The Italian Kitchen & Cafe

My husband, daughter and I LOVE this place. We eat there often because we enjoy the food and the staff.The calamari is fantastic - sometimes we go just to get that and have a glass of wine. We have never had a bad experience with the food or service, even if really busy or really slow. We even had our rehearsal dinner there. more

We ordered take out for Valentine's Day. This was our first time trying Italian Kitchen. I got the Chicken Marsala and my husband got the Manicotti. Mine came with spaghetti and my husband got bread with his. We also ordered a small order of cannoli's (3) for desert. My Chicken Marsala was not bad. They used a little too much wine for my taste but overall it was pretty good. The chicken was more fried not breaded and baked. My husband's manicotti was delicious. Perfect amount of cheese and sauce. The bread to dip in the sauce was also good. Since we waited until the kids went to bed to eat, we did have to reheat our food before eating. The cannoli's were very good. Overall, for the price, under $40, I thought it was a good meal. Next time, maybe we will get the chance to eat at the restuarant. more

This was just horrible food The salad that I paid $11 for was smaller than the Greek salad that I purchased at Sweetbay for 2.99 The spaghetti & meatballs were worse than a can I will never ever eat there again even if it was for free How can they justify serving this food it was just horrible more

I don't even want to give this place one star... They don't deserve any. No words can describe how awful this place is, although I will give it my best attempt... The people there are very unfriendly. They have an almost hostile attitude, from the moment I walked in the door. There were several times when I seriously contemplated leaving. I've never felt so bad in a restaurant. The place was packed, and the manager seated the couple who came in the door after me first. So I was left standing there awkwardly for over 10 minutes, while the other people in this snotty restaurant stared at me. The waitress tried to find a nice, quiet corner in the back for me, but the manager proceeded to yell at her, LOUDLY in Italian, while everyone stared at us. It was awful and humiliating. And I had to be seated near the front window, like I was on display or something. At a dirty table, when the ones in the back were clean, I might add. This was already the worst experience I've ever had at a restaurant in my LIFE. So I thought things could not possibly get any worse, but I was wrong... The salad was awful. It looked like weeds you'd find in your back yard, and it didn't even have lettuce! If there is no lettuce, it can hardly be called a salad. It was disgusting and they don't give you enough dressing, it's like a thimble-full. When you walk in, the place is very lavish, and fancy looking. Looks can be very deceiving. Instead of spending so much money on cheap decorations, they should probably pay their employees better, so they would know how to smile. The bread was... edible. But it was nothing special either. The ONE redeeming quality was that the pasta was not that bad. It tasted absolutely delicious! The cook certainly had her act together, but it seems that her talent is drastically wasted on this dump. However, portions were very small. I thought I'd accidentally ordered off the kid's menu... Only there isn't one. As for desert, I had canoli. It was also delicious. But they brought me bread with dessert, and I think they were a bit confused. Another thing is that I noticed they are not very organized. There is a reason most places assign waitstaff to tables. It was chaotic in there because there were 3 people waiting all the tables together, a team effort that ended in disaster. The manager came and took away the bread from my table before I was finished. It took almost longer for the dessert I ordered than for my actual meal, too. While I was there, I saw another man have to get up and get the menus for his family himself. And then the manager argued with him about it, making a big scene! Everyone stared. When I sat down, I noticed that they bring out a big glass of water to all their customers first, before you even order a drink. I wondered what the reasoning behind this was, and I am sorry to say that I found out. I ordered lemonade, and was not offered a refill the entire time I was there! I had to drink the water with my meal, because I simply had no other choice. I couldn't even ask for anyone to bring me another drink, because I didn't know who to ask. And most of the waitstaff hovered near the richer-looking customers. And on top of all of that, it took me forever to get a bill! For REAL Italian, try Angelina's in Brandon instead. I go there all the time and I love it. The people are very friendly, there is a nice atmosphere, and the food is amazing. I cannot honestly understand why anyone would ever go to this co-called ""Italian Kitchen"". Though it may look fancy aesthetically, looks can be deceiving. It's really a disgusting dump, not even fit for pigs to eat at! more

My wife and I found this wonderful place a few months ago and have continued to go every Friday since. Pros: Food is very tasty, Service was quick more

I had just ordered pizza fo rthe first time on 1/18/10. I ordered a half chees/half peppoeroni pizza. That was the bigggest waste of $13. I could have gone to Publix and gotten a Digorno's pizza and he would tasted better. the dough was gross. the ratio of dough to cheese and sauce was too much. the cheese was not even melted. I still have it in my fridge and I have to throw it out after eating 1 slice!! East Coast Pizza on Big Bend is WAYYYY Better!! Its a disgrace that they call themselves Italian!! Where is Gordon Ramsy!! Cons: Dough is pre-made from forzen & the cheese is FAKE more

