34 Best Italian Restaurants near Bradenton Beach

“Absolutely one of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had. This small, family-owned restaurant won my heart within seconds of walking through the door. My friends and I were visiting from out of town and happened to stumble upon this place while looking for somewhere to eat. We didn’t even realize until after being seated that we had arrived only about 30 minutes before closing. Not once did they make us feel rushed or like an inconvenience — quite the opposite. Pane e Amore is a truly authentic, family-owned Italian restaurant. The menu is simple yet unique, and every single thing we tried — from drinks to dessert — was incredible. We enjoyed the red blend wine, beer, and the pasta of the day: an Italian sausage spaghetti in a white sauce, made completely from scratch, right down to the noodles. It tasted like real Italian food and genuinely made us feel as though we were sitting in the heart of Italy. While our entrées were being prepared, we were served bruschetta that was crisp, light, and perfectly cooked — not overly hard like it often is elsewhere. We finished with a dessert that was equally light and delicious. The service was unmatched. Every interaction was genuine, heartfelt, and full of care. We were treated like family, and in the short time we were there, it felt like visiting relatives in Italy for the holidays. Five stars simply isn’t enough — this place deserves a ten. We will for sure be back.“

“Food was amazing. Got us in right away. Great service. Would recommend to any of my friends. 🥰“

“What a gem! Beautiful decor, excellent food and exceptional service. Our waitress Angel was top notch - she's very knowledgeable on both the menu and wine pairings. We went with everything she suggested and were not disappointed. Highly recommend!“

“It’s been a few years since I’ve eating at Carrabba’s. And today I was reminded why it was my favorite restaurant years ago. The food was amazing, but even more important, the service was excellent. Lexii took such good care of us. We didn’t have to ask for a thing. She proactively anticipated our every need and was so sweet. My daughter said she gets 100 stars. We’ll def start coming more often.“

“Just finished a lovely dinner with family at this special place. Everyone loved the food. Fresh and flavorful. The meatball appetitizer was delicious, from the salad to the dessert we enjoyed it all. The best Italian suisine has to offer. Highly recommend you take a trip to Palmetto, just over the bridge, to this lovely old home and enjoy what tastes like home cooking.“

“Fabulous experience!! Great service and amazing food! Highly recommend!!!“

“Been looking for a good pizza ? place and I found the best pizza ? place ever I give it 10 stars if you are looking for a great place for pizza please try this pizza“

“Loved this place! Thank you for taking care of us!“

“Amazingly fresh and delicious food, an adorable, cozy atmosphere, and wonderful, personable owners, including Oliver. 🐾 Can’t wait to return!“

“Really enjoyed our meal tonight. Came in after we have lost some of our favorite Italian locations. Food was excellent! great portions and quality. we will be back!“

“Excellent food! Excellent service ! Recommend 100%“

“Absolutely our favorite restaurant! The owners, staff all make you feel at home. The service, food, wine, music and atmosphere is perfect. Scarpino’s is definitely are GO To Spot, whether by ourselves or hosting company. Be sure to check it out! Ciao, Ciao!“

“Food so good menu changes weekly“

“Went there with my wife as a dinner date and the food was amazing. We both agreed that we will be going back there in the future“

“Such a wonderful and serene location.“

“Everything from the food, to the service, to the atmosphere were fantastic!“

“This place is a find!!!! Located in a strip mall it's easy to miss it but wow! GREAT food and service. Felt like I was in a small restaurant in Italy. We had the Bianca pizza. It was one of the best pizzas I've had. Next time I'll try one of their pasta dishes ; they all looked wonderful. We went there our last night on vacation. Would have definitely gone back had we discovered La Norma earlier !!!“

“It's breakfast by day and Italian dinner by night. We had breakfast here for three out of the five nights we stayed here and had dinner one night. And dined at CW Prime and places on the island.\n\nFine, attentive service by DAWN who served us for breakfast. Great coffee that gave us that morning boast for the day. We opted for the Great buffet, plenty of great choices, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, sausages, crispy bacon, breads and bagels and cereal for the kiddies, fresh waffles and an egg station which was manned by AARON who made me three fried eggs, sunny side up, no flipping and no cover every morning !!! So perfect and the way I love my eggs!!! TY!!!🍳🍳🍳🥓🥓🥓🧇🧇🧇\n\nFor dinner, one evening, we had ANDREW who was on top of his game, knowledgable about the menu and specials, answered all of our questions about the entrees and the way the chef preps the dishes.\n\nA bottle of Amarone Tommasi started our night for my wife and I. Our friends had a Prosecco Rose, and a few JW Black for my buddy. For our apps we all shared the rice balls, meatballs, and the Burrata. All three were just delightful, full of rich flavor, seasoned perfectly, and hitting the spot. We ate up all the focaccia bread and dipped it in the sauces!!!\n\nFor our main entrees, my wife had the Chicken Milanese, I had a spaghetti with bolognese sauce, our friends had the corn and ricotta Agnolotti with shrimps and my buddy had the Squid Ink Pasta.\n\nAll four entrees were absolutely Delish, flavorful, fresh made in house pasta, and hitting our palates with satisfying results!!!\nPaired it with our wine and we were very\n happy!!!\n\nOverall, great food, this is the only place in the resort for sit down breakfast, and Italian dinner, superb service from Dawn and Andrew. \n\nWe will be back!!!🍽️🍽️🍽️🍷🍷🍷🍝🍝🍝🥓🥓🥓🧇🧇🧇🍳🍳🍳“

