Arcodoro

A GuestLife Houston
Great Restaurant

Gleaming like the Mediterranean isle of its heritage, Arcodoro brings the rich culinary legacy of Sardinia to tables within steps of Houston’s fashionable Galleria. It is a place of elegant, contemporary beauty, created by owner Efisio Farris and his wife, Lori, since opening in 1996. Its gleaming beauty surely enhances the experience of exploring or revisiting the foods of Sardinia.

But it is the cuisine itself that embodies the beauty of Arcodoro. It is the cuisine of a large island in a gentle sea, an island with its own provinces and, therefore, its own provincial specialties. Now Italian, formerly Spanish, always Sardinia’s, coastal kitchens anchor in the bounty of seafood, while its inland cucine tether to agriculture and game.

True to the Sardinian way of enjoying and blending what it has to create what it wants, Arcodoro brings Sardinia’s generous food heritage deliciously to life in partnership with specialties of Italy, while including touches of Spain, North Africa and the Americas. Chef Efisio Farris was asked to cook once again at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City where he and his brother, Francesco, the executive chef of Arcodoro’s sister restaurant in Dallas, prepared a seven-course feast in honor of their parents’ golden anniversary.

The handmade semolina dumplings with a ragu of braised baby lamb, for example, harken to inland regions of one of the earliest homes of pasta. A traditional soup of Sardinian couscous with baby clams in a saffron broth presents a delicious homage to the influences of Spain, North Africa and the island’s own coast.

Meanwhile, Arcodoro’s veal medallions sautéed with a reduction of Vermentino di Gallura, one of the island’s finest white wines, and scallops honors the land, the sea and the vine. And the Costata d’Oro, an aged rib-eye marinated in Sardinian wine, garlic, rosemary and balsamic vinegar, is not only a runaway favorite, but was also praised as “Best Steak” by the Houston press.

The bar pours 14 selections of grappa, a high-octane Italian brandy with which Arcodoro translates the margarita into Italian as one of its signature drinks, the Grapparita®. Another popular cocktail for those in the know is Arcodoro’s Fruttini, a vodka-infused fruit drink.

Connoisseurs of both food and drink hail Arcodoro, described by globally renowned food critic and author John Mariani as “the only true Sardinian ristorante in the United States.” With impeccable service, Arcodoro will bring the rich, authentic flavors of Sardinia to your table and a smile to your face.

Menu Highlights

Appetizers

Carpaccio di Branzino e Bottarga di Cabras
Thinly sliced fillet of marinated Mediterranean seabass, served with arugula, teardrop tomatoes, cannellini beans and shavings of bottarga

Sa Fregula
A traditional Sardinian clam soup, made of Sardinian couscous with baby clams in a saffron broth

Entrées

Gnocchetti Sardi al Cinghiale
Sardinian teardrop pasta with wild boar

Ravioli Arcodoro
The recipient of the international title “Ultimate Ravioli” Handmade ravioli stuffed with scallops and shrimp with Mosto di Carignano finished with a velvety seafood reduction

Pesce al Sale
Whole fish encrusted in rock salt and baked to perfection in the wood-burning oven

Agnelotti Dorati
Homemade pasta stuffed with buffalo ricotta and black truffles, finished with a sauce of foie gras and Passito di Giogantinu

Costolette d’Agnello in Crosta
Broiled chops of domestic lamb encrusted with fine herbs and finished with a reduction of Mosto di Carignano and balsamic vinegar

Desserts

Seadas al Miele
Exclusively from Sardinia, puff pastry filled with sweet cheese, lightly fried and drizzled with bitter honey

Beverages

Grapparita®
a fabulous frozen drink made from Italian grappa, with a hint of lemon and lime

Sardinian Wines

Arcodoro recently debuted their private signature family label wines — ask your server for a taste of Terra Saliosa di Giogantinu or Vermentino di Gallura, di Giogantinu.

The wine list includes reds — such as a 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon, Marchese di Vila Marina, Sella e Mosca; 1998 Isola Dei Nuraghi, Korem Argiolas; and 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Turriga Argiolas; — and whites, such as Vermentino de Gallura Kalike and Vermentino di Sardegna Argiolas (Barrique).

pictured above: Arcodoro’s authentic Sardinian cuisine features a fresh bounty from the sea, including, Pane Carasau bread, Sa Fregula soup, Gnocchetti Sardi pasta and Seadas al Miele for dessert.

Arcodoro:
5000 Westheimer, Centre at Post Oak,
Houston, Texas 77056,
(713) 621-6888.
Open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday;
and from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

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