Great friendly service, good food, amazing salad bar with great price for all you can eat lunch…read moreincluding their delicious garlic knots and pizza!

First - I really appreciate that they are open on Mondays. Decor is fun and Italy-themed. There…read moreare tables and booths and it feels spacious. Staff is friendly and super helpful. Salad bar is pretty good, but as a short person I had trouble reaching the things in the back and it was unclear whether it was ok to walk around the other side since there's a register there and it felt more like an employee area. All the salad bar things are kept under covers. This keeps things fresh and cold (or hot), but can be hard to tell what the options are since nothing is labeled. Pizza and garlic knots are included with the salad bar. Pizza is thin-crust. There was a garlic white sauce pizza that I enjoyed. The pepperoni was decent, not mind-blowing but I'd eat it again. The garlic knots were my favorite - basically drowning in butter and extreme amounts of garlic with a good fluffy rise on the bread which is exactly what I think they should be. Mmmm garlic knots. The water is awful and un-drinkable though so if you're a water person like I am, be aware you will want to order something to drink. Pasta is not available until after 4pm; the reason is that it is made fresh. That's a darn good reason to me, so we came back for dinner. My fettuccini had excellent flavor although the pasta was about two minutes shy of where I would like it cooked to and there were quite a few noodles clumping together. I really enjoyed the parmesan-forward sauce. Portions are good and this made a great lunch for me the next day too. Overall, food is okay, atmosphere is good, service is great.

Very happy to have a vegan cheese option for my pizza. Dough was fantastic as well, crispy and…read moreperfect amount of char.

Great spot , always a line out the door. The vodkaroni & the creamy Alfredo are to die for. The…read moreprices are really solid for the quality - ambience wise it is a bit loud for basic conversation but not horrible. Overall if you're in the area this is a just visit

Around the back is the entrance to this unassuming Italian restaurant. Its cozy and simple with…read morerustic wood accents. 6-8 tables and an ample bar for maybe 10. Mckelvey was my bartender/server. She was sweet and welcoming. She mixed a terrific Negroni! Backpedaling a bit. I arrived at 6 and by the time my cocktail was in front of me there was a wait. I was disappointed with the apps.. all fried..I'm sure delish but I wasn't in the mood. I had Utica beans and kale (had the hot pepper symbol but not at all spicy ) $16 with a side meatball $6 and sausage $6. Portions were generous and the atmosphere was lively. Everything arrived quickly. Same for my bar mates. I will go back and request extra extra cherry peppers.. Oh! And get the lemon marscapone cake... worth every calorie!! Mange!

This was our Valentine's Day dinner experience near our lake house. Although this restaurant does…read morenot usually take reservations, they did for this particular Friday evening. When we arrived the place was packed, but sure enough, our table was waiting. First came water. Then our server Lydia came over to ask for our drink order. Because I was driving back home, I only wanted one craft beer for the evening. My wife was having wine. We each ordered the Caesar salad, which was half of a Romaine lettuce sliced lengthwise dressed with cheese and dressing. It was tasty, but a lot of food. I ordered the fra Diavlo seafood pasta with rigatoni. My wife had one of the specials, which looked a bit like beef on weck without the sesame seeds. Mine was good, but not all spicy like I was expecting. Hers was actually quite good. Both were loaded with garlic, which seems to be a staple of this place. Because it was a Friday evening and the place was packed, the noise level was quite high. This was especially true because behind me were two large tables of noisy diners. Once they left it was back to a more normal level. Our server Lydia was terrific. Overall staffing was quite good. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Well go back!

Free cheesy garlic bread! Did that catch your attention?…read more Friendly service, an interesting interior with a somewhat "tropical vibe," and pretty decent food. I can understand why the reviews on TripAdvisor say that this is a local favorite. Why not a 5 rating, though? The food was okay. The waiter said that they won "Best Pizza" in New York a few years back, and when I asked which area of New York, he said it was for the entire state. So, naturally, that made my expectations for the food go up a notch. We got the burrata salad, a supreme pizza, and linguine with red clam sauce (which came with a side salad). The burrata salad was okay. The linguine with red clam sauce was also okay, but the side salad looked like one of those premade salads that might have been sitting in the fridge for a bit. The lettuce was on the verge of wilting, and the cucumbers looked dry. As for the pizza? Okay. Was it worthy of the title of "Best Pizza"? Sorry, I don't think so. Overall, though, if you're in the mood for Italian food in the area, check it out.

Ok wow. From the outside you wouldn't know your about to have the best garlic knots ever!!…read more Inside is quaintly decorated in an Italian theme, Our waiter was fine and answered our questions. Honestly the best part is the food here, everything we got was amazing. The only down side was no Coke Zero

Our meal at Gala Osteria was delicious -- authentic Italian dishes. I loved the tagliatelle and the…read moredessert with maple syrup grown locally. Our waiter Steve was very attentive and gave great suggestions. Don't let the somewhat odd location discourage you from a fabulous meal.

