Artisan was my favorite restaurant on the island and here is why.
1) Delicious food. I understand not everyone likes Neapolitan style pizza. For me, I like every style of pizza but this was the best Neapolitan style pizza I’ve ever had. ALL the ingredients were so fresh. We ate there two nights and both nights we started with the caprese. I wish the portion was larger, not because I felt the value wasn’t there but because it was SO good. First night, I tried the Margherita pizza and my husband had the Crudo pizza (arugula and Prosciutto I believe). The second night I got a white pizza with mushrooms and spinach (I added ricotta because I LOVE it), and my husband got a pizza with a spicy ground sausage and some veggie toppings.
2) Excellent service. All the waitresses were friendly, knowledgeable and professional but not “stiff”. AND they brought us passionfruit liqueur shots at the end of the meal after we had passed on dessert (no room!) The owner came out to our table BOTH nights. On our second visit he remembered us from our previous visit. He was one of the nicest restaurant owners/chefs I have ever met.
3) The reasonable prices. It wasn’t cheap but I wouldn’t call it expensive. The value is absolutely there. The pizzas ranged between $16-$26 (don’t quote me on that) and both nights we couldn’t finish our meals. The caprese I think was around $14, so incredibly fresh and delicious. The wine prices were unbelievably reasonable. This was surprising to me as wine is often paired with Italian food. We had a bottle of red that was around $28 and it was actually pretty good! We aren’t super knowledgeable or picky about wine, but I think most people would have liked it.
4)The atmosphere. Yes, its just off the road (though not a busy road), and every now and then you hear a dog bark, but I found the place very romantic. Maybe it was the lighting and the relaxed yet sophisticated vibe and the surrounding foliage (sparse but pretty), I’m not sure what made it feel so romantic but it is a special place to us. We will absolutely be making reservations during our next visit. OH! One last thing…we looked at the service charge and they hadn’t listed a percentage so we did the math and it appears they only charge 10%, so just keep that in mind as most restaurants on the island seemed to include a 15% service charge.