If just-opened Brio Tuscan Grille is any indication, Gilbert residents must love rustic Italian cuisine. The spacious SanTan Village restaurant, the first in Arizona from the Ohio-based chain, is completely packed on my weeknight visit.

And loud. The voices of 200 diners, the Italian music playing over the speakers, the banging of pots in the open kitchen, the crash of dropped plates — all form a cacophony that bounces off the hardwood floors, marble counters and plaster walls.

If ears are nearly overwhelmed, so, too, are eyes. The 7,200-square-foot restaurant looks as much like a Tuscan villa as any shopping mall eatery could be expected to.

White, square pillars support several large arches, and six sets of French doors reveal a long sidewalk patio. Dramatic light fixtures, five feet in diameter, hang from the high ceiling, which also is draped with white fabric.

The dining room accommodates a curious mixture of seating. Rows of four-person tables, elegantly draped with white tablecloths, are interchanged with rows of booths with uncovered wood tables.

All are attended by a small army of ever-present servers — young men and women wearing black pants, white dress shirts and ties — undoubtedly bolstered by a corporate contingent for the opening.

Brio’s menu offers a fairly extensive selection of steaks, chops and pasta dishes.

We start with a bruschetta sampler ($13.95, pictured above), which ranges from good (sliced steak with gorgonzola) to OK (shrimp with lobster sherry sauce and Fontina) to plain (roasted red pepper and mozzarella) to AWOL (no tomatoes are available for the caprese).

Gorgonzola dresses up four otherwise mundane lamb chops ($13.95), which also benefit from a bed of sauteed spinach soaked in a flavorful red wine veal sauce.

Among entrees, shrimp and lobster garganelli pasta ($19.95, shown at left) is delicious. The tube-shaped egg pasta is perfectly cooked and tossed with mushrooms, onions and a slightly spicy lobster butter sauce.

Lasagna bolognese ($15.95), unfortunately, isn’t nearly as good. The meat is bland, and so is the red sauce. The lasagna, which our server warns has just come out of the oven, is hot in the middle but only room temperature on the edges.

Two jumbo crab cakes with creamy horseradish ($21.95) are nicely fried with nary a hint of greasiness. But roasted vegetables on the side are nearly cold.

The same temperature-challenged veggies accompany what’s called a proscuitto-and-Fontina-stuffed chicken breast ($18.50). The proscuitto and cheese actually are more like toppings on the gummy poultry; it’s all covered with a overly salty brown sauce.

Micro desserts ($2.25) are served in espresso cups. A five-cup sampler ($10.50, pictured at right) includes panna cotta, creme brulee, cheesecake, chocolate caramel cake and tiramisu. None really wow me, but all are enjoyable and the concept is appealing.

Brio Tuscan Grille
Where: 2150 E. Williams Field Road, Gilbert (SanTan Village shopping center).
Open: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Prices: Appetizers $7.95-$13.95, salads $4.95-$14.95, sandwiches $9.50-$12.25, pasta $10.95-$19.50, entrees $10.25-$21.50, desserts $2.25-$7.50.
Info: (480) 917-9177 or brioitalian.com.

First Taste reviews are based on initial visits to new East Valley restaurants. Full reviews are written after multiple visits, usually over a period of several weeks, after the restaurant has been open at least a couple months.

SanTan Village welcomes a pair of new restaurants to the Gilbert shopping center this week.

Brio Tuscan Grille, which offers upscale Italian cuisine, opened Wednesday. It’s the first Arizona location for the Ohio-based chain. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Info: (480) 917-9177 or brioitalian.com.

Kona Grill, an American grill and sushi bar, opened today. It’s the chain’s third Arizona location. Info: konagrill.com.

Is it a good idea for any restaurant to offer more than 70 different dishes?

That’s what I’m asking myself after several visits to Vito & Nick’s II, a promising six-month-old Italian restaurant on the southeast corner of Queen Creek and Higley roads in Gilbert.

The only Arizona franchise of a longtime Chicago-area favorite, Vito & Nick’s menu boasts a whopping 17 appetizers. Sixteen pasta dishes. Eighteen sandwiches and burgers. Thirteen entrees.

Not to mention what it proclaims “the best pizza anywhere.”

I can’t imagine any restaurant could do so many different dishes well, but Vito & Nick’s makes a valiant attempt and, in many instances, succeeds.

Pizzas (12-inchers start at $13.50) are Chicago thin-crust style. The light crust is slightly crunchy on the bottom but soft on top. The reddish-orange sauce has lots of spices and herbs, and it’s covered with a nice layer of mozzarella. The tasty pies are cut into 2-inch squares.

If I lived anywhere near Vito & Nick’s, I’d eat this pizza every week. Hot and mild giardiniera, Windy City condiment staples, are two of 14 toppings to chose from.

I also love the soups — such as a hearty baked potato or garlic-infused tomato basil — which change daily and are included with entrees and pasta dishes, along with a nice salad.

Fettucine alfredo with lots of small shrimp ($16.45) is a highlight among the pastas. With a more robust red sauce, the chicken parmesan ($15.95, pictured at right) would join it.

Shrimp and ribs ($16.95, pictured below) are another winner. The super-tender ribs, covered with a thick and tangy sauce, would stack up favorably against any barbecue joint’s.

But there also are dishes that miss the mark.

Despite nice flavors, a bowl of chicken and mushroom ravioli ($15.50) is gummy and barely lukewarm. Italian sausage with peppers ($11.95) arrives overcooked and dry. A cold Italian sub ($8.25) is spartan-like — just meat and cheese, with a little lettuce on the side.

Service, for the most part, is friendly and attentive. But it’s also, at times, uninspired and clumsy.

On one visit, a server flails with several questions before admitting she hasn’t tried a single thing on the menu (and, no, it’s not her first day). On another visit, a server spills shrimp on me as he’s serving entrees; as he’s clearing, he drops a marinara-covered fork in my lap.

Not that Vito & Nick’s is formal dining. The gold-sponged walls, wrought-iron chandelier and stone tile floors have a certain Old World charm, but two TVs at the small bar are showing baseball games and every Thursday is “Biker Night” on the patio.

Much like its menu, I guess, Vito & Nick’s offers something for almost everyone.

Vito & Nick’s II
Where: 3321 E. Queen Creek Road, Gilbert (southeast corner of Queen Creek and Higley roads).
Open: 11 a.m. to close (at least 9 p.m.) daily
Prices: Appetizers $2.25-$12.95, pastas $10.25-$15.75, entrees $11.95-$18,95, pizzas $10.50-$17.50, sandwiches $8.25-$10.25, desserts $1.95-$4.25.
Info: (480) 279-4482 or vitoandnicksii.com.