32 Best Italian Restaurants near Monona

“So good and great service“

“Excellent service! Delicious food! Four of us celebrated my birthday here last night and enjoyed every single detail. The calamari and arancini appetizers were flavorful and breaded perfectly. One person had a Caesar salad, he said it was perfect. For our courses, my husband devoured his Cappellaci All Aragosta, but not before sharing a bite with each of us, and it was soooooo good. I had the Spaghetti Al Funghetto and absolutely loved it. Mom and dad also enjoyed their pasta dishes very much. Our desserts were crème brûlée, cannoli, and tiramisu. All made in house and all delicious. Then the service. The staff took very good care of us. Our waiter happened to be one of the owners, Sergio. We were lucky to hear about his history of working in the restaurant industry in Madison for years at restaurants we had known, now running his own! He was so passionate and interactive about the menu, it was so fun! By the end of our meal, my husband and I already had our next date set for another dinner at Fratelli’s. And in Madison, with so many options to try, we don’t revisit many places often, but Fratelli’s is going to the top of our list.“

“Always amazing here. Food , atmosphere, staff, and great cocktails to boot.“

“Great experience…everything from the ambiance to the waitstaff to the drinks, appetizers, entree, desserts and coffee were amazing!“

“Good food and nice place!“

“After 29 years of living near Madison, we finally went for dinner last night. Everything was delicious- mocktail, bruschetta, both pasta dishes (mushroom truffle & sausage rigatoni), as well as the light, fluffy desserts (butterscotch pudding & cheesecake with rhubarb/strawberry compote). Super happy our waiter, James, sent us home with an extra baguette & recommended making French toast - which we did today! We’ll be back with friends and recommending to others!“

“Greatest Pizza in the world.“

“I've been going to Ginos for years! Best sandwiches in Madison! I'm just sorry they aren't open more! Love, love, LOVE them!!!“

“Y'all.…. this place is out of this world!! Everything from the wine, appetizers, entrée desserts and coffee are just phenomenal!! Do not pass this place up! I love the line of this chef… The way the music goes, that’s the we dance! And that’s exactly what this place is all about. Everyone loves this place! Tony Bennet and famous athletes from all over - including Reggie Bush!“

“We have been to Nonno's at least 4 times in the past few years! This restaurant is the absolute best Italian food our family has ever had. The service is top notch! Our son Sean loves going here and always orders the Chicken Alfredo with lots and lots of cheese. I always order Spaghetti Bolognese which never disappoints!! Thank you to our waiter and the staff for your wonderful hospitality and service.“

“Had the Lumache. It was SO good.“

“The spaghetti and meatballs with meat sauce was delicious! The pizza, while it had a great consistency, and the crust was very good, the pizza itself was a little flavorless. Perhaps an off night. One major positive they serve Coke products, though they are served in cans. Refills would be nice!“

“I came with 5 other people and we ordered 4 appetizers, 9 entrees + a pizza to share amongst us and their was not a complaint about any of your dishes. We love your food, the atmosphere is wonderful, so I have nothing to say about improving your business, it’s perfect!! Well done!!“

“Classic must try pizzeria. Absolutely delicious, they come up with great pie ideas and they are ALL hits. Their service is impeccable and their excellent cocktails give the experience the cherry on top . To add to that the prices are super reasonable. Great atmosphere, can't recommend this enough. It's become a go to return spot over the years, wether I go for a nice dinner with my partner, or getting "fancy" pizza and drinks with friends, this is the place to go.“

“Relaxing meal with fabulous food! Can't wait to go back.“

“BEST PIZZA I have ever had! They have great burgers soup, salads, appetizers and pastas too. Definitely coming back.“

“I live in deforest and this is the only breakfast spot I’ll go to. It never disappoints. The food is great. Nothing crazy, but it’s simple midwest food cooked how you ask and brought out in a reasonable time with a friendly waitstaff. Love this place!“

“We love bringing out of town friends to Sal's. We had the Valentine's menu and it was the best food we've had in years! Tameka was amazing and the food came out so quick. Clean plates all day!“

“It’s an Olive Garden, plain and simple. You want pasta, you’ll get it. You want moderate pricing, you’ll get it. Walked in and waited for 15 minutes, got to our table and started destroying our free bread and salad (get at least 1 salad to help balance the demonic amount of delicious carbs you’re gonna be ingesting).

We got shrimp alfredo, chicken alfredo, and shrimp carbonara. The carbonara is my personal preference as it’s more creamy compared to alfredo but they’re all pretty good.