My husband and I decided to check this place out to see if we would go there for the up coming Valentine's Day Special Dinner. We were seated right away and our waiter told us about the specials and mentioned that the wines were $20 a bottle. I am not a big red wine fan and asked about the white wines. Our waiter told us that they had a wine that he enjoyed that was from Oregon that I might like. So we ordered the bottle of Oregon wine (Evolution Luck 9). We each ordered out entrees and sampled our wine as we waited on our food. we did not receive any water or bread during this time. When our entree was ready another waiter from the staff delivered it to our table and when we mentioned bread he was surprised that we had not had any, but returned to our table with bread and seasoned olive oil. our waiter popped by to see how we were doing several times after that. When we were ready to leave, we had to ask for the check and ask the waiter for a cork for the wine bottle to take the wine home. He did not have a cork but came to the table with sarhan wrap to cover the top of the bottle and a bag to put it in. When the check arrived, we found out our $20 bottle of wine had turned into a $44 bottle of wine. My husband asked the waiter about this price differance and he told us that only the red wines were $20....(now don't you think that would be something the waiter should have told us?) We had asked for a wine list originally and were told that they didn't have one at the time because they were getting in a lot of new wines. So while he is ringing up our credit card one of the cooking staff guys seems quite pleased when the waiter reveales that he has managed to dupe more customers into buying the higher priced wine. They can't seem to contain themselves and have to hug and kiss while waiting for my husband to fill out the tip and sign. No one asked if we wanted dessert. Needness to say, we will not be going back for Valentine's Day or any other day. The food was fair, the service was slow and they ripped us off. I don't even want to go into the phone call and conversation that happen that night. I don't think the owners know what the staff are trying to pull off when they are not around. I would not reccommand this place to anyone based on the food, service, and the fact that they would mislead their customers into buying a wine that is more that twice the price as the others and when confronted not even bother to offer to reduce the price or anything. This is just piss poor service. They have lost not only our business but everyone that we tell about this bad experience is one less customer they will have in the future. I would rather drive up to Fish Hawk for real Italian food anyway. Cons: misleading on wine prices/ staff kiss while working yuck more

I went during my lunch hour and after waiting 40 min, inquired on the food. My waiter said that due to several people coming at the same time, they are a little behind. I look around and there were 2 other tables in the restaurant. I finally had to ask to get my food to go after 50 min because I was out of time. I went back to work hungry and hurried up to eat. Spent $13 without tip for a pasta dish that used to be $7 when they had a lunch menu. What a rip off....That is definitely the last time I go there. Food is descent but not worth the aggravation! Pros: So so food Cons: Can't cook for 3 tables within an hour more

Based on neighbors recommendation I went to try this place. Anyone who thinks this place is great has no pallette. The ""special"" wing sauce is KC Masterpiece or a generic clone and the sauces on both the pastas I tried definitly came out of a bag (Sysco). The chicken that was served tasted like pressed chicken although i am not sure it was. The only way this place is the ""best in town"" is if its the only place in town. PS - prices are way to high for this generic food... Pros: Plenty of parking and no wait Cons: Processed Meat, pre-packaged sauces more

My wife and I eat there at least twice a month! The food and service never dissappoint! Pros: The Best Italian Food in town Cons: Menu might be too limited for some more

My wife & I went on a Saturday evening around 6:30. We had no problem getting a seat and service was Pros: DESERTS WERE GREAT Cons: SEATING TOO CLOSE more

What a pleasant surprise...while visiting my parents from Savannah, GA they suggested Italian and with 4 children ages from 14-7 this appealed to all. When walking in you were instantly brought into Italy. The furnishings were so authentic and they were so detailed. When viewing the menu their prices seemed pricey but when the food arrived it was well prepared and very tasty. The server was very busy but the restaurant filled up quickly. He was very pleasant and worked very hard to accommodate so many tables. It was jazz night and what a great added bonus. The music was not too loud and we could speak to each other and the children enjoyed it too. What a great job they have done to make the experience so enjoyable. Don't let the cost effect your decision. The prices fit the overall package. Pros: quick to fill glasses, great furnishing to set the Italian atmosphere, friendly service Cons: server does it all and which slows down but service flows more

The food what good except for one problem. They charge to split meals which is stupid. I ordered 2 appetizers and a dessert but wanted to split the entree. They told me they would charge extra for doing that. Wtf? It wasn't very much more but if someone orders 2 appetizers and a dessert, they aren't trying to be cheap by splitting a meal. I'll stick with Carrabba's where the food is even better and they don't charge to split meals. Cons: They charge to split meals more

My family and I have gone to the Italian Kitchen since they first opened. They have transformed the place making it more beautiful and roomy. The food and service never lost it pizzaz. I highly recommend all thier food, I've tried almost thier entire menu so far. Love the Pastries :) My daughter even calls one of the owner's Uncle Joe! Pros: Service, Food, Seating more

My boyfriend and I went there on a Friday night about 9:30pm, just before closing. We had the place all to ourselves. The food is incredible, the service is great, and the price is just right! This will now become one of our favorite places to eat. Very romantic setting :) Pros: Great Food, Romantic, Quiet more