50 Best Italian Restaurants near Mendota Heights

“I’m working on a project here from Tennessee when a coworker took me to Buon Giorno for lunch. As soon as you walk in, the fresh bread aroma is amazing. On my second visit to the Pasta Bar, Kyle the Chef actually remembered what I got the week before. The made to order pasta is awesome and make sure to get the fresh bread that goes with it.“

“Phenomenal dining experience!!\nDifficult to choose from so many choices!! Quality is amazing, portions are generous, and scrumptious!!\nWe enjoyed the octopus, bruschetta with ricotta and tomatoes, mushroom confit, branzino and pasta with tuna. \nOur served, Sidney, was professional, kind, and very careful with our food allergies. She’s an incredible asset to your restaurant!!\nWho would have thought you could get such an incredible Italian meal in Minneapolis? This place is a must!!“

“I truly can’t name a better restaurant in the twin cities. The food is amazing of course but the customer service knocks it out of the park for me every time. Thank you thank you thank you“

“If you need your party catered, this is the place to go. Staff: Easy to work with, on time, good prices, friendly and very accommodating. Food: Gorgeous/amazing presentation , fresh, hot, professionally packed. I ordered from Red Rabbit in Saint Paul for my work holiday party. Everyone LOVED the food and the portions are generous. I was able to easily and beautifully display it. The timing was perfect and everything went smoother than I had hoped. This is your one stop shop for all of your party food needs. Hats off to the chefs and management for making our party wonderful.“

“My kids just treated me to a birthday dinner at Italian Eatery! It was a fantastic experience all the way around - food, service, and atmosphere. The entrees were delicious (we ordered a variety and shared!), and my dessert - the crostata al limone (a lemon tart) was out of this world! This was my first time at Italian Eatery. I’ll be back!“

“If you need your party catered, this is the place to go. Staff: Easy to work with, on time, good prices, friendly and very accommodating. Food: Gorgeous/amazing presentation , fresh, hot, professionally packed. I ordered from Red Rabbit in Saint Paul for my work holiday party. Everyone LOVED the food and the portions are generous. I was able to easily and beautifully display it. The timing was perfect and everything went smoother than I had hoped. This is your one stop shop for all of your party food needs. Hats off to the chefs and management for making our party wonderful.“

“Everything we had was great! Normally we enjoy steak but this was a great change that he and I both enjoyed! Friendly staff also at the bar!“

“Great service and food!!!!“

“We went to Cossetta's in St. Paul, one of our favorites. You walk up to a good line and decide between fresh made salads, sandwiches or incredible Italian entrees and pizza slices. There is extra seating upstairs. Don't miss the dessert shop with delicious Gelato, cannolis, cookies and more. There is also a deli onsite.“

“Hyacinth is a keeper. Creative food, well prepared, small but extremely well chosen wines. Portions were large, a bit too large in my view. Hyacinth is one of the few restaurants in the post Covid dining world that is daring to show us how innovative dining can be done.“

“We had a party of 16 at short notice who needed to be accommodated and we were very well attended to. Little Oven Staff knocked it out of the park! Thank you all!“

“The food was delicious! We were on our way to the airport so we stopped for a quick meal. There is no in store dining, but there are plenty of picnic tables outside.
We ordered a cheese pizza, chicken Caesar salad, Chicago beef sandwich with hot giardinara, cannoli, and tiramisu. It was all amazing! The kids also enjoyed the vanilla pizzelle that was sold in store.