I will say the staff here are super nice and they really made the experience way better. Asking lots of questions and always following up for more bread, salad, more bread, water, drinks, and more bread.“

“This is one of our favorite places in Madison. Every single time, the food is delicious, the staff is full of smiles and always willing to go above and beyond. 10 Out of 10 recommended.“

“the chicken dinners in the tiramisu“

“Fabulous food, fantastic service and feel great supporting a locally owned family restaurant.“

“Great service and great food! I highly recommend this restaurant for the great dining experience!“

“All 5 ⭐'s from me. There's no other pizza like Rocky' s. I'm not a huge sausage fan unless it's on a meat pizza, but I'd say 4/5 times I have to get a slice of pep/saus. Their sausage has such a great flavor to it. Their sauce is good too. If I get a super slice, I get 2 sides of pizza sauce to put on top. It's that good. They also sell their sauce at the store which is a plus.“

“I’m so thankful I discovered Zoe’s! It’s like having Ian’s pizza but with way better crust. 🤣❤️ I get my nails done in Waunakee and my nail girl told me about this place. Bet I come here every time I get my nails done! Today I had their special - chorizo - and when I say it was BOMB I mean it!!! This pizza is so dang good, and every flavor I try has been consistently delicious. 🍕 😍 lunch prices are amazing too! I highly recommend giving this place a try even just for a slice.“

“Bunky’s is simply amazing! They catered our wedding 12 years ago. Authentic Mediterranean food, expertly prepared, with superb customer service... highly recommend!“

“My granddaughter and I was touring downtown Madison about two weeks ago, we came across D’Vino as we walked. The special for the day was crab cake and green fried tomatoes, of course we went in to order. The food was amazing. My granddaughter love the atmosphere of the restaurant and so did I .She order a pizza that was the best she ever had. The food was so good, even the water was great. We will be back!“

“My wife and I had gone in here for date night to give this place a chance as we had never been here before. Our food was amazing and the service we encountered was even better ! Callie was amazing. Very attentive and on point with everything! She made sure our drinks were always full and made sure our steak and the rest of our food was cooked perfectly! No complaints at all! We will continue to come here for date night and we will be asking for Callie as our server in the future, it was amazing !“

“We had a wonderful experience and such a lovely evening the first time we spontaneously sat at the bar and had a bite before a show at the Orpheum. The atmosphere is warm, charming and cozy. We were excited to come back tonight. Again we loved sitting at the bar. The service is excellent and the restaurant/bar are very obviously well managed. Staff exhibit a lot of attention to service. We ordered drinks and shared an entree/chicken Marsala. It was good, a little salty and I was disappointed that the sauce was not lighter and not served over a bed of pasta. When we received our bill, we were shocked that the J Henry old fashion my husband orders at restaurants all over Wisconsin was $26. 😱 we get that there is an up-charge for premium booze but seemed a little ridiculous for Wisconsin. The regular old fashioned w/ Bullet is $14. There was a $12 up-charge for J Henry. Overall, we had a good experience and will be back and recommend. I told my husband he can settle for the Bullet Old fashion next time. 😜 Incidentally, the Old Fashion was VG.“

“I come in there for my lunch break almost everyday, I love the people who work there, I love the restaurant itself, and for the longest time the food was always great. But in the last few weeks, the food has taken a downward spiral. The fries aren't crunchy anymore, and they seem completely different than before, I couldn't even finish eating them because I thought they were so bad and it sucked because I used to LOVE these fries, the breadsticks were almost inedible this week too. I thought thr first day that maybe it was just a fluke, and then the next day I held onto hope, but now a week or so later it's still the same. 💔 I love Rockys and I love the people who work here I just wish the food had stayed the same.

UPDATE: THE FRIES ARE BACK YOU ALL CAN THANK ME!!! THANK YOU ROCKYS IM SO HAPPY“

“First time experience and will return!! Was seated quickly as walk-in . The facility is a bit worn from years of service. However the host who doubled as wait person was polite , knowledgeable and efficient!! The food was delicious!! Well worth a try, particularly if you enjoy Italian.“

“We came in on a Monday night in the summer. We have been coming here a lot recently. We love the food! Pizza is great, salads and meatballs too! Our table tonight was two young kids and two adults. Most people wouldn't want our table. Servers don't like kids. I assume that means low bill and low tip. However, my husband and I have worked in the restaurant business for a long time! We know how to tip and never order off the kids menu. We were told our server Lydia would be with us shortly. However she never came by. I had to ask for service after we came in to eat and we're very hungry. It was my daughter's birthday and they just got done with Ju Jitsu practice. My daughter told me she was starving. I know! She never came to the table. We were ignored for a while and told to order at the counter. There were open tables and not too many people in the restaurant. Thank you to the shift manager who finally helped us. We also asked Lydia to help with our check at the end and she told us she couldn't help us. She was so rude! Thanks Lydia. If you go on a weekday you might not even get service unless you ask. We'll be back to eat the food and hope we don't ever get Lydia. She was only serving two tables and both were finished before we got our food. She was not that busy but decided she didn't want to serve us.“