Excellent food, service, and ambiance! 11/10 Mmm creamy spaghetti just like her mom always made…read moregrowing up! Your favorite regular, John Francis Gootee Schafers ;)

The salad & breadsticks were great; we didn't even need an appetizer. Best entree was the creamy…read moreSurf & Turf Pasta! Best drink was my Dirry Paisano Martini. Quick and friendly service, good food, and a well-stocked bar! Awesome!

We ordered some food to go as we stopped in Lawrence for the evening. We headed to our hotel to eat…read moreit, and even 20 minutes after picking up our food it was still nice and warm. My boyfriend ordered these spaghetti and meatballs, and I ordered the penne Bolognese. The meatballs had lots of flavor and were not very dry. I do believe that the meatballs were used in the penne Bolognese and we're just chopped up finally. Lots of flavor in the sauce as well! The Caesar salad was nice and fresh with plenty of croutons and lots of Parmesan. The bread on the side of the pasta was grilled lightly on each side to add a little bit of flavor and crunch. We ate every last bit of our food! Would highly recommend eating beer!

Came in to celebrate my brother's graduation. Food was great. Unfortunately the server Ella was…read moreabsolutely nasty from the moment we walked in to the moment we paid. She tipped herself 20% because she knew there's no way she would get a tip if it wasn't for that. She grabbed the tab and said "let me make sure it's all there"....Even while I was talking to the manager she was rude and kept interrupting. The manager Sabas didn't do much to alleviate the situation. Hope they learn to filter people like this out of their positions so the business doesn't end up paying for their worker's attitudes. Shout out to the chefs that saved this review.

Finally a nice place to eat in Topeka! We need more places like this! Kind, great food and…read morebeautifully designed murals inside and out!

I'm not sure what age I was at but it was about after college and before graduate school I figured…read moreout how wonderful olive oil could command a meal into something really spectacular. It was an Italian restaurant in Queens NY, "Peps" on Lefferts Blvd. My colleagues from work took me to a "real" Italian restaurant. Everything was roasted with olive oil and garlic. The "everything covered in mozzarella cheese" ethos didn't exist here. Weeks after that dinner I was still amazed and somewhat ashamed by the experience. I slowly poked my nose into the world of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, armed with a fresh baguette. This is easy in NYC, in Topeka.. not so much. A crust of bread and some springy olive oil makes the tastiest lunch. So, I was surprised and happy that Tasteful Olive was here. If you are "into" olive oils I'm sure you'll find something here, great gift ideas too. If you are from either coast or especially Europe where olive oil is 25€+ and often diluted this spot is a inexpensive home run..

Bringing the Chi-town flavor to KC. A short drive outside of Gardner this will be your new…read morefavorite. Must try's...The Jordan, The Stockyard or The Ditka - a robust combo of savory Italian beef and homemade Italian sausage on a crisp Italian roll. Fast and friendly service. Amazing patio. Can't wait to go back!

This old building has been completely remodeled and looks classic on the exterior and clean and…read moremodern on the inside. The owners are native Chicagoans so they know Italian Beef. The menu is very simple - hot dogs, Italian sausage, Italian beef sandwiches, and French fries, with Italian ice available for dessert. The Italian beef is just like I remember from my trips to Chicago. The giardiniera was a little spicier than I've had previously which means I liked it more that others I've had. And the sausage - oh man, you need to try it. They make their own sausage from the owner's father Benedetto Mammina's recipe and it is good and tasty. My only slight knock is they don't currently offer iced tea, but hopefully that's something they can easily add in the future. I'll definitely be returning to check it out again.

Sweet spot, great food, and drinks. Service was a great and gave me a lot of insight on the wine…read moreoptions. I got pretty blitzed before a mom's weekend event and took my mom here, she loved it and got me out of the doghouse for not being able to stand straight. This also happens to be the place every college dude takes a girl right before he asks her out. 10/10 place. Would recommend the vodka pasta.

The drinks are my favorite here. I love the maple old fashioned! Food is usually pretty good and…read morethis restaurant is one of my favorites in Lawrence. The menu changes from season to season, so be sure to check it out before you go. Service is good and fast, ambience is nice but can be very busy and crowded. Quite a bit of outdoor seating options as well!

Lunch here was so good. Service was great, food was delicious…read more Crab cakes were fresh. Had great crunchy celery. The sauce underneath was unmatched. Chicken parm. Sando was pretty good. I think the seasoning in the tomato sauce was lacking. The peach lemonade was great, well-balanced. Nice, quiet bistro atmosphere. Will be returning soon.

