50 Best Italian Restaurants near Palmetto

“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.“

“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!“

“You will not find better deep dish pizza! Fresh ingredients. Amazing sauce. We are totally addicted. Staff is amazing and friendly. We love Mama Maria. Rosa is fabulous too.“

“Wow. I didn't catch his name but the cook that made my pizza on Thursday Sept 24, 2026 between 10:08-10:57 pm, made the best pizza I've ever eaten. Not just best hungry Howies pizza... Best Pizza I've ever had. Give that MAN a raise. Thank you, sir.“

“Amazing staff and Excellent Dinner !“

“Hubby had the cod, ff and coleslaw. The cod was perfectly breaded very lightly, the french fries yummy and we never got to the coleslaw (taking home leftovers). I had the shrimp scampi fettuccine, in butter sauce – Yum! The bread with the oil dip was wonderful. I highly recommend this place and wish they were much closer to where I live (SRQ airport-could replace Primos! I’m just suggesting).“

“Mari was a delightful server. She made sure that our order was perfect, paying special attention to check that the steak was cooked to our liking. Her bright and friendly personality made us feel welcome and cared for. We appreciate the traditional table service.“

“In reference to our dinner last evening April 18, 2026. The seating for our table of 7, was very tight seating. The Mrs. and I had the Bolognese, hers was gluten free, both of us had a terrible night sleeping with many bathroom issues. Additionally, I was surprise to see on top of the $200. cash tip I provided, there was an additional tip of over $100.00 added to the check. The waitress that was extremely nice, did not make me aware that there was a tip already added to the check, resulting in a tip of over $300. which in my opinion is a little overboard.“

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

“What a wonderful restaurant! I’ve been coming here for years and have never once been disappointed. Every visit feels like walking into a friend’s home—warm, welcoming, and full of AMAZING FOOD. Everything is always fresh and absolutely DELICIOUS! 👏👏 The authentic Italian dishes are incredible, and I’m so thankful that they always accommodate my dietary restrictions. It truly makes me feel genuinely cared for—they already know my needs and always have a plan in place. It means SO MUCH to feel that kind of attention and thoughtfulness. Thank you for making every experience so special. I truly LOVE this place! 💜💜“

“I made reservations for my friend's birthday and 2 other guests were joining us. Unfortunately the reservation went to another Tiramisu in another city. Therefore, no reservations showed when our party arrived. The host was icey, lacked empathy or understanding. He was extremely demeaning and haughty. Finally sat us at a table next to the kitchen which was appreciated. Our waiter was stellar and made everything feel friendly again. The food was outstanding......every course. Im a local for 48 years but the host made me feel like an idiot. Never smiled (not to anyone else arriving later). Maybe not the best first impression to offer your patrons.“

“I return for the spiedino de mare or the chicken trio - delicious“

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

“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“

“Wow - Ortygia has moved forward to a fun and interactive cooking classes, specialty parties, wine dinners and more . Without the restaurant anymore there is so much happening - for low this page and make a reservation- you won’t be sorry. I have been 3 times for series 1,2,and 3 cooking classes - enjoying wonderful filling vegetarian dinners that everyone will love - and you take the recipes home. Wine flows freely, delicious food and great conversation abounds and then you eat - enjoying the Italian scents and savoring the goodness of fresh ingredients. A definite go to on my list and looking forward to making many delicious meals.“

“We have become regulars here, the food is always fantastic, staff is great, Jess REALLY knows what she's doing with those pizzas. Just typing this has me craving a stella and a fig & pig pie. No loud music, nice, chill atmosphere. Trust me, just go, whatever you pick is gonna be great“

“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!“

“Came in for dinner a while back for their special Osso Bucco ,this was a limited special,but the special was already sold out. Ordered their chicken alfredo. My wife and I have been back several times. Best keep secret in town. You will be more than pleased.“

“We were there last evening for dinner. This location is much smaller than the one at UTC. Difficult to carry on a conversation even at a small table. Food was good and service was as well. Very busy and noisy for a Wednesday evening. We prefer a more intimate experience, as well as excellent food.“

“Great Italian restaurant!“

“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“

“This place is one of a kind. Ive lived in the area for 35 years and saw small Italian restaurants with exceptional food get watered down by expanding their net worth. The original locations are not even the same.... But Veronas has alway been the little Italian place on the corner with muaaah!!!!! the best Sicilian Pizza ever.... Everything on the menu is exceptional.“

