The beef and sausage sandwich was great. The sausage reminds me of the McDonald's sausage patty in a good way. The sandwich comes plain. I got it with 2 sides of au jus. However I had to add salt to the au jus because it was rather bland. read more

Avanti's Italian Restaurant - The beef and sausage sandwich was great. The sandwich comes plain. I got it with 2 sides of au jus. - Italian Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

You can never go wrong with avani's bread and ranch! We always stop in when visiting family. It's very disappointing that they closed their seating at the ISU location and this airport location is poorly set up . It's definitely not the the same dine-in as in the past but the food is reliable. read more

Ordered a gondola and pizza burger Jan 26 during dinner hour and the pizza burger was terrible. It was dry, had very little pizza sauce and cheese and the meatballs inside were almost tasteless. The gondola was ok....but tough to screw up a gondola as long as the bread is fresh. Sorry to say because I went to ISU living on pizza burgers but I'll be avoiding them at this restaurant from now on. read more

Horrible absolutely terrible. Grill cheese is not grilled cheese. The chicken was like rubber no one at our table finished their food

Food is great, the food is fancy and was served fast, service, they were very kind. Ambiance was good. read more

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This is a staple from my college days. Still tastes the same. Only change is prices have gone up. A lot. Explains the empty dining room. Will still get off 55 and grab some grilled cheese or ravioli anyway. Dining room service was fine. Place was clean. Gave my teenage son my CC to order some grilled cheese to go too. Maybe you did it on purpose, maybe he's just a hormonal teen, but I asked for 5 and he ordered 15 from the "2 baddies" working the carry out side. Smart play, Avanti's. Touché. read more

Avanti's Italian Restaurant - Grilled cheese with American. - Italian Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

We ordered from here on a Wednesday evening (Normal location) and a few positives. 1st, prompt and accurate delivery and good prices. I grew up here and worked here under the original owners. Now for the negative, bread isn't the same. Used to be sweeter. Now just bread. The spaghetti sauce was bland as well as the meatballs in the pizza burger. From what I hear from family, this business is only take out now. So sad and missing past family experiences here eating evenings:) read more

they've changed the Gondola sandwiches. Shreded lettuce, different cheese (probably cheaper) and the meats seem different too. Ruined them. Do disappointing. read more

Not the place it is to be. No waitresses to take your order. You order at the counter, get your own beverage, and your food comes out all at once. The cheese sticks were not very warm, and my lasagna was burnt. Not at all worth the price of the food. read more

The job I was working on brought the crew in some "Famous Gondola's" for lunch. Avanti's describes the Gondola as a sub sandwich made with fresh baked bread and delicious meats and cheese. I have no clue what all the hype is. If you read through the reviews you will see much of the praise goes to the bread. Well, if you like bread then the Gondola is for you. In fact, that is all that it is. Bread. The delicious meats and cheese taste exactly like what you can find labeled Oscar Mayer in any grocery store. You get one flat layer of Ham, one flat layer of Salami, one flat layer of American cheese, and some lettuce. Take away the lettuce and there are about 3/16" of fillings in this sandwich. Trust me, you will never complain about the amount of meat/veggies that Subway, Jimmy John's, or the Gas Station Sandwich you grab out of the case once you get a Gondola from Avanti's. read more

Avanti's Italian Restaurant - The Famous Gondola. All Bread no Fillings. - Italian Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

You know how when your dating someone, and they come to your hometown and all you want to do is show them all the things that remind you of home. That is exactly the kind of place this is, not super fancy but memorable for that taste of home. read more

This place is really bad. Ordered a pizza burger which is apparently just a meatball sub that has been submerged in quite possibly the worst red sauce known to man. Completely inedible; total waste of money. If I could give negative stars I would. read more

Avanti's Italian Restaurant - "Pizza Burger" - Italian Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

