"I haven 't visited this location since it was Crust prior to that restaurant closing amidst the Covid 19 pandemic. I 'd seen Mio Russo and Coffee Apothecary spring up in it 's place since moving back to the Quad Cities and amidst some last minute holiday shopping, decided to stop in to try Mio Russo.The interior is strikingly different from the Crust that I remember. The low lighting and muted browns and beiges have been replaced with sharper red and while coloring throughout, with black chairs, bar, and seating across the space. It 's really is quite sharp and striking and I 'm not criticizing the place it 's just very different.I opted to dine alone at the bar for this visit. The bartender/server got me a menu and drink quickly (my diet coke that I can 't seem to get away from). After a quick perusal of the menu, I opted for a lunch combo of an antipasto salad and a wild mushroom cavatappi baked pasta.The salad came first. This was, without a doubt, the highlight of the meal for me. Everything melded well together the greens were crisp, the dressing was a spot on Italian dressing that was the right combination of oil/vinegar/spice, and the various toppings (salami, olives, cheese, etc) provided an appropriate hit of accented fattiness or additional acidity. I 'd definitely come back for this salad alone again!Unfortunately, the baked pasta was a huge disappointment. I 'm not sure what was so wild about the mushrooms, as they had the lack of taste and general spongy texture of a typical pre cut bella or white button mushroom from the supermarket. The marinara had the characteristic flavor of a sauce straight out of a can or jar, nothing really special there at all. The cavatappi was clearly overcooked past Al dente. On the whole, this dish tastes very much like a bunch of canned items thrown together without much thought as to how they go together. Based on this experience, I 'd advise avoiding this dish and the other baked pasta dishes by extension.To be fair to Mio Russo, I 'd definitely come back to try the pizza at some point. I 'd definitely want to come back with a group to see what a full pizza tastes like. I 'd also definitely get one of the salads again. On the whole, I like the general ambiance and the staff were nice throughout the visit. Thanks for being a great space in the 53rd Street area in Bettendorf!Vegetarian options: I can 't recommend the wild mushroom cavatappi baked pasta. See my comments in my review. It 's a mess of a dish that has no cohesion of flavor and has badly contrasting textures between the different likely canned and pre prepared ingredients.Kid friendliness: If you come at the right time, children would likely enjoy the food and space.Parking: There 's a large parking lot directly adjacent to the restaurant. Plenty of free parking available."