Now we just have to plan out how to stop on our way back through!“

“The meals are consistently fantastic. I’ve never had a bad meal at this restaurant over the last few years. The ingredients are high quality, fresh, and well prepared. The dishes come out delicious every time. It makes dining incredibly easy when I know I can choose anything on the menu and it will be great. The service is also incredible. Knowledgeable, prompt, and friendly staff. The dining and bar areas are equally beautiful in distinctive ways. Very pleasing to the eye. Zelo is a must try downtown, and if you do, it will become one of your go to restaurants for a nice night out.“

“Excellent food and staff!!“

“Amazing food always. Owners are very lovely folks“

“Amazing in every way!!! Delicious food was had by all. While they don't have a separate GF menu, they were very accommodating to adjust for several gluten free options to choose from. Shannon L was a delight. Loved the ambiance. Will be back!!“

“Our server was phenomenal! When asked for recommendations on dishes, she was honest and provided great detail on how dishes are prepared. We had an issue with the credit card surcharge of 4% . She listened attentively and was very professional in explaining the process and reasoning . She actually wanted to help and do something about it . Although not her issue, she treated it as if it was . A surcharge is ridiculous. She was absolutely incredible and made our dinner very special.“

“They support their community. Real American values.“

“What a wonderful place. My boys took me here for dinner last night and it was fantastic. Great atmosphere, friendly staff and the food was incredible. I will be back again and again. Thank you!“

“We had a great dinner last week with our family of eight! Bethany was our server and she was fabulous!!“

“Incredible homemade italian and such an incredible, incredible value for the price. Best italian food I have had in a long time!“

“I have only eaten one thing repeatedly and it is excellent, their burger. I can’t speak to anything else on the menu. Service is fine, but sometimes laid back to the point of indifference. Atmosphere might be a little too trendy and hip for some people, but the space is attractive and well situated especially when going to see a show at Latte Da.“

“5 🌟 Best red sauce in town. I wish they still had the manicotti and stuffed peppers mmmmm“

“Food was very delicious, service was top notch. Would definitely go back to try more of the options. Our Waiter was great and very informative.“

“Date night. Food was good. Wine was good. The waiter could be more attentive. He did not even ask us once how the food was and if we needed anything. Had to get extra sauce from the girl who brought out our food.“

“Serves was unbelievably fantastic the server Troy was amazing!!!. He accommodated us perfectly and made our night brighter. I will be coming back as soon as possible!! The food was outstanding and we had too many left overs. We were able to have so much food for our group of five. If you want a special night out this is the place to go!!“

“Outstanding as usual!! Fabulous!“

“BEST FOOD IN THE AREA!!!!“

“First time here and what a fantastic experience. I came with my daughter and we both loved everything about it—the atmosphere was warm and inviting, the meals were absolutely fantastic, and the wine menu was excellent. I can’t remember our server’s name, but she’s been serving for 40 years and it showed in the best way possible—professional, friendly, attentive, and made us feel genuinely welcome. This was one of those meals where nothing felt rushed and everything just worked. We’ll definitely be back. Highly recommend.“

“Had a very special celebrations here recently and it was amazing. Staff was awesome, food was delicious and ambiance was top notch. Every person in our party commented on what a great find this place was and how they couldn’t wait to come back. Thank you to the Luci Ancora team for making our celebration so wonderful.“

“A really nice place to eat. The lasagna was excellent. I'll be back.“

“Same good service. I had the same delicious burger, but THIS time there was a $4 up charge for a small salad—subbed for chips. (I must have lucked out 3 days earlier.) The check came and it included a large bottle of plain water (not ordered) that was apparently placed on my arrival; then a lady (not my server) filled 2 glasses with the water. (I dined alone.) A manager took the $12 off my bill.“

“Party of 12 had a blast and the fettuccine was not bland at all! The sirloin steak was fabulous! The Strawberry Margarita was perfectly made. Chicken was not soggy. The minestrone soup was excellent and the salad was perfect. Pleasantly surprised with this Olive Garden visit. Servers were so attentive.“

“Friendly staff, even holding the door while their arms are full, felt a little bad! Food was served quickly and was delicious. Waitress was attentive, but not smothering. A lovely evening and dining experience. The salad and soup was top notch as always.“

“Delicious pizza and great service!