Disappointed in the food quality. I remember the pepperoni pizza bread to be a gooey, cheesy, pepperoni filled goodness that warmed the soul. Tonight it was hardly any cheese, small pepperonis and on burnt/ tasteless bread. My boyfriend got the sausage/italian beef combo sandwich and the sandwich was dry, the sausage was pink, and he had to add pizza sauce and ranch because there was 0 flavor. Why no au jus? I also got the fried raviolis. They were way overcooked and hard around the edges! I had talked Avanti's up so it was disappointed that it wasn't up to par. read more

Avanti's Italian Restaurant - Fried ravioli - Italian Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

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I love their food,even the bread is delicious. The service is always polite. It's always nice and welcoming and clean in there establishments read more

food was on but ask for some plates as we we're staying at a hotel and was told we have plates but you have to pay for them so they charged me 2.00 for 5 styrofoam plates after we bought 3 pizzas sandwiches and pasta. what a joke. read more

There are no servers anymore at this location and it's super ran down. We have to go into the back in the kitchen to fill our own drinks. Then we sat down and my boyfriend ordered a sub, which he use to really like. It was gross! The cheapest ingredients were used and the lettuce was slimy. I ordered meat tortellini with regular red sauce. It all smelled freezer burnt. It tasted alright, but my stomach was super unhappy afterwards. Just won't be returning to this location! read more

Went to Avanti's over lunch with my family on Saturday afternoon. It was busy but the restaurant was big so we were seated right away. Food- The food was pretty good! It wasn't anything crazy special but the price is right for all the food that you get. My favorite was the Garlic Mozzarella Bread. It was delicious! I ate almost the whole thing by myself. We also had the Gondola, Lasagna, and Spaghetti which were all good. Service- Our waitress wasn't super friendly by any means but she was polite enough and didn't do anything rude. We got our food fairly fast as well. All in all this is a good choice if you are super hungry and want some decent Italian food for a good price. read more

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Recommended by the hotel I am staying in near the BMI airport (Holiday Inn - nice)...but, when I told my co-workers I planned to eat here they said the food was great... and they live 45 miles away! Hotel front desk gave me a delivery menu and a 10% off card. The restaurant is only a couple business pads away, but it's cold and, heck, they deliver! I ordered a small Avanti special - thin, crispy (even after delivery!) crust, with ham, pepperoni, sausage, onion, mushroom and green pepper. Wednesday special is buy a pizza get bottles of soda for free (1 bottle for small, 2 bottles for medium, etc). I also ordered their garlic bread with grilled mozzarella cheese. The woman I ordered from said they are known for their bread and no dipping sauce is needed. I concur. I love bread, and this was frickin' awesome. $14 for everything!! And it was delicious. They had my order to me in less than 30 minutes. Can't guarantee that all the time, but I will definitely order from them again next time I am in the area. read more

I used to love Avantis but am sadly disappointed after my visit today for lunch. I will not return. The restaurant was dirty. Ordering is at the counter and drinks are self service. That is not necessarily a problem except you have to go back to the kitchen area to get your drinks. And it was a mess! Makes me wonder what the food prep kitchen is like! Our food was not good. It smelled funny and and was very greasy. And it was quite expensive as well. Family members love the sandwiches when they are catered somewhere, but we are no longer interested in pasta in the restaurant. read more

I went to ISU, and loved coming here as a student. My family and I stopped for a pick-up as we were driving through. I was soooo excited! I got the pizza bread like I used to eat and the gondola. The pizza bread was great as I remember, but the gondola was not good. My son liked his Italian beef. We were upset that the dining room was closed and could only guess that it's Covid or short staffed on employees. Overall, the food was just meh...kinda crappy. The small staff that was there was great as always. But Avanti's will always have a special place in my memories read more

visiting with friends went to Avanti's went there years ago was great. Now with the new place in Bloomington, IL you order at the front counter when you walk in and pay then get seated and you have to get your own drinks. Ordered the meatball hot sandwich it came split cold bread down the middle 5 meatballs in meat sauce and that is it. they do not come and check on you ask if you need anything cause you already ordered and paid. will not be going back read more

so excited to be back and pick up my favorite Avantis dinner in Pekin. the young "lady" at the drive thru couldn't be ruder and unhelpful. wont be back unfortunately, not worth that interaction again. read more

