41 Best Italian Restaurants near Wauwatosa

“Our third time and the anniversary couple's first time (55 years!) and we were all thoroughly impressed! The food is so authentic - better than any dish we had when we visited Italy! Made with love and fresh ingredients, served by staff who care, and presentation and waitstaff well worth the price. This is not inexpensive, but for any meal with ambiance, and never disappointing, I recommend it highly. Five star everything. We cannot say enough. Thank you for contributing a wonderful Italian option in Tosa area.“

“Cannot say enough about the food, the staff and the ambiance. Whether it is pregame, post-game, special night out, day drinking and dining or late night cocktails and dinner after a late flight this place never, ever disappoints. Its been that way for years and hope it never changes.“

“Staff was very attentive. Food was fantastic. My only complaint is the price, but you certainly get plenty of food for what you pay.“

“Great discovery of a great pizza place!“

“Had a lovely dinner. Service and food were excellent and the 3 for $35 is a great value. We enjoyed our evening“

“Classic Italian done right!“

“This is hands down my favorite pizza place! The pizza is always amazing--perfect crust and great flavor. The garlic bread is just as incredible!

You can tell they use high-quality ingredients, which makes such a difference. And now that they accept credit cards, it's even more convenient to stop in and grab our favorites.

Highly recommend--this place never disappoints!“

“Great food. Wonderful Friday night fish fry. Very friendly and efficient man at the host desk. True vintage atmosphere. Servers all run around and are all very unorganized. Our server only had one pen on her. I'm sorry but that's part of the uniform that is extremely unprofessional no matter how old you are. They are all older experienced servers so there was no exception for this. She hovered over our table waiting for us to sign and return her Pen. They do not do separate checks.. The bus boy was absolutely amazing. Everything was fabulous but the servers need to step it up.“

“When it comes to mall food courts and there's a pizza venue, it's usually Villa or Sbarro which are practically identical. Both are 2 of the most common in major shopping centers and nearly taste the same.

If you arrive at the mall with an empty stomach or have just been scaling the entire mall in & out of various stores and suddenly realize you're craving food, the foodcourt has a few options and Villa is available at this one.

Just like any location out there, there's gonna be mixed reviews typically over the quality of food and the service. Unless you're observing what's behind the counter and glass, the general dining area itself would be included with the atmosphere.

So when it comes to getting some good-tasting food that still may not be worth the high prices for many, it's basically a matter of timing when buying a pizza slice or stromboli when they first come out.

When anything has been sitting for a while and gets reheated for a minute or 2 in the oven, not gonna be as tasty compared to when it first came out. If you're lucky and do get a fresh slice or 2 with an empty stomach, sometimes that's the greatest pizza ever.

Customer service is usually about the same wherever you go. Especially when it's a Saturday or holiday sale weekend, you're always gonna see that employee standing to attention waiting to make that sale, otherwise the service has never been that bad for me.

With the climbing prices every year since the COVID crisis came and went, the unnecessary inflation and minimum wage hike; definitely one of many businesses with high-priced grub for the taste but then again I can only imagine what the rent costs for being in a busy mall.“

“Fried zucchini and steaks are very good so is the spaghetti very friendly people“

“Excellent food excellent service Nice change to have a professional serve us and a professional cooked food highly recommended this restaurant“

“wow im a Alfredo and pasta chic this is the best Shrimp & chicken Alfredo ive had by far. i had both in my Alfredo excellent meal“

“My food was absolutely delicious. I went for brunch and ordered the El Mexicano Bowl. I highly recommend this place. It’s nice to see a great restaurant finally take over the old Trocadero building.“

“Just ate here with my girlfriend's and it was very good. service was excellent and food was delicious! Adding some pics“

“Very good food, great service. Drove 45 mins out of my way to try this place, will be back!“

“When visiting Milwaukee this is an iconic Italian restaurant I personally have been going here since the 80's. Best Italian food any where. My favorites are the garlic bread, Italian beef and sausage sandwiches, lasagna, and trimisu. Definately best garlic bread ever!!!! Large portions great prices courteous service.“

“I have not been here in years. We just had a large family gathering today and it was amazing! Great food, great service.“

“Great stuffed pizza. One of our favorite restaurants for many years.“

“everyone there is always very friendly. we love eating there“

“The best chicken parm I've ever had.“

“Calderone pizza is the best! I first had their pizza back in the 1960’s and it’s still the best pizza! . So glad it’s in Fox Point,“

“There is nothing that I did not like about tonight's experience. The atmosphere was lovely. The service was fantastic and friendly. The food was delicious. The wine was divine. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Cheesy garlic bread 👍Salad was fresh and tasty. Generous portion. Steak speidini with angel hair pasta was perfect. TIRAMISU was one of the best I can remember. GRAZIE 🇮🇹“

