Few college students can afford to spontaneously jet off to Italy, but at least they can spend an evening at Siena. The restaurant, which was voted "Best Restaurant in Rhode Island" in 2008 and 2010, is appropriately located on Federal Hill, Providence's Little Italy, and bills its fare as Tuscan soul food. But the food itself falls short of expectations — making the dining experience more hollow than soulful.
The walls, though painted in comforting, warm colors, are cluttered with random pictures of landscapes and horses. The kitschy carpet and cheesy music — think Italy competing in the Eurovision Song Contest — do not help matters, and together they make Siena feel less authentically Italian and more like Olive Garden.
Appearances aside, the service was excellent. We were promptly greeted by our server, who was friendly and familiar enough with the menu and wine list to make careful recommendations.
As an appetizer, we ordered the fried calamari, which was so bland that even the accompanying marinara sauce could not redeem it. The Parmesan truffle fries, also an appetizer, were doused a tad too generously with truffle oil and wanted for a sauce.
Meat-eaters will most likely enjoy the bistecca pepperonata, a wood-grilled sirloin skirt steak, marinated in Chianti wine, balsamic vinegar and black pepper, finished with a spicy marinade reduction. Less adventurous diners should be warned that flavors are even stronger than they sound.
The penne alla vodka, on the other hand, featured a single discernible flavor — garlic. The portion size was large, and the overpowering garlic flavor provided little incentive to eat much of it.
The tortellaci con zucca, jumbo tortellini filled with butternut squash, amaretto crumbs, caramelized onions, provolone and parmesan cheese tossed in a brown butter and sage sauce, failed to match its extravagant description. Though the filling was tasty, the brown butter and sage sauce drowned the tortellini, making the meal excessively greasy.
The standout dish was the pizza arezzo, topped with prosciutto, roasted dates, mozzarella, gorgonzola, caramelized onions and fig puree. The texture of the crust may have been a tad chewy, but the flavors complemented each other wonderfully, and the portion was generous. To those with conservative palates: Figs on pizza taste far less bizarre than they sound.
The problem with Siena is that it tries too hard to be Italian aesthetically while not providing customers with the elevated cuisine the price tag leads them to expect. Given this combination, students might prefer to save their money and head to the Sharpe Refectory for gnocchi alla sorrentina — it is delicious, significantly cheaper and does not lay claim to false Italian authenticity.