So I hadn't been to Avanti's since college-yes, a year or two has passed-and my palate has evolved quite a bit I'd say. With that said, our recent take out experience was fairly positive. Other than one dish, which did not match what was order, the order was well packaged and arrived perfect for eating at a communal table. Said dish was promptly replaced upon return to the location. I enjoyed the spaghetti and meat sauce that I had and others enjoyed their gondola sandwich, Italian beef sandwich and chicken alfredo. read more

I'm shocked that I see it is averaging 3 stars. This Avanti's is GREAT! I love the bread (Italian and a little sweetness to it), and all the food. It reminds me of my childhood! Anyway, the food is great, but the service is also great. I often get my family curbside for dinner, and it comes out QUICK even if I didn't manage to order ahead. I have mobility issues so it is SO GREAT that they will come out to the car. Very kind, courteous, and delicious! read more

Did you change the special pizza? It used to be a thin crust and cut differently. This new recipe good tbh. Disappointed. it tasted weird.

We were nostalgic for Avanti's from college 20 years ago so on our way out of town after a brief visit had to stop and get some bread to take home. We got some pepperoni pizza bread too- wow- it was delicious! Better than we remember. :) An additional tip- they have a gluten free menu now which was impressive to me! read more

I've eaten at this place many times and never been disappointed. Yesterday, I did an order of pizza and apps for a party I was going to. Fried ravioli- pretty good- definitely can tell they are from a package though. Chicken strips- don't go to an Italian place for chicken strips...I will leave them at that. Cheesy garlic bread- I wish the bread is harder and got a little soggy. Ordered a pepperoni pizza and it was pretty good. Is it the best pizza in town? Definitely not. But it's still pretty good pizza for takeout. Would eat again but won't be my first choice. read more

This isn't your fancy, gormet Italian restaurant. However, if you're looking for a classic Central IL staple - good food for a low price - this is it. Avanti's - home of the classic Gondola - is sure to please most people. This place is a hit among old people, families with kids, and college students on a budget. We we're served by Erika, who did a great job making sure we were taken care of and had fresh bread at our table. It's hard to spend over $10 per person here, even with a drink. Over the years, I've had the salad, pizza, Gondolas, pasta, and Lasanga. All in all, maybe this isn't the place to impress a first date or business clients, but if you're looking for some decent food and a fantastic price, look no further. read more

I pre-ordered 1 sandwich. I called it in at 2:30 and said I would pick it up at 3pm. I came at 3, waited for 22 minutes for the ONE cashier to check out the guy in front of me. I got tired of waiting so I walked out. This is why these locations start closing. Shitty customer service. Rude employees. If you are averaging 30 minutes to cash someone out per customer. You will absolutely go out of business. This is the 5th experience in a row like this. The girl at the register was so rude. I almost felt like she was going slower on purpose. Employee of the year. Have fun being a cashier for the rest of your life, and you can't even do that well. Good luck Avantis. I will NEVER be back. I hope this location closes. Good riddens. read more

Carry out Gondola subs are just so tasty and simple but the bread is the secret. Fast service with consistent quality makes this place the easy choice! read more

Meh, I wasn't all that impressed to be quite honest. Upon arriving on the take-out side of the restaurant, the young dude working the counter quickly greeted me, passing along our caesar salads and bread. The caesar dressing was a bit too thick, but the flavor was there. The homemade croutons were definitely the highlight of the salad, along with the crisp and light iceberg lettuce. The bread wasn't anything special. I did ask a young girl for some extra caesar dressing, and she was polite and attentive enough to supply me with two plastic to-go cups. Nearly ten minutes later, I received our chicken parm and lasagna entrees. The chicken parm was a disaster for my fiancé. Literally, a tender slab of season-less chicken with melted cheese atop, and a large bed of spaghetti and seldom marinara. Interesting, I know... At any rate, my lasagna was a slight improvement, but nothing to call Two Guys from Italy (Dallas, TX) about. There was some overly large onions mixed in the usual lasagna ingredients, which I found perplexing. Doubt we'll be back, and that's unfortunate in more ways than one, considering this was our first meal in Bloomington. read more

