For a while I didn’t think Salt Lake had any good traditional Italian Restaurants. I mean non-chain, family run trattorias where you can really have a taste of Italy for an evening.  Then we found Per Noi. Per Noi is a small neighborhood Italian restaurant with fair prices and legitimate Italian food.

The owner literally stands at the entrance of his restaurant to greet you.  He was so friendly that I knew I would like the restaurant before I even sat down. Basically, everything after that was just as wonderful as our welcoming entrance.

We started with arancini, a fried risotto ball the size of your fist, served with pipping hot housemade marinara sauce. Then we popped open the wine that we brought in to accompany our meal (the corkage fee at Per Noi is only $7!). We toasted our foodie friends, who joined us, To finding such a great Italian restaurant in Salt Lake.

For entrees, we all pretty much went for the gnocchi (pictured at the top). Smooth pebble-like potato dumplings that are a true statement of traditional Italian cooking.  I mean how often do you get fresh gnocchi in Utah?!  And it was delicious. Every bite.  You can choose to order it with meat sauce (Bolognese) or with Tomato Sauce (Marinara). I chose tomato, Josh chose meat… typical right?!

The only other item we tried was their Linguini Pescatore, a big bowl full of seafood, spaghetti and marinara sauce.  Also, a good choice.

We ended the meal right with a cannoli, filled with fresh cream and a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top.

Nothing too fancy at Per Noi, just pure deliciousness and a friendly family with a desire to serve Salt Lake something true to their Italian culture.  And for that, I’m thankful!

Per Noi
1588 East Stratford Avenue

Also check out Wasatch Food Review of Per Noi