Being from New York, we have always loved 388 Restaurant in Roslyn. We heard that they opened an off shoot in Boca Raton named 338 Italian Restaurant by Mr. Sal. We had low expectations since offshoots that are 1,300 miles away from the original restaurant tend not to be on the same level as the original ones. But nonetheless, off we went to the Boca version.
The Boca 388 had a totally different feel than the Roslyn one. 388 Boca has a more formal, quieter and more refined feel. I noticed all the sound dampeners which really made the dining experience more enjoyable. We could not hear everyone speak. Our quick take on the 388 Boca is that it seems to be an improvement on the Roslyn version in both looks and food.
We started with the Baked Clams, the Fresh Burrata and a Chicken Meatball.
We absolutely loved our appetizer choices. The Baked Clams and the Chicken Meatball just plain delivered. The star of the appetizers was the Fresh Burrata that was a special that night. It was so well prepared and tasty. Just like it should be. I will say that for Florida, the bread was really good since it was fresh out of the oven.
We could have stopped with the appetizers since they were so filling and delicious but we did order some of our standard options from the original 388. We had the Pasta Alexia and the Chicken Parmigiana.
We definitely ordered well since we had the light pasta (which was a linguine with chicken, red pepper, peas and broccoli in a light tomato sauce) along with a heavier chicken parmigiana. The balance of the two dishes really enhanced our meal. All I can say is that they really prepared these dishes perfectly and we were so happy and full that we may not eat for another day.
The surprising thing is that none of the dishes we ordered were the star of the night. I struck up a conversation with the people at the next table who had ordered the Chicken Scarpiello. They were raving about it. I was so jealous. They took pity upon me and sent over a piece of the chicken, peppers and sausage. It was the best thing I have eaten in a long time. Much tastier and fresh than all other Chicken Scarpiello’s that I have eaten. It was even so much better than the one at the 388 Restaurant in Roslyn.
Our conclusion is that the 388 Restaurant in Boca is better than the one in Roslyn. As to a review on its own merits, 338 Italian Restaurant by Mr. Sal could be the best Italian restaurant in Boca Raton!!!