Where is the Best Italian Food in Minneapolis, Minnesota?
If you can overlook parking and dining in a shopping mall, this place is actually pretty good. It has a nice, family style atmosphere with portions large enough to share. The table service was great–not polished or overbearing but quick and efficient with a “no problem” attitude for special requests or an order that was fired incorrectly. The menu has nice variety with entrees ranging from $8-32 (quite a range of upper end items) and the food was good, verging on great. My Zuppa di Pesce had lots of seafood and had it not been a bit overcooked, it would have been outstanding. I will be back with friends and I will recommend it to others.Pros + Efficient service, Large food portions, Fun atmosphereCons – Mall parking/setting
The decor is absolutely decadent. I ordered a grilled cheese with a bowl of soup. The cream soup was outstanding. However, the grilled cheese left something to be desired, like melting. A very fresh location with many lunch options. I would highly suggest this place for lunch. Pros + Great SeatingCons – White Bear Lake
This is the first time I’ve tried Trattoria da Vinci, and it was a takeout order. I live in Lowertown and have had enough bummers of overpriced meals. I tend to do a lot of delivery during the week, but it gets old paying the delivery fee and tip only to find they didnt get the order correct.I decided to call Trattoria da Vinci after finding their menu online. I emailed them while I was at work to ask their prefferred method of preorders. Wonders of wonders, they emailed me BACK within a couple of hours. So I gave them a ring and ordered 3 entrees:Spaghetti & Meatballs, Canneloni Ripieni, & Ravioli di Pollo Alla Sorentina.I asked them to have my order ready at 6pm. I arrived at the restaurant 10 minutes early. They greeted me and apologized that my food would be ready in 9 minutes and asked if I would like to wait at the bar. They offered me a soda on the house while I waited which I accepted. I spent some time admiring the lovely atmosphere.I received my food exactly on time.
If you’re in the mood to stuff your face with piles and piles of not particularly great food, Buca is your place. It’s loud, fun (if you like loud) and always busy. The food is, well, average. Grocery store deli counter average. Shopping mall food court average. They should hand out pheasant feathers as you leave average. We started with a Caesar salad. Not an anchovy or a hint of egg or garlic to be found. Just a bowl of lettuce tossed with a bland, commercial dressing and covered with some sort of parmesan-like cheese. If you can’t get a Caesar right, things aren’t looking good for the rest of the meal. The Bruschetta was a greasy, uninteresting mess, and the first of the dishes to arrive with Buca’s signature shredded basil garnish (I’m fairly certain this is created using one of those crosscut paper shredders you can buy at most office supplies). The Caprese was horrible, but it’s wintertime so we knew what we were getting into. It’s my suspicion Buca’s summer Caprese i
The food was very good, however, I thought the prices for food & wine were rather high. Good creme brulees, but tiny. We sat for what seemed like an eternity until acknowledged by our server. Wine pours seemed way too small, esp. for $9 a glass. Our server brought our $50 bottles of wine tucked into his armpits! A pop gets served in a wine glass, with about four mouthfuls in it. Service was slow, drab, boring, uninspired, timid, no personality anywhere in the place. No hustle, no organization, no rapport, no handshake, NOTHING above average. A busser brought plates for the apps a minute after another busser had already done so. Bread wasn’t served until the appetizers were eaten and cleared, and we only got one small piece per person. Water glasses went empty for long stretches. Our meals didn’t arrive together. The room was a bit loud.
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