“Excellent meal! So happy we tried this cute place! Highly recommend!“

“I love the pizza but it seems like the sauce was different. did they change the sauce?“

“an amazing dining experience! food and wine list on point, and the atmosphere is amazing! 10 out of 10 would recommend!“

“This is our favorite Fish Fry in the area! (And we've tried a lot of fish fry's :) The Pizza is also really good! We love their thin, crispy, crust! The wait staff has always been friendly and hard working. It's hard to beat Pepino's.“

“This was my first time there with friends. The food was great. We'll be back again.“

“I had Nadi Plates at a wedding in October. This was by far some of the best wedding food I've ever had! Their Alfredo sauce was spectacular, as was their romesco sauce! My date and I both got Filet which was cooked perfectly. The Bride and Groom also told us how professional the team was to work with. I can't wait for their restaurant spot to open to have their food more often!“

“I had heard great things and had never been. Was heading to see a show at the Marcus Center last night and we opted for dinner here. Being a foodie, I had asked for recommendations in some of my foodie groups. I heard the meatball appetizer was a must have. It wasn’t on the menu for some reason, and I’m glad I asked as Frank, our awesome bartender/server who is in the family didn’t realize it wasn’t. I have zero idea how you get meatballs light, fluffy, not dense, but these were them. And the sauce! Beyond fresh, light, and delicious. Eggplant Parmesan fries were also super light and served with the same delicious sauce. And then the pasta… Capellini alla Caprese (which was Frank’s recommendation). From their menu: “Handmade angel hair pasta tossed with sweet Roma tomatoes, genuine Prosciutto di Parma ham and an Italian soffritto (olive oil, onion and garlic), finished in a light chardonnay-cream sauce and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.” This was also super clean, light, and just delectable. The bruschetta appetizer we did not order, but the people next to us did, and I asked to take a pic. It looked amazing, and the girls eating it absolutely raved. The tiramisu - not much to say other than chefs kiss! I literally want to go back and try everything on their menu. This was for sure one of my favorite new (to me) places and I will be back for sure! Also a shoutout to the other bartender Shea… she was an absolute gem. All of the staff we met were super friendly and helpful. Love places like this!“

“My best friend and I have been visiting for 8+ years, since we were 14/15 years old! The fusilli is our absolute favorite, and we never go without a cheeseboard or the flourless chocolate cake. We have always had great service and it has made every celebration worth visiting Onestos! ❤️“

“I grew up eating Pietro’s Pizza. It was the only place my family would eat pizza from. 30 years later I got to enjoy a delicious pizza. It was like taking a step back into my childhood. Love, love the pizza.“

“The parking lot was full but we got a table right away.
Nate was our server and he was awesome!
Nate was attentive but not over bearing, he made sure we had what we needed and then some.
Every Olive Garden needs a Nate, Greatest server we've ever had!!!!“

“Amazing staff and food!!!“

“Vino Cappuccino proved once again why we love coming here, and it's surprisingly kid-friendly. We dropped in for a to-go order, and while my 8-year-old son and I waited at the bar, we caught the Panama vs. Croatia World Cup game.

The service was even faster than usual, but the highlight was definitely the bartender. He was incredibly friendly and made me a delicious cucumber and fresh mint mocktail, plus a kiddie cocktail for my son—and then generously comped them both!

The only real downside here is the parking, but honestly, that’s just the price you pay for a fantastic restaurant that's always busy. Excellent food and top-tier service overall. We’ll definitely keep coming back!“

“Absolutely fantastic. I ordered on a whim , en route home from work. I never heard of the place before , but it slapped harder than nonna with a hot spoon. The food was ready before the pick up time. And it was phenomenal. Would smash again. Definitely. 🤌🏻🤌🏻“

“Expensive and delicious :-)“

“Worked at Armelis many many years ago. Had a craving for it tonight and it’s exactly how I remember it from 15+ years ago! My husband had it for the first time and said “WHY HAVENT WE ORDERED FROM HERE BEFORE?!” So we will definitely be ordering again!“

“While I’ve been here before, this was my partners first time, this experience wouldn’t have been 5 billion stars without Hudson (the best server we’ve ever had). He made our anniversary special, engaging and attentive to us throughout the night.

We’ll definitely return!

Also - Hudson, thank you, and the Sala team, for the anniversary card. We have a card for you too (upright)!“

“The food was really good, Maria was a great server even while it was busy. The only issue was we ordered dessert and when I took a bite I had to pull a piece of parchment paper (I hope it’s parchment paper) out of my mouth because it was in my black tie mousse cake.“

“I had the pleasure of dining at Olive Garden and had a wonderful experience. The food was great, and everything was enjoyable, but the highlight of my visit was the kindness of the staff. As I was leaving on crutches, the GM Jason came across the room to open the door for me without hesitation. That small act of kindness meant a lot and showed such genuine care and excellent customer service. It really made my visit memorable. Thank you for going above and beyond!“