We came back for my partner's 31st birthday dinner, and the restaurant was very accommodating to our party size of 14! We called in advance to book the reservation and they were able to reserve a huge table in a corner of the restaurant. This was a fantastic location because we had our very own space and privacy and didn't need to clash with the rest of the restaurant. The food arrived in a timely manner and folks who had never tried the restaurant were very impressed with the taste and quality of the dishes! To top it all off, the restaurant surprised us with a complimentary PLATTER of dessert items and even wrote my partner a birthday card -- now THAT'S what you call a superior customer experience!! And finally, HUGE shout-out to our waiter Devin -- you did an incredible job coordinating and managing our huge group, all while having a spirited attitude! We couldn't have asked for a better waiter for this special night! :) read more

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It's the little things that make Austin home, and Vespaio has long been one of those cultural institutions, holding down SoCo. For many good reasons - their staff is not only some of the most thoughtful and attentive in the biz, but like family after working together for so many years. We come for the food like housemade burrata and handmade pasta & pizza, but it's the culture and personal touches that make this place an extension of home. If your Valentine's plans don't include a reservation here, I'm sorry to say your chances are running out - hiked rent has closing day marked for 28Feb. Show your support by offering your favorite chef and servers some home-grown love! read more

Vespaio Ristorante - SMOKED-WATERMELON e Spinach & Prosciutto Salad - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Cozze alla posillipo is a MUST. Mussel dish part of antipasta. Got the half portion of the bolognese and it was filling enough for me. Surprisingly the season dish with pork chop and blueberries was the favorite. We got plenty of desserts. Panna cotta, kitchen sink gelato, and blueberry sorbet. Fav was kitchen sink. Service is fast. server was knowledgeable and gave great recs. read more

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We've eaten here about 5 or 6 times over the last 15 years for special occasions and always loved it. For my wife's birthday we made a reservation for Saturday night. Great service, as usual. We shared an excellent Cesar Salad. We also shared the Pasta with White Clam Sauce and Lasagna for dinner. The Pasta was terrific but I was a bit surprised to find it was a bit on the spicy side. Not terribly, but enough heat to taste and it did overwhelm the flavor a bit. The Lasagna came with a link of sausage that was actually too spicy for either of us to eat. It was a huge portion and we only had a little as we're not big eaters. It too had a bit of hot spice to it, that again was more noticeable than I would have preferred. My wife had Lemon Cheesecake for dessert. It was really good and although I only had a taste, we both enjoyed it. There was more than enough Lasagna for us both to have it for dinner the next night and it was good, but I've never eaten any Italian Cuisine before (except for a Fra Diavlo dish) that was so spicy. The spicyness didn't bother my wife. The dinner was very good but to me it would have been a better if it wasn't quite as hot. As my wife, the Birthday Girl, was happy, the night was quite a success. read more

I wanted amazing pasta and that's exactly what I got! Great sauce, delicious noodles, just perfection! Calamari was great too. The server recommended good wine. Terrific dining experience! read more

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Vespaio is one of my favorite restaurants in Austin. If you enjoy fresh, homemade Italian fare, then this is the place for you. Perfect for a special occasion, the interior is beautiful (especially in the wine cellar room by the front windows). It can be rather pricy, but I think the evident high quality of their food matches the price point. It's imperative to start your meal with the suppli, if you enjoy a good arancini. Vespaio has the best risotto balls I've ever tried, with a crunchy outside and creamy fontina-stuffed inside, over a robust marinara sauce. My favorite entrees are their spaghetti alla carbonara, with a perfectly cooked poached egg on the side and topped with a crunchy parmesan frico that dreams are made of, and the lasagne alla bolognese, with creamy layers of besciamella and fresh mozzarella between green spinach pasta sheets. They butcher everything in house and aim to use the whole animal, which I appreciate, and make all of their pasta too. The wine list is extensive, and their cocktails are creative and tasty. It is located on South Congress so usually pretty easy to find (paid) parking too. I highly recommend this spot for your next special celebration, or even if you're just craving some homemade pasta. read more