Delicious pasta! Better than Thompson and Bleecker and perhaps my favorite restaurant in Ithaca!…read more We tried the eggplant roll appetizer which was warm and very cheesy. The anchovy salad was also good (I prefer the white anchovies which they used). The salad was also quite generous with the cheese. I enjoyed dipping the warm bread in the leftover eggplant cheese/sauce. For mains we tried the chicken, black spaghetti, and the pappardelle. I love mushrooms, so the pappardelle was my favorite. A rather simple buttery sauce which allowed the flavor of the mushrooms to really come through. Delicious! I don't usually like to re-order the same dish when returning to restaurants, but this was so good when I come back I will definitely be getting this again! Black spaghetti and chicken were also good- no complaints here. For dessert we tried the panna cotta which was a tiny bit on the runny side though I am just being picky. It was very tasty and not too sweet. The tiramisu was also good (on the boozier side). The desserts were rather small but the mains were all quite hefty portion sizes. Reservations were rather inconvenient to snag though definitely not too hard. Overall, I really enjoyed Gola Osteria and will have to return to try more of their pastas!

Come for the cheese, and visit the cute goats while you're here! Lively Run has a variety of…read moredelicious goat and cow cheeses, and offers cheese tasting flights and ice cream (as well as a few other cute things in their shop). We got a few cheeses to go, and the two I've tried so far, the zataar chèvre and cow cheese curds, are both delicious. This was a quick stop but a great stop during my recent finger lakes trip. I'll definitely be back the next time I'm in the area!

This place is really cool. Not only do they have really good goat cheese that you can do a tasting…read moreof, but they also have goats you can pet! Great combination for families with kiddos. When we've been here there has typically only been one person working, but it's never been a big deal because all the staff does is prepare the cheese tasting and then there is seating outside and upstairs. The ambiance is fine... it's never been too busy or loud when we've been here. Definitely a cool spot to stop if you like goats and goat cheese!

We called 3812 Bistro on an evening to make a reservation. The host mentioned they may be full at…read morethe main seating area, hence confirmed a spot at the covered patio. This is a restaurant connected to Lakeside resort and the residents dine here. We were not staying at the resort. When we arrived, we were seated promptly. We had an awesome view facing the Seneca lake and Hector falls. From our seats, we saw the rains come in. We had light jackets and were able to have an awesome dinner. For the dinner, we had scallops for appetitizer, seared salmon, fish tacos and chicken parmesan. For dessert, we had bread pudding and cheesecake. All delicious and cooked to perfection. They have a puppy called Rocky who visits each table! Well mannered puppy!

We enjoyed a light dinner at 3812 Bistro. The view from the back patio of the field and Lake were…read morebeautiful. The service was friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the Burger and Cuban ( on GF roll) and the hand cut french fries. Dog friendly for people with a furry friend with them. They even had a Doggie menu!

Solid Great friendly ambiance…read moreWe had: Bacon wrapped cheese filled dates Fried chicken - skin layer under batter isn't the best but chicken was tender Pork Schnitzel - on a buttermilk sauce with two fingerling potatoes. Duck fat fries - nice crunch. Overall a no frills restaurant- good solid choice for a weeknight out.

The Rook is located a couple blocks north of the Commons. The staff were very pleasant and…read moreexplained everything on the menu. The menu itself is short and focused, while the interior of the restaurant features wallpaper with anthropomorphic animals, and large windows. I opted for the Burger, and my wife the Salmon. We also ordered the grilled dates and collard greens. I also decided on a Ginger Beer. They serve Goslings (since 1806), with all 47 grams of sugar, over ice and a lime. Highly recommended on the ginger beer flavor scale. The Burger came with a massive amount of their duck-fat fried fries, certainly more potato than burger. I also liked the burger with the added bacon. But my wife's Salmon was even tastier. It featured a nice hunk of fish, skin-on, crispy, and not some half-or-quarter fillet that other places might serve. Plus, it comes over a bed of green peas and canneli beans and green asparagus sauce on the bottom, and a small bed of frisée on top. The combination with the lemon cream leads to very satisfying bites. The grilled dates wrapped in bacon, with goat cheese, Marcona almonds, and honey were presented as a drumstick. The collard greens were nice, though on the saltier side. Seating here can be had inside or out. The bathrooms are located in the hallway next to the restaurant.

Love the place, local, tasty and consistent. Portions are large! Also, never had wings like they…read moreserve, roasted, savory, and tangy, yum! But only pet-peeve for Ciao, spaghetti is synonymous with angel hair, ie. When they say spaghetti, they mean angel hair pasta. They do it well, but if you don't like angel hair pasta, pick something other than spaghetti.

Still great !! Again I tried the Tuscan scattetti ( I think that's what it's called ) ? I added a…read moresausage this time . Great !!! Last time I had the lobster ravioli, I think I prefer that ( next time ) my wife as always got wood fired pizza , 5 star as always !! The service was 5 star also !