The sunny, breezy spring weather here in Houston has inspired us to return to some of our favorite haunts in order to sit outside and enjoy newly composed spring menus. We’ve recently returned to both La Table and Cafe Azur. And last week we stopped in as guests of proprietors Shanon Scott and Wende Lerway Scott at their Sud Italia Ristorante in Rice Village.

Like La Table and Cafe Azur, Sud Italia has a – there’s no better word for it – delightful patio for dining or just wasting an hour over a couple of glasses of rose. At Sud Italia the patio faces north and east, so there’s none of Houston’s blast-furnace afternoon sun to redden your shoulders.

Sud Italia’s new spring-time menu is short and to the point: two antipasti, two pasta dishes, two entrees. Here’s what you can expect for the next several weeks.

Fresh-grilled vegetables served with homemade pesto ($13, photo at top) sounds like it couldn’t possibly have any surprises, and yet this fresh and lively platter of food – zucchini, red and yellow bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and purple onions – managed to inspire a round of compliments from our table.

Octopus carpaccio at Sud Italia

Equally delicious albeit entirely different was fresh octopus carpaccio ($15, photo above) in an arrangement that looked like a stained-glass creation of creamy white, pink and edges of purple, all dressed with light and lemony vinaigrette.

Seafood pasta at Sud Italia

Both pasta dishes are seafood based. Paccheri (very large tubes, $25, photo above) is served with shrimp and asparagus in a shallow dish with lobster broth, and the squid ink-infused spaghetti ($28, photo below) is tossed with sea urchin, cherry tomatoes and garlic in white wine sauce. Both pasta dishes are large, and a table of four could easily portion out one order among all parties before having a main course.

Squid ink pasta

Finally, seafood plays a role again in a preparation of fresh cod ($24, photo below) topped with a chilled sauce of capers, olives, parsley and olive oil. The fish arrived over a tumble of crisp-roasted fingerling potatoes.

Sud Italia’s fresh cod

We were too full to try a bone-in ribeye ($45), but I would bet it’s a worthy example of Italian-style steak, meant to accommodate those who are not fond of seafood.

Finally, Scott passed by our table tenderly holding a bottle of his own homemade limoncello that he poured as a light finale. You can’t order it – it’s not on the menu – but I would bet if you ask nicely, Scott will offer you a taste, too.

Sud Italia Ristorante, 2347 University Blvd., sud-italia.com
Hours: Lunch Mon. to Fri. 11 am-3 pm; Dinner Mon. & Tues. 5-9:30 pm, Wed. to Sat. 5-10 pm; Sat. Brunch 11 am-3 pm; Closed Sun.