Da Leccarsi i Baffi
Italian dining — for many, it is the pinnacle of culinary perfection. Homemade pasta dripping with sauce, topped with meats and veggies, and finished with an exquisite dessert, perhaps paired with a negroni, bellini or well-chosen wine, puts Italian fare high on the list of favorites for many diners.
Even families that do not hail from Italy are sure to have an heirloom recipe for lasagna or spaghetti and meatballs stashed away, and for those who have a reason to party, Italian restaurants frequently serve as the backdrop for birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions.
Whether one is celebrating love, celebrating life or simply celebrating a hearty appetite, these four Italian restaurants offer the food, beverages and hospitality to make any night a special one.
Salute!
J&S ITALIAN VILLA
4332 Central Ave., Suite B
Hot Springs
501-525-1121
Tuesday through Thursday: 5 to 9 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 5 to 10 p.m.
Closed Sunday and Monday
J&S Italian Villa had been a Hot Springs staple for more than a decade before current owners Jeannie and Saddiq Mir purchased it in 2022. Under their leadership, the restaurant has continued to garner fans and recently received the DiRōNA Award from Distinguished Restaurants of North America.
“For regulars, the hosts will know your name, and if you’ve been there a second time, third time, we know which table you like to sit at. We also know which waiter you like to have as your server,” Saddiq Mir said. “That’s why we’re very much loved by locals, and we have lots of repeat customers pretty much every day.”
Chef Sascia Marchesi recently joined J&S Italian Villa as corporate chef and part owner. Marchesi grew up in Bergamo, Italy, where his family owned two Michelin-star restaurants where he worked starting at age 14. He is internationally traveled and has served as executive chef at hotels and Italian fine-dining restaurants across the country, including as executive sous chef at the five-star La Playa Beach & Golf Resort in Florida.
(Photos by Elise Ravet)
Marchesi recently unveiled a summer menu filled with light, seasonal dishes such as watermelon salad with feta cheese and a golden burrata salad. Other menu standouts include grilled caesar salad, ahi tuna tartare and Chilean sea bass.
Guests can request Marchesi’s secret menu, a five- or six-course meal available for business dinners or other special events, or ask Marchesi to create a custom menu.
Desserts are prepared in-house by award-winning pastry chef Ezekiel Mascuilli. Beverage favorites include smoked old-fashioneds and a robust list of mocktails, as well as wine flights, tequila flights and newly added blind wine flights.
(Photo by Elise Ravet)
“We want our restaurant to be educational, trendy and fun,” Mir said. “For our blind flights, it could be two red and one white. It could be two whites and one red. You can’t tell because the glasses are black, so you might think you know your wines, but now you’re going to be put to the test.”
The restaurant hosts live music Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, as well as ladies night on Thursdays, but any night is great for a visit.
“We take great pride in our generous smiles, attention to detail and impeccable service to create a memorable experience for our guests,” Mir said.
LUCE ITALIAN KITCHEN
11610 Pleasant Ridge Road, Suite 100
Little Rock
501-904-1563
Monday through Thursday: 4 to 10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 4 to 11 p.m.
Closed Sunday
One of the newest Italian options in Arkansas, Luce Italian Kitchen opened in April with a vision of bringing fresh, elevated Italian dining to west Little Rock. The establishment is the brainchild of owners Leslie Case, AJ and Cassie Hurtado, and Summer Hurtado.
(Photos courtesy of Luce Italian Kitchen)
“We all felt there was a need to bring a different kind of Italian restaurant to west Little Rock, one that combined traditional Italian food with a modern twist,” Cassie Hurtado said. “More than anything, we wanted to create a place where people could enjoy great food and relax in an elevated, warm atmosphere where they would want to stay a while.”
Pasta made fresh in-house and local, seasonal ingredients define a menu rooted in elegant simplicity. The star of the show is Arkansas-sourced wagyu beef, which is featured in both the meatballs and lasagna Emiliana, but diners will not go wrong ordering the tomahawk pork chop or vodka cavatelli.
Be sure to check out the daily specials, which highlight the best ingredients available throughout the year. Accent the meal with truffle fries or crispy artichokes with lemon pesto aioli, and save room for bananas Foster or an Italian sundae for dessert.
(Photo courtesy of Luce Italian Kitchen)
For those interested in sampling the beverage offerings, signature cocktails include an assortment of spritzes, a fico ricco featuring fig vodka, and the filthy pepper, a martini composed of vodka, pepperoncini brine and lemon.
A thoughtfully curated list of Italian and American wines appeals to most palates and price points, while the sizable beer selection is distinguished by First Light, a custom beer created exclusively for Luce by New Province Brewing Co. in Rogers.
“It’s a collaboration we’re proud of and another way we celebrate local partnerships,” Hurtado said.
