Taking a trip to Toscana is like taking a mini-vacation to Italy.
The sights, smells and taste of Tuscany come alive in this quaint, family-owned restaurant in the Tuscany Marketplace shopping center off Route 70.
Gigio Longo and his family opened Toscana about seven years ago with the goal of bringing the feel of Tuscany to their customers. Gigio is a first-generation American, but he wanted to maintain his family roots.
A year-long trip to Tuscany helped inspire Toscana’s decor and menu. Much of the restaurant is decorated the same way an eatery would be in Italy.
“This is all just a reflection of Tuscany,” Longo said.
Reflections of Italy are not just found in the atmosphere. Toscana makes pizzas in a rotating brick oven Longo purchased from Venice. Toscana’s half- and quarter-sized pizzas are an item many Cherry Hill residents don’t know about.
Longo is hoping to draw new customers to Toscana for Cherry Hill Restaurant Week. The menu is a sampler of the restaurant’s most popular items.
“We figured we’d feature our most popular dishes for customers who have never been here before,” Longo said.
One of these items is a mushroom campagna appetizer, featuring baked cream mushrooms with sausage, cheese and spinach and topped with bechamel sauce.
Some of Toscana’s most popular entrees aren’t traditional Italian either, such as the Tuscan kebob featured sausage, shrimp, chicken and vegetables. Longo said many people don’t enter his restaurant thinking they’ll order a kebob, but those who do end up enjoying it.
Drawing new customers has been Toscana’s biggest challenge. Longo said the restaurant is typically filled on most nights, but many of its guests are repeat customers. He said the staff is a huge part of making the experience enjoyable for customers.
“We’re very reliable,” Longo said. “Our kitchen staff hasn’t changed in seven years.”
Toscana is participating in the dinner portion of Restaurant Week. Guests who arrive early enough have the option to eat either indoors or outdoors. Longo encourages guests to arrive early, especially on the weekends, as the restaurant begins to fill up around 5 p.m.