This is one of my favorite places to come when back home in Bloomington. Love the bread and the garlic mozzarella bread. I get hot chicken tenders and make a sandwich. Ranch is good too. Service is usually quick and can't beat the prices, especially when you're used to Arizona prices haha. Would definitely recommend if stopping in town and looking for a local favorite. read more

Avanti's Italian Restaurant - Super fresh bread - Italian Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

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The Home of the Gondola. Delicious bread and even better if you dip it in the Italian dressing. Service has always been friendly and quick. Usually one gondola will last for two meals, unless I haven't had it in a while... like today. Call ahead and take it on your next flight. Haha. read more

Avanti's Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

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Not happy... When spending $50 for food to be delivered just over a mile call me crazy but I expect it to be hot. I would have settled for warm. Got Cheese Ravioli w/meat sauce & it wasn't even luke warm. Second time in a row so won't be ordering again. read more

This was by far, the worst Italian food I have ever had. The sauce is not edible. I ate only the two small, mediocre meatballs.

New bread recipient sucks! I will not order gondolas again until they go back to original recipe. My son ordered 6 gondolas with NO lettuce as he was bringing them to Arizona for me. Guess what was on them? Yep, lettuce. To make it worse, it was shredded lettuce! Whatever happened to using leaf lettuce? At least then I could pick it off when they screwed up. Shredded lettuce, not so much. The quality of meats also seem to have dropped. Guess I'm glad I live so far away. By the way, two day old wilted lettuce is nasty. Thanks for nothing Avanti's. I was looking forward to those and am extremely disappointed. read more

Whenever I am in town I have avantis at least once. Usually my family gets gondolas and pizza bread. Today I asked for soup because I needed something warm and it said the soup of the day was cream of broccoli for $4.25. It was about a little more than a cup, I think. Im not sure how much the gondola pizza bread was. It was all good as usual good and I will probably get soup from here more often when I come to visit, especially with winter coming up soon. One think I don't like is the pizza bread being wrapped in aluminum foil, I was nervous cutting it and thought I might've gotten foil in my mouth. read more

I went there today for the deluxe sub sandwich. I got two packets of mustard for a huge sub. Its essentially a 6" sub with enough meat and veggies for only that. The deluxe is a subway 6" sub thinned out on a mile long loaf of french bread. I asked myself if I wanted some meat and veggies with my bread? The swiss cheese is bland and the turkey tastes likes it from a plastic supermarket package. The food is comparable to WalMart's subs to go. Avanti patrons do not know italian food and the cooks and servers know no better. The manager asked me when I paid the bill if I enjoyed the meal and I told him it was good, and managed to hold back telling him I could not believe the restaurant was still open with the fierce competition with far superior subs. It filled a void in my stomach, I was hungry and filled it. $30 bucks down the toilet down. read more

I can't really see if the food was good or bad. We came to the front said do we need to order at the counter or can we go back to the dining room. She said we could go back to the dining room we sat there for 10 minutes and nobody came up to us so we left. Not what I would call good customer service. I may give this place a try later, but right now they didn't make me feel like they cared. I don't like to do business with places that make you feel like you don't matter to them read more

When we first moved to this area, Avanti's was often brought up as the best place around. Specifically, the gondola. And, after having had many gondolas, plus other items from their menu; I just don't get it. The gondola is really just a few pieces of lunch meat, a couple of slices of tomatoes, and a leaf of iceberg lettuce. That's it. The bread is sweet, and nice enough, but has a very dense texture and no crust to it at all. I have no idea why it is made such a big deal of. The pasta is not much better, very bland. The one thing I have experienced which is positive is the staff was very helpful and nice when I picked up an order for a fundraiser, which they seem to do quite often. Overall, I would never choose to go to Avanti's on my own, and whenever it is unfortunately selected as a work lunch and I'm asked if I am going, I reply with a very unenthusiastic "I guess". read more