Leonardo's Pizza / Bistro 1245 / Leo's 706

1245 West University Avenue and 706 W University Ave

I'm going to review these together, but discuss them separately.

Leonardo's 2.5 thumbs up

Due to its prime location and counter culture meets college culture status, Leonardo's has been a staple of the Gainesville food scene for years. I've only eaten there about a half dozen times in the 9 years I've been in town, but have to say it really isn't bad. It's certainly not the best pizza in town, but it will do the trick. I've found (as with many other places) that the pizza is better if you order a whole pie, rather than selecting a slice that's been sitting around and reheated.

But seriously, let's cut to the chase. Cleanliness, personal hygiene/grooming, and customer service certainly aren't their strong points. In fact, I've always believed that if you order some unusual combination of toppings, you'll end up with some drugs on your tray. All you have to do is crack the code. Am I wrong here? Say, for example, you ordered anchovies, pepperoni, and artichoke hearts on a goat cheese slice, I wouldn't be surprised if some cocaine was hidden under your plate.

Regardless, it appears to be a tried and true business format. Provide decent food right next to campus and give the place a cool kid vibe and you'll do well. I ordered the plain cheese pizza and a Greek salad. Both were pretty good. The salad came with two rolls which were so dense, I swear you'd be able to knock someone out if you threw it really hard at their head. They were still tasty, and even better when dunked in the garlic butter sauce.

I can't really say anything terrible about this place. It's certainly not my favorite pizza, but it really isn't that bad.

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Bistro 1245
2 thumbs up

Bistro 1245 is Leonardo's sophisticated older sister who lives next door. She has a very nice wine selection and menu items for adults. That being said, the adults are still in college, so she's not that sophisticated. Bistro 1245 obviously gets its name from its address, but I can't help but think that it's just the 1245th Bistro to open in town. Maybe that's because I remember the AOL days when you wanted to use the screen name FenderStrat, but obviously it was taken already, so they auto assigned you a random number at the end (FenderStrat12340872). I've also only eaten here a few times over the years, but have never been turned off. I've just never been really impressed.

A few menu highlights are the spicy tofu melt, which features grilled marinated tofu, smoked Gouda,tomato, greens, and red pepper aioli, served on farm bread. They also used to have a portabello mushroom sandwich with apple jelly, smoked Gouda, and other delicious things, but I don't see it on their menu anymore.

It's really not a bad restaurant, it's just nothing amazing. I feel like the people eating there are playing grown up and the restaurant is going right along with the charade. For Gainesville's Faux Fancy cuisine, you could do worse, and certainly spend a lot more money, as their menu items range from 7-15 dollars.

Their wine is also quite affordable and they feature a unique method of choosing by allowing you to select a bottle right from the display racks positioned around the room. I'm always a sucker for being able to look at pictures of what I'm choosing from (much like an ice cream truck).

Much like Leo's next door, it's really not that bad.

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Leonardo's 706

5 thumbs down

Leonardo's 706 takes what almost works at the other locations and destroys it. Nothing epitomizes Gainesville Faux Fancy like 706. The menu items are slapdash concoctions of ingredients that a 6 year old could have created. No menu item sums this up more than the Aruba Pasta: Angel Hair Pasta, with avocado, tomatoes, in a tarragon white wine sauce with chicken, shrimp, and/or scallops optional. Upon seeing this item, I felt the chef must know something I don't and that this combination of ingredients has been hidden to man since the Dark Ages. I love all of those things, so they MUST be good together. Why else would it be prominently featured atop the pasta menu!?

HORRID.

Only a madman would consider this a tasty meal. The ingredients clashed in every way imaginable. It was single-handedly one of the worst pasta dishes I've ever had.

Another great example is the THAI PIZZA!! Who doesn't love to throw down on an old fashioned pie complete with Hoisin sauce, shiitake mushrooms, red and yellow peppers, scallions, peanuts, mung sprouts, and mozzarella. While you're at it, throw some optional shrimp on top too.

The other menu items may not be as bad as these, but they certainly all seem OVER inspired.

I honestly think that 706 is one of the worst restaurants in town. It's packed to the gills with pretension and has some of the most over the top food around. On top of it all, the service is terribly slow. I've heard that their Sunday brunch is good, but after eating their other offerings, I can't honestly work up the courage to check it out.

As I always say, "Let's throw a bunch of fancy ingredients at a plate and charge 20 dollars for it" is neither a good business model nor culinary philosophy. Unfortunately, that's exactly what they're doing at 706.