Cuisine: Italian

Hours: Closed Mondays;
Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.;
Saturday, 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.;
Sunday, 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Credit Cards Accepted: All major

Parking: Street

For the past 30 years, the Deciantis family of Queens Village has cooked up traditional Italian masterpieces at their locally-famous restaurant Cara Mia, a cozy culinary treasure that combines fine dining with the comfort of family.

As soon as my dinner companion and I entered the dimly-lit restaurant, our fast, friendly and attentive server Denise sat us in a comfortable booth where we started off with a bowl of Cara Mia’s Potato and Leak soup ($4.95), which is as smooth and creamy as it is tasty. We used the fresh loaf of piping hot bread and delicious garlic sticks that Cara Mia gives every patron to soak up every last bit of the specialty soup.

Next came another specialty of the house, a crunchy and delicious Pazzo Salad ($8.95), which combined grilled zucchini, carrots, and mushrooms with fresh mesculan greens, olives, mozzarella and provolone cheeses, and tomatoes, all tossed in a tangy Balsamic vinaigrette.

We continued our Italian feast with a taste of two different ravioli dishes — broccoli ravioli in a garlic and oil sauce with sun dried tomatoes ($12.95) and spinach ravioli in a portabella mushroom marsala sauce ($9.95).

The square ravioli, which are made on the premises like all Cara Mia pasta, were huge and filled with whole chunks of vegetables. The sauces, particularly the marsala sauce, exploded with flavor in our mouths, and were rich and hearty.

We were getting stuffed, but we still had room to taste Cara Mia’s Veal Parmigiana ($12.95) and Broiled Chilean Sea Bass with tomatoes and bread crumbs ($17.95). The veal was so tender it melted in our mouths and the sauce was perfectly seasoned. The Sea Bass was fresh and flavorful, and the acidity of the tomato and bread crumb topping complemented the fish perfectly. To complete our meal, we tasted the homemade tiramisu ($3.95) for dessert, which was extremely rich and creamy, and a perfectly-made cappuccino ($2.95), which was topped with cinnamon and plenty of foam.

The restaurant has a complete wine list and full bar, an early bird special, a children’s menu and a lunch menu. All entrees come with pasta, salad or french fries. Sandwiches and all traditional pastas are also available.