(Photo courtesy of Luce Italian Kitchen)
The theme of “luce,” the Italian word for light, runs throughout the restaurant, which was designed by Jill White Designs in Little Rock. The three ownership families are represented by subtle groupings of three. Custom murals add another level to the experience while providing a modern, artistic touch.
“A great Italian restaurant is about more than just great food,” Hurtado said. “It starts with authentic, well-prepared dishes made with quality ingredients, but it’s the atmosphere, the people and the relationships built there that keep guests coming back. That’s what makes an Italian restaurant feel like home.”
PASTA GRILL
915 Front St., Conway • 501-205-8751
319 W. Main St., Russellville • 479-967-1707
810 Main St., Van Buren • 479-262-6225
Hours vary by location.
With locations in Conway and Russellville, Pasta Grill has been a family favorite since it opened as Italian Gardens more than 30 years ago. Wes and Suzanne Hall started the business straight out of college and with no plans to open a restaurant until they were presented with the opportunity by David Bubbus Sr., the “David” behind David’s Burgers.
(Photo by Bottomland Media)
“It did not take us very long to figure out that this was not our design for our career journey, but it was God’s,” Suzanne Hall said. “This was his plan for us, and we both believe that with all of our hearts.”
Whatever one’s favorite Italian dish happens to be, it is likely on the menu at Pasta Grill. From calamari to arancini and from manicotti to chicken Alfredo, most every Italian favorite is represented, along with a vast collection of soups and salads.
The menu also includes Cajun-inspired offerings such as shrimp and grits, Southern Most Pasta, crawfish cornbread and jambalaya pasta. Other dishes have been inspired by the people who have worked at or visited the restaurant over the years.
(Photo by Bottomland Media)
“We have one dish that came about when one of our longtime servers started making creative suggestions to our guests when they asked what to order,” Hall said. “It ended up being a new dish and has been a menu favorite, so we named it Toney Special after him.
“We have another dish that was also named after someone who needed a gluten-free option. We put some things together for him, and it has become a menu favorite, as well, over the years. It is called Drew’s Hash.”
(Photo by Bottomland Media)
The restaurant prides itself on its hand-cut steaks, cooked flawlessly in honor of Hall’s father, a “meat-and-potatoes guy.” For dessert, try the white chocolate cheesecake, the chocolate mocha cake, the bread pudding or, of course, tiramisu.
“I believe having a good restaurant of any kind is having the best ingredients you can find and giving your customers the best value for the best ingredients with the best service that you can give them,” Hall said. “Every time someone walks in our door, I know that they had many other options. There are so many good restaurants in the cities where we are and in this state.”
ERMILIO’S ITALIAN HOME COOKING
26 White St.
Eureka Springs
479-253-8806
Monday through Sunday: 4 to 8 p.m.
On any given Friday or Saturday evening in Eureka Springs, folks can be seen crowding the porch at Ermilio’s, waiting for a seat at one of the finest restaurants in town. Paul Wilson started the restaurant with his mother and grandmother’s recipes in 1991, after retiring from corporate life.
“Ermilio is my mother’s maiden name,” Wilson said. “That’s who it’s named after, and all the pictures that you see in the dining room, all that is all real family. The logo for the restaurant is actually a picture of my grandparents Rocko and Rose Ermilio.”
The restaurant does not accept reservations, and guests are seated on a first come, first serve basis. Wilson recommended visiting during the week for the shortest wait, although he cautioned that the restaurant can fill up even on weeknights during the busy tourist season.
(Photo courtesy of Ermilio’s)
Menu staples include chicken Parmesan, Italian sausage and Mom’s homemade meatballs in red sauce, not to mention gnocchi, ravioli and tortellini. There is also a fish of the day, an eggplant Parmesan special on Fridays, and a lasagna special Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Start the meal off right with stuffed mushrooms, artichoke hearts or mussels, and end on a high note with cannoli, tiramisu or Italian wedding cake. Gluten-free pasta is available, and the cheesecake and lemon icebox pie are also gluten free.
Be sure to spend some time studying the drink menu. The wine selection is expertly curated, and the mixed drinks are among the best in town.
The key to keeping a restaurant in business for more than three decades, Wilson said, is consistency. He pointed out that he even has a staff member who has worked at the restaurant since the day it opened.
(Photos courtesy of Ermilio’s)
“You have to be consistent,” he said. “I have customers who have been coming there for 36 years, and they still order the same thing they ordered the first time they came.”
Italian cooking is about comfort, he added. It is about home-cooked meals made the way Grandma made them. That is the basis upon which Ermilio’s was founded.
“We want to keep Ermilio’s going for as long as possible, even after I’m no longer here,” Wilson said. “We’re still figuring that out. I don’t really have an exit strategy, but yeah, Ermilio’s is an institution now.”
SEE THE FEATURE BELOW AND IN OUR AUGUST 2026 ISSUE OF AY MAGAZINE
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