“Amazing dinner! Pizza. Italian sub. Philly steak and dessert. 5/5. Perfection“

“The overall service use to be amazing at this Olive Garden. We have come here several times over the years and this is the worst front staff I’ve ever experienced. I checked in and was told it would be a 15 minute wait and told them that I had people coming but instead of seating us after 25 minutes passed I came up to ask the pregnant hostess if they were waiting for my party or something because we’ve been waiting and she was like oh yeah yeah we are without so much as looking at me or apologizing for the wait. There were several of them up there that were just laughing and joking around unprofessionally and the pregnant hostess was eating up there talking with the other ladies at the podium while they ignored us. She disappeared completely for several minutes and after 30 minutes I asked a girl who showed up if we were going to be seated because my party was waiting. She said she would check because she just got there. She went to find the pregnant hostess and told her we were waiting 30 minutes and my daughter overheard her denying it. I’m just not used to that at any restaurant. If you tell me 15 minutes and it’s not busy in there then we have better be seated whether we are waiting for people to arrive or not. It put me in such a terrible mood that I wanted to leave but thankfully our waiter came right away and was amazing. He was very attentive and kind and I felt he deserved a good tip. What made me write this review was when we left there were a gaggle of women at the front with the pregnant hostess and we all noticed that they just stared at us and didn’t say the usual thank you have a good night. No one bothered to politely open the door like they have always done for us in the past. You just knew that they we’re talking bad about you. If this is what this Olive Garden restaurant is turning into then I have to stop coming. I don’t know what’s up with those women but this is their place of work not a place to gossip and bullshit about their life or talk shit about their paying customers who are there to be treated with some measure of respect and kindness when they are out with their family for dinner. I hope a manager sees this review and addresses this issue of plain rudeness. We are also not white and so obviously white people were being treated better and seated immediately. By the way, our pregnant hostess was black but for some reason thinks it’s ok to be rude to us. If this ever happens to us again, a complaint will definitely be filed to your corporate management or the BBB. I will not tolerate this behavior in front of my family.“

“This was great pizza and wings, very nice place all the staff was friendly and great we will be back!!!“

“The food is great and you get a lot! Niki, Ashleigh, Linda, Debbie and Hakan are super servers. A very friendly place. Only one thing…bring back the ICEBERG lettuce for the salads!“

“Everything was excellent. First time trying your place and we will be back.“

“Don't have an attitude? the host or Hostess will happily give you one. I would buy this restaurant just to fire them. Local? they'll treat you like a tourist which you would think they would be good to because they are the suckers they are dying to get in. " Hi how long for 2 people"? an hour to an hour and a half out of season.... no "I'm sorry, the wait is over an hour" nope you get "Fair enough" when you say you don't want to wait that long. no reservations yet some dude with a party of 4 just walked right in and was seated.... over rated is an understatement. AVOID ...NOT WORTH IT. Possibly the most overrated restaurant in an area of bad restaurants“

“Delicious Pizza 🍕. Will definitely come back. Great prices and friendly staff“

“Visiting from Pennsylvania. We love the food. The atmosphere. would recommend recommended highly.“

“Really nice restaurant with authentic Greek cuisine, portions were tasty and a good size, wonderful atmosphere and excellent service. We will definitely be back.“

“I absolutely love their Penne Al Vodka with Chicken, Greek salad, and of course pizza! Fast friendly service. We order at least once a week! A must try in Bayshore“

“EVERYTHING! MY FAVORITE RESTAURANT!“

“Amazing Chicago style food will keep coming back!“

“We love ordering from Hungry Howies and order from there about once a week. The staff is always friendly and prompt and food is excellent. Just one slight problem tonight, we ordered a Italian sub and chef salad with Italian dressing, well today we did not get the dressing with our salad. Good thing we have dressing at home, so it’s not really a big deal. I just really enjoy their Italian dressing. We always enjoy their food and will continue to!!!“

“We had a genuinely great experience at this Hungry Howie’s location. While the surrounding area may look a bit rough, the restaurant itself was sufficiently clean and welcoming, and the food did not disappoint.

The pizzas were cooked to perfection, and the gluten-free crust was absolutely dynamite—easily one of the best we’ve had. Everything we ordered was fresh, well-prepared, and satisfying.

That said, the true star of the show was Donna, the hostess and server. Her service was beyond attentive—friendly, personable, and genuinely welcoming from start to finish. She made us feel valued as customers and elevated the entire dining experience well beyond our expectations.

As a small, constructive note, a bit more attention to the cleanliness of the flatware would be appreciated, but this did not detract from an otherwise excellent visit.

We don’t eat here very often and usually opt for carryout, but this experience has absolutely made us reconsider. Between the quality of the food and the exceptional service, we’ll be dining in far more frequently. Highly recommended—especially if Donna is working.“

“Great vibe, friendly staff, tremendous pizza! I look forward to eating here again.“