and chocolate sorbet. Naturally gluten free! Mmmm! I think this is their Sorbetti y Gelatti. We didn't see a dessert menu.
Mr. who claimed he was too full from dinner, was given a beautiful piece of tiramisu...and he ate it all!!! He LOVED it! This was not gluten free. :(
We had a lovely evening out (our oldest babysat for her first official time!). The restaurant was beautiful, they have patio dining and white linen tables inside for a more formal feeling, though it is a casual/dressy place to dine, don't fret about it. Our waiter service was wonderful, food arrived in a timely manner (except for my water ha) and the manager Maris Laipenieks took extra good care of us. You'll probably want to make dinner reservations, we had a 6pm table and left sometime after 7:30 I think, and it was getting busy. We loved our dinner and would recommend Mia Francesca to family and friends who are in the Del Mar area wanting to dine.
On our way home, we stopped at the Road Runner Sports shoe store to peek around...