I was in town for a work trip and had all day meetings and a social event. Myself and some colleagues were hungry after the event and decided to stop at Carbone’s next to our hotel. We got there at ~8:30 which was 30 minutes before they closed, by the time we finished eating it was 9:20. Not only was the pizza very good, the service was great. At no point during our visit did the two staff members make us feel rushed.

I’ve been to several places where they have started closing up shop and stopped taking orders well before closing time. The staff here still provided us with good service and quality food even though we likely kept them from home later than they expected.

100% would recommend, and will be back (well before closing time) next time I’m in the area.“

“Always the BEST Pizza and antipasta Salad!!!“

“Stopped for dinner before a show at the Orpheum. The bartender made the drinks to perfection and recommended some great food choices for us. Will definitely be back to try some more off the menu. Friendly service!“

“Base price for pasta no longer includes SAUCE! I ordered pasta with three veggies, chicken and Alfredo. I paid $10.99 for the pasta (a price increase) PLUS $2.99 for the SAUCE! Total over $15.00. Deceptive pricing practice. I normally order the spicy rosa (now $1.99) with sausage, which is delicious and recommend. This time I opted for the alfredo. It tastes suspiciously like jarred alfredo. Not worth the price.“

“Just tried for the first time staff was friendly. Food was decent would return back.“

“@punchpizza is one of my go to comfort foods. For the good times and the tough times, grabbing a pizza from Punch always does the trick.

Obviously folks know about this place but I still want to highlight them because longtime fan. Fun fact, each location has hidden cat figurines in their restaurants. Generally in the ceilings. My stop tonight was at my local St. Paul location. They have a whopping 12 locations in MN all listed in one of the last photos.

My go to order that won my heart:
Toto (no crushed red pepper, add roasted red pepper)
side of olive oil

Honorable mentions
Punch Salad
Bruni (meat and onion featured in post)
Gorgonzola Salad

When in doubt of what to get, go to Punch. For more awesome food spots check out the account mallorymademetryitmn on Instagram!“

“wife and I drove 6 hours to eat here. we have made the trip multiple times over the years. came in Wednesday early afternoon and got great service. I wish I could remember her name, I would give her 5 stars. love coal fired pizza.“

“Great pizza napoletana and a lovely staff. We have been patrons for over 20 years. Our family is from Campania and having Punch is a wonderful reminder of home. Grazie mille!!!“

“The chicken Alfredo was amazing! It's honestly hard to find good food and you guys deserve your recognition and flowers 💐👏🏿 Shout out to head culinary chef at MOA in Bloomington 🤘🏿🤗“

“The BEST pizza!! Always delivered fresh and hot from the oven!!“

“Found by searching for pizza on Google after landing at MSP and split a large Fats with daughter and her boyfriend. Really tasty and satisfying. Good prices on wide variety of cans of national and local IPAs. Traditional dinner salad with and gelato after. Set us up nicely for the drive up to tenmile lake.“

“I cannot express how much I love this place! The food, the drinks, the service- it’s all wonderful. I never would have gone into this place but I read it was associated with Petit Leon which I’ve loved, so I gave it a try. No, it is not a Mexican restaurant as I assumed ( Tijuana is in Mexico. Right?) The food has a more Asian origin ( Mapo rigatoni, scallion pancake..) and it’s delicious! The drinks were fresh and flavorful. It’s my new favorite place. Love the neighborhood, love the vibe.“

“One of the best pizza places around! They always have great food. My sister and I went on a Friday evening, which we knew would be busy. We arrived at our designated time only to find out that they were behind on orders. The first thing I noticed was how hard your employees were working. They looked so overwhelmed and stressed out, but we’re still able to give us great customer service. I saw the order receipts flowing in by the bunches to the point they had to put them in a huge pile on the countertop. Please limit how many people can order per time slot online. Your employees are working so hard for indoor dining as it is.“

“Best pizza ever, hands down. Service is always good here and good location and good parking, nice patio.“

“Always delicious! A real treat.“