“My total dinning experience was amazing. The only thing they should change is the music, it's an Italian Reztsurant it should be Italian music“

“I had the cheesesteak sub a few days ago and it was killer!! Being from Jersey, it’s difficult to find a good one around here. It was a huge sandwich and prepared perfectly. I would have taken a picture but I wolfed it down before I thought of it. I’ll be back… next time I’m getting gelato!“

“We had Valentino’s cater our son’s wedding and the food was absolutely amazing!! Everything TASTED YUMMY!! We ordered three different salads, garlic knots, brucette, caprese salad,crazy chicken Alfredo, meat lasagna, eggplant parm. Ziti, meatballs, sausage, chicken parm and Mediterranean chicken. Everyone raved about the food! The women who delivered it was so friendly and did an amazing job. They even supplied the serving utensils.“

“Great food, and the service was exceptional, best lasagna I’ve had in a long time“

“The best meal I’ve had on Longboat Key in 6 years…we did the Savor Sarasota extended meal with wine - $60/person, and everything was well above expectations: great wines by the glass, the tris di bruschetta was the best I’ve ever had, as were the meatballs, and the pastas, branzino and tiramisu all are worthy of ordering again.“

“We moved from Palmer Ranch area to Palm air off of university and I was so happy to find a Valentinos. This one is really good also and the first time I went there I left my debit card and they saved it for me and when I went back in, I asked for a sweet tea that I was going to buy, and the man was so nice or young man, and they let me have it for my inconvenience, even though it was my fault I thought that was a real gesture of Goodwill. Food is very very good and I am a former New Yorker and it’s the only pizza that I will eat. Their ziti is unbelievable and all the other food so they have a new customer for life. Sorry, Clark Road Valentinos but I found a new one.lol Just a bit more human factor included.“

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

“Have eaten here twice in one week. Took friends there Saturday night. This place is awesome. Friendly staff and great food.“

“My husband and I ate at Ferraro's on January 28th at 5:15pm. Our waitress was Ronnie. She was a good waitress but we would have liked her to smile. She acted like she really did not want to be there. On the other hand, Emma came over to our table to check to see if we had gotten all our food and if we needed anything else. She had a super personality and I personally asked if she was an assistant manager. She said no. She went over to several tables to check to see if they were happy with everything. Emma made our night. We are glad that you have a person like this who enjoys work working here. Our compliments to Emma!!!! Food was delicious as usual.“

“First time visiting and we will be back again before we leave to go home. We have been visiting different beach towns in FL for last 10 years and every year we find a pizza place within that area to get BLT pizza. BLT pizza is a Midwest staple and we have really good pizza back home so when I tried Pizzano’s BLT I was genuinely shocked, it’s my new fav! So so good, do not miss out on this restaurant. 10/10!“

“We did an order for pick up tonight and the tortellini Alfredo was absolutely delicious!“

“Best pizza I've ever had.“

“Excellent Pizza! Fast and friendly service! Our family really enjoyed dining out at Rico’sPizzeria!“

“Attardi's is the best pizza place in Sarasota, and I'm Italian and am picky. And, for you West Virginia's who miss your state's famous "pepperoni rolls" - Attardi's has them, and they're as good or better than any you can get in the Mountaineer state. George the owner/chef has amazing attention to detail, cooks everything perfectly with the finest ingredients. He's a perfectionist (you can tell by watching him). This place is a gem. Just Fyi.“

“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.“

“We ordered Pizza and it was delicious!! The service was great!! Sophia made us feel welcome and was very pleasant. She must have visited our table 6 or 7 times making sure we were doing ok.“

“Pizza was fantastic! Serves was amazing and friendly! Highly recommend! We will be back!“

“Absolutely delicious food, and amazing drinks to go along with the best atmosphere and the best part… the service. Bethany was phenomenal, we can’t wait to go back!!!“

“EVERYTHING! MY FAVORITE RESTAURANT!“

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

“Great pizza buffet all u can eat always going home stuffed lol!!!“

“Best pizza Ive had in Florida. Great job.“

“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“

“joey d,s all the food is made with love 💕 can't ask. for.more .....“

“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!!!“

“Love Jets, thanks for another great pizza 🍕 !“

“Don’t go solo. I was seated in a corner used for extra chair storage away from the main part of Restaraunt. No one else at 2 tables. Plenty of empty tables in main part. Made me feel like I had BO oh well. Plenty of other places where they let you sit with everybody else.“