Bottega Michelangelo Bottega Michelangelo is a casual…read moreSouthern Italian neighborhood kitchen and pasticceria located in Oro Valley, Arizona. Everyone is understaffed, so I always appreciate the service staff who are working. Remember they're busy because they're good. This restaurant still has that old time feel it's a definite classic type vibe. This is with a modern look of high ceilings and wide open space. It has indoor dining, a cozy lounge, a front patio, and a bar patio with both table service and walk-in café options I was here in the winter many times over the last four years. I really enjoyed the food and staff. I went last winter and forgot how much I love the food. Happy hour really embraces the needs of people of a certain age (older) in the sense that it starts at 4pm and goes until 7pm. So if you come at 4pm you can drive home before it's dark. (No daylight savings in Arizona.) My favorite dish during happy hour is the lamb lollipops. Just love them and the second favorite dish is the Pistachio encrusted baked goat cheese with there great bread. Those things with a nice brown lager (kilt lifter) are a wonderful dinner for me. There's plenty of space for groups to have fellowship together. And some wonderful dinner options as well. It's almost always crowded. It also operates partially as an Italian pastry shop (pasticceria) with in-house desserts like tiramisu cake, cannolis, and the Lemon Blueberry Duomo This Italian family has own this restaurant for over thirty five years.... It's been in a couple locations but moved to where it is over 30 years ago It has good food that is high quality. It has that atmosphere of any old school restaurant in any major city. Instead it's tucked in near a shopping mall in Oro Valley. It has a wonderful outdoor seating area. It has great parking. I can't recommend this restaurant enough.

Honestly, I really don't see what the hype is about this place. Maybe it's because I'm snobby and…read morehave been to Italy, but the food here is not really authentic Italian food. The highlight was the meatball appetizer. These were huge and the sauce was delicious. Unfortunately, that's where the good vibes ended. I got the agnolotti and it was covered in parsley and a little flavorless. Just not great. I'm not saying it's bad, but these days when I want to spend my money on a nice meal, I'd rather go somewhere where I feel like it's worth the expense. Bottega Michelangelo was just perfectly mid. Not bad, not great, just average.

Dominick's is a cute hole in the wall. It's found in a strip mall, but once you walk in, the…read moreelegance of the restaurant makes you forget where you are. The hostess was so kind and sweet when she greeted us and showed us to our table. Our waiter JR popped up within seconds with water and greetings. We were given garlic knots to start. We ordered our drinks and garden salad to begin. Our salad arrived and it was beautiful and a good size for sharing. The drinks arrived and were delicious. Our entrees came after and were just as good. We were too stuffed to get dessert.

Dinner for 3 last night. Haven't updated my review in a decade, thought it was about time…read more.. As always the side/starter salads were wonderful. I had the Caesar and the romaine was nice and crispy, the croutons were crunchy and the dressing was not overdone. The free garlic knots are sinful! I had the pasta carbonara off the Specials menu. After a loooong wait for our entrees, my generous portion arrived (see photo). Lots of pancetta made it very filling and tasty, but I thought the sauce was a little dry. One of my companions had the shrimp scampi - he always orders this here and loves it. My wife ordered the pasta rustica which came with lots of black and green olives and a good amount of capers. She thought it could have used a little more flavor, maybe some more garlic? Overall we had a very pleasant evening, service was great. The decor here might be getting a little dated - the indoor seating is quite dark, especially when you come in from the blazing Arizona sun!

28 years ago my craving for my pregnancy was Vivace was crab filled chicken. My husband joined me…read moreevery day as we got it. We'd walk in and the staff would start making it I still love it, what a magnificent dish! Why is it so good? The crunchy chicken? The tender crab filling? The amazing vegetable rice and sauce? There are many amazing dishes here, but at least once, try this dish. One of my favorites of all time.

