text: Tonight was my first night checking out the Grotto and after a bad service experience with another place close by i was ready to eat anywhere at that point nnI have passed the Grotto many times living in Scottsdale and have often walked by smelling the aromas grazing my senses while strolling byi love that they seem to always have their doorswindows open and the tables overlooking the street are fantastic nnAnyway as Brett S said the service can be a little bad but it is definitely part of the charm Anyone who has every been to a real Italian joint understands this I was almost pleased with how traditional the feeling was as in if you do not like it get the heck out haha It was also a very packed Friday night around so i truly expected nothing but a wait anywhere we went but we at least found a group of down to earth people entering and exiting wearing everything from jeans and a tshirt like me golf attire to going out clothes No matter your style they treated you all the same Perfect finding a place like that in Scottsdale is hard to donnWith it being a Friday night and already having a bad experience with a previous place i just wanted a square meal and to head home so i did not do as much sampling as i would have liked We started out with the calamari which came with a marinara sauce with a little kick to it It looks like they added red pepper flakes at the end but it was a nice touch I had the house salad with vinaigrette dressingand word to the wise if you do not like onions this salad at least with the vinaigrette comes with sneaky chopped marinated red onions in itso beware The blue cheese crumbles were a nice touch as wellnnMy friend ended up ordering the fettuccine alfredo and i chose the cannelloni The fettuccine was much smaller portioned than i thought it would be especially in comparison to my dishso if you are very hungry i would stray from this dish While normally a classic favorite i did not quite like the added spices to the dish which seemed to be an Italian seasoning The alfredo sauce alone was to die for though The cannelloni was phenomenal Everything was cooked to perfection and flavored out of this world nnPlease also notewhen this food is done it is coming to your table steaming hot So wait a few before you take your first bite because you will probably burn your mouth in some wayshapeform onnOverall the Grotto really picked up my night and being a yankee in a western stateit is nice to have a piece of home right around the corner I will definitely be coming back