Zee, the friendly maitre d’ of Bugatti Ristorante, strives to welcome each guest to the restaurant. (Jamie Leon)

There are few words that can be used to give proper justice to an enchanting night at Bugatti Ristorante. When you enter the restaurant you will be welcomed by Zee, the maitre d.’ You will also notice on the walls pictures of him with famous people including President George W. Bush and Emmitt Smith. He is the nicest and friendliest person we have encountered while writing our restaurant reviews.

Their slogan, “First-class dining on a first name basis,” was definitely trademarked by Zee and is totally accurate. He definitely made our night incredibly special. He not only remembered us when we walked in the door but laid out the red carpet in an unimaginable way. Every detail of the night was spectacular: the food, the ambience, the flowers brought to the table, the chocolate-covered strawberries, the champagne and the enthusiastic and fun staff. The restaurant has a formal yet relaxed feel with a fresh single red rose and a candle on each table and real linens.

We noticed Zee welcoming guests, calling them by their first names, asking them how their kids were doing at their respective schools, how their work is going and how their family is, which we found remarkable from a maitre d’ of a restaurant.

We started with a bottle of wine and the calamari for two as we looked through the menu.

Their wine menu is simple with very affordable prices. There were so many wonderful items on the menu, and we had developed such a relationship with Zee and our fabulous waiter, Benny, that we said, “Surprise us!” and let them choose for us. They brought out the cream of mushroom soup and the Zee Salad, which is their house salad with a couple of added ingredients like fresh strawberries to start. Each entree comes with your choice of soup or salad, and fresh-from-the-oven garlic bread that is delicious.

Following our starters, they brought out a lime sorbet to cleanse our palate before our entrees. For our main course they chose the Capelli D’Angelo, fresh shrimp cooked in garlic and olive oil served over angel hair pasta. We also tried a sampling of eggplant parmesan, chicken parmesan and a side of pasta with olive oil, garlic and red pepper. Each bite was so flavorful that it outdid the last.

Between each course the wait staff never missed a beat, always making sure we had full water and wine glasses, plenty of garlic bread and smiles on our faces.

We tried to save a little room for dessert so we could share the Snowball, homemade vanilla ice cream rolled in pecans with chocolate Frangelico sauce.

We were speechless when Zee and Benny brought out chocolate covered strawberries, port wine and flowers to the table. We’ve never been treated with such amazing attention and had such quality service. The best part about it was the apparent normalcy of that service for each of their guests during every visit.

The retaurant accommodates large parties, so let Zee wine and dine you and your guests on any occasion. We recommend letting Zee and his amazing staff show you how a dining experience should be. It is the best restaurant and the best dining experience we have ever had in Dallas!

Bugatti Ristorante is located at 3802 W Northwest Hwy.