My son chose Vivace for his birthday dinner, and once again, this restaurant reminded us why it's…read moreone of our absolute favorites in Tucson. We like to switch up our appetizers every visit, so this time I tried something new, the escargot with artichokes. If you've never had escargot before, this is the perfect beginner dish. The escargot was buttery, tender, and packed with flavor. Paired with the artichokes and toasted bread, it was absolutely incredible. I almost ate the entire order by myself because I simply couldn't stop! We also ordered the shrimp and crab cakes, and wow, these were phenomenal. The outside had the perfect crispy crust while the inside was tender, flavorful, and full of seafood. The accompanying sauce tied everything together beautifully. For our entrées, we had the seared tenderloin over creamy polenta, cooked medium rare. It was perfection. The tenderloin was incredibly tender and flavorful, the wine sauce was rich without being overpowering, and the polenta was creamy and comforting. The portion was also very generous. We also shared the rigatoni with braised short rib, and I honestly can't stop thinking about it. The short rib was melt in your mouth tender, juicy, and so flavorful that I'd happily order a plate of just that! Combined with the perfectly cooked rigatoni, rich sauce, and a generous sprinkle of Parmesan, it was one of those dishes where every bite was better than the last. Our server was fantastic, attentive, friendly, and full of great recommendations without ever making us feel rushed. The restaurant itself is always beautiful and has such an elegant atmosphere. Since we were celebrating my son's birthday, I was hoping we'd get one of the tables with the city view, but honestly, the outstanding food and exceptional service more than made up for it. Vivace continues to be one of Tucson's best dining experiences. Every meal here reminds us why we keep coming back. Highly recommend!

I would say the food is really good, and probably the biggest tortellini I have ever seen!…read more My only issue is that when we went to the restaurant, it may have just been the particular day, but there was some sort of issue with a bad smell that was going on that night. Hopefully that was resolved because the food quality was good! They also have a good amount of vegetarian options.

For whatever reason, I haven't been here in nearly ten years, and my dining companion had never…read morebeen. So we journeyed out on Memorial Day for a grill-free dinner. The space is lovely of course, with tons of courtyard view windows. We did run into a broken chair when we sat down, but that was easily remedied (hopefully it was permanently removed from the floor). Our server was also tending bar, so he was stretched a bit thin, but overall the service was solid. He happily went back to the kitchen in a couple of questions he couldn't answer, but was overall very knowledgeable. He recommended a white wine made by a relative of the restaurant owner and it was lovely. We started with the octopus. I didn't expect this starter to be cold, but the tender octopus, fingerling potatoes and olives were a great combo in the acidic sauce. Would most certainly order it again. My main was the short rib. Short rib is always a heavy dish, but the vegetable risotto and asparagus helped lighten it a bit and it was tender and delicious. I probably ate 1/3, but I'm not sad to have generous leftovers. My dining companion had the veal, which was also excellent. I finished my meal with the crème caramel, which was very traditional and exactly as expected (which is what I want in a dessert like that). I'm very happy to dine here more often than every ten years.

The restaurant is most definitely tiny , the staff and the food are top notch. It feels like one of…read morethose great neighborhood cafes that the staff go out of their way to make you feel welcome , the Food is 10/10 . Exactly what it says it is . Definitely get the meatball sub and the lasagna !

Was really excited to try this spot with the amazing reviews, I will say it was good and the staff…read morewas very friendly. The prices are hefty but so are the portion sizes, so come ready to share if you don't have a huge appetite! Started with the fried ravioli which were yummy they just were not very full with cheese. Appreciated the complimentary pasta salad and garlic bread, would not pay for it though (personally). Inside is very small and cozy. Would absolutely love to come back to try more staple dishes! Huge highlight was the noodles, they were very fresh & had a nice bite to them. Willing to give better reviews when we try other dishes, felt the sauce was a bit watery but overall good flavor.

Had 3 pizzas to go One better then the other…read moreGood stuff Great flavor Nice people Very nice on the inside of restaurant.. Cold brew Nice bar Would return

Tonight, we are meeting friends we haven't seen in a while in northern Tucson for dinner. Cafe…read moreTorino is one of their favorites and it is not to loud so we can catch up on time that flies by. Reservations were made as this place is a local watering hole in the area. The place was packed and we ordered the Ceasar's salad to split and the mussels in a white wine and garlic sauce. The salad was fine and enough for us to easily share. The mussels were good, tasty broth, and grilled bread to soak up the sauce. We also ordered a tagliatelle bolognese that was fine, decent taste, hot and a generous helping. Our server was on the spot with making sure we were happy, drinks filled and yet did not interrupt our conversation. To the Cafe Torino staff, we never felt pressure to dine and dash, thank you. The food was fine but not remarkable. Obviously, the crowds love this place. You should make a visit to Cafe Torino and make your own decision.

Wow wow wow I love this place it's so cute on the inside. Has a little area for the kids to play…read morewith toys and it gives clean mom and pop. I got the small 7 dollar bowl and that is definitely plenty of food but I guess if you're totally American you want that big portion there is the 10 dollar bowl option. But I am plenty full off the small bowl. The pesto bowl tie with grilled chicken and roasted veggies is what I got and it absolutely SMACKED! Pesto definitely was not from a jar and if it was you fooled me. But I will be back to try all the versions of pasta and sandwiches!! So glad I took a chance on this local eatery!! It's right next to the Starbucks in the Target parking lot. I was also graced with a cannoli and that too was great!! Highly recommend this place for good comfort food! The owner was very nice and let me know that if you order to go the drink is a bit cheaper! So that was cool!