Basil Leaf Cafe was very good and we'd return. It was very busy (KU parents weekend) but…read moreeverything was great, probably a bit longer of a meal but drinks kept full, food spaced well and came out fresh and hot. We had apps, salad, entrees and dessert. I didn't take picture, but Caesar salad was excellent, we were told dressing was made fresh in the house and it was delicious. Three of split a large, which was perfect amount since we were having appetizers and entrées. We will return to this restaurant again in the future.

I came here with a coworker for lunch. The restaurant was halfway full. But it seems like 2 people…read morewere trying to cover the lunch service. It took awhile to place our order. Then it took awhile for the food to come out too. I did order the lasagna which was ok. It needed more sauce on it. I'm not sure I'll be back.

Food, excellent Service, pretty good…read more Ambience, wide open dining area, maybe 25 tables. If you're really craving italian, and value (for the price), go here. 1st time i had the Italian feast, super good, plenty of leftovers, lots of variety. 2nd time, pomodoro linguini, a copious amount of pasta, all very good with fresh larger than cherry tomato slices, asparagus pieces, angel hair pasta, a great light sauce with plenty of plavors. Plus, with the meal you get soup/salad, and tasty chips and bread with a yummy evoo dipping sauce. Next time i aim for just a salad and what I expect to be a delicious Tiramisu, with maybe a double espresso or Cappuccino!

Long time fan. This is frequently my choice for a celebration dinner. My favorite dish there is…read moremy favorite dish period...Beef Spiedini Pereira. It has never let me down, until tonight. Sadly, the overall visit was very disappointing. House salad was great, Sicilian garlic dip was great. Beef spiedini tasted charred and was overcooked enough to be dry. The amogio tasted imbalanced and was finished with a soggy wad of parsley. My side of Capelli D'Angelo was actually great. My wife's Chicken Spiedini Garozzo was also overcooked. The 2 end pieces were dry and crusty. Before tonight I've never had a bad meal at Garozzo's. We know the recipes are great. The execution was the problem. To make matters much worse, our waitress was not good. Would disappear for a 10+ minutes at a time. We saw the neighboring table's waiter over twice as often. She started off our visit by bluntly interrupting my wife while she was talking to me. She took away my Old Fashioned without confirming I was done. I wasn't. Usually the service and the food are fantastic, so tonight was a surprise and a disappointment.

This place is all around a 10/10! Customer service is great! The food is so freaking delicious. The…read moremenu is extensive and everything sounds good. You may go back and forth in your mind on what you want. Look at the pictures to this review. My friends and I each enjoyed our food! If you can't handle spice don't worry about the Chicken Vincenzo being too spicy. To me was more on the sweeter side. My friends had the Chicken Spiedini (Samantha) and Eggplant Parmagiano. I will definitely go back and order different dishes! The ambiance is nice.

Man... how do I start? This place far surpassed my expectations. I would call this a hidden gem…read more Set in a strip mall in Belton... I am honest I didn't expect much, and figured the 4.5 stars was because it was a local favorite in a smaller town. It was wonderful! The service was great and it was a well done restaurant, as far as a "strip mall restaurant" would go haha. But, the food was outstanding! I do t go to Belton much even with having some family there and it's never been a destination spot for dinner plans. But I will go out of my way to make it back here! We had the Alla Crema and the Rigatoni Vodka (not sure if I spelled these correctly, but they both surpassed our expectations. The Caesar salad was light and not overly dressed and the house salad with house dressing was fresh and light as well. My son had the cheese pizza and it was thin with just the right crispness and mix of sauce and cheese! We will definitely be back!

Food's fantastic service is even better! Definitely worth a visit. The sauce alone is incredible!read more

The food was incredible. Perfect portions, perfect seasoning, and the ingredients tasted so fresh!read more

Holy cow did I LOVE this place!…read more I had just worked a 12-hour shift with my last ride taking me from STL and dropping me in KC! My options seemed limited that late at night, but pasta seemed to be calling my name so I landed here. I may have been a little under dressed, but no one treated me any different. From the moment I walked in and through my visit, the customer service was exceptional. My server, I wish I remembered his name, was amazing and everything he recommended was totally chef's kiss! I couldn't decide between the pasta I craved, or the highly recommended hanger steak, so I got both! Excuse my yelling but, THE HANGER STEAK WAS ABSOLUTELY TO DIE FOR!!! I had no idea!! All I know is that I thought there would be leftovers and I was ready to lick the plate! Nothing went home with me. I haven't been able to stop talking about the hanger steak since. I would probably order a different pasta next time, or none at all. Also, the focaccia was incredible as well. (Excited about that, but it wasn't the highlight clearly) I'm ready to drive back to KC JUST for the steak. Absolutely phenomenal.