This place has that family owned business kind of vibe to it. As you walk into the restaurant, it…read morehas a very simple decor, there is no menu board on the counter. And their take out boxes are just exposed in the open behind the counter. Most of the staff are young boys, very polite, but never ever once checked on us, after our food was served. This place just opened end of January 2023. So probably they will make some improvements on the interior of the establishment. The food was priced decent, if you're on a budget, and craving for pasta, this is the place for you. I noticed most of the costumers are young. There are 2 size options for their serving. Then choice of pasta, sauce and sides. They have salads and sandwiches. Food is not bad, but nothing special about it, either. We got curious and I'm sure a lot of people will, too.

Had a great experience here and was so excited to hear there were gluten free options! They're not…read morelabeled on the menu but the waitress let me know they have gluten free pasta ! I didn't try all of these but this is what the said was gluten free: the appetizers octopus and the chef salumi one, all of the sides, all of the salads besides croutons, entrees the steak, the sea bass, and all of the pastas had a gluten free option. We had the Di casa with shrimp and pasta à la primavera, both were fantastic paired with wine. My mom loved the tiramisu which I've tried prior before I was gluten free and it is so delicious. It wasn't too busy but best to make a reservation since they have happy hour in the wine bar. Service was great and prompt as well.

I tried Passagio for the first time last night with two friends and while the food was fantastic,…read morethe service and overall experience were seriously lacking. We had patio reservations for 5:15 and were seated right next to the only other occupied table- a mother and two children. A minute later, the hostess returned to turn on the heater at the other table's request (both kids had sweatshirts hanging over the backs of their chairs) and we asked if that couldn't wait a little bit, since it was 75 degrees outside. Instead of offering to move us to one of the two unoccupied tables away from the heater, the hostess just giggled and turned it on anyway. Our waiter was fantastic at first and super attentive, but an hour later, when two other tables were seated on the patio (the mother and children had left,) it was like he forgot we were there. We sat with empty dessert plates for at least 30 minutes before my friend went inside to find someone to get our check. We were told our server would be right out, and he was, but he took both the other tables' orders and went back inside without acknowledging us or looking our way. We went inside to find someone to cash us out (we'd been there more than an hour and a half at this point,) and were asked to wait in the lounge area by the entrance while someone got our sever. He came over a few minutes later and asked us if we wanted to order anything else, which was frustrating, since we were standing by the exit with to-go boxes in hand and very clearly trying to leave, No one ever apologized or even acknowledged the situation. For a meal that cost more than $200 for the three of us, I would have hoped for decent service and at least an acknowledgment that this was not the ideal end to our experience. The food was amazing and even though I live five minutes away, I doubt I'll be back, unless it's for a to-go order (the meatballs and chicken Parmesan were top notch.) This was a very disappointing experience at a restaurant that I'd really been looking forward to trying.

I keep reading about this place, so my wife and I say to try here. We started with the homemade…read morefocaccia bread and decided to order the Motown Classic Pizza. Wow wow wow, the focaccia bread was fantastic. The pizza was super crispy on the bottom, just the way I like it. You can tell the fresh ingredients that they used. Because of the level of the food quality, this is not the cheapest place to eat however, it is absolutely fantastic and so tasty. We will be going back very soon.

I really wish this review could be about the pizza. Instead, we left before ever ordering because…read moreof how incredibly unwelcoming the experience was. We arrived at Renee's with our boys on a 90+ degree Arizona day, hot, hungry, and excited to celebrate them after their first flag football game. Instead of sitting down to enjoy a meal, we were told that families with children are only allowed to dine on the patio. Meanwhile, the air-conditioned dining room was completely empty. Not "almost full." Empty. I understand that businesses are allowed to have their own policies, but expecting families with young children to sit outside in 90+ degree heat while an empty, air-conditioned dining room sits right there is certainly a choice. And not a particularly welcoming one. Apparently, celebrating your kids after their first flag football game meant sweating through dinner on the patio while an entire empty dining room sat comfortably indoors. With the temperature over 90 degrees, that was not a reasonable option for our family. Needless to say, we left. Tucson has plenty of wonderful restaurants where families can celebrate, cool off, and enjoy a meal indoors without being limited to the patio simply because they brought their children. So no, I can't tell you whether the pizza is good. We never got that far. I can tell you the hospitality left a bad enough taste that we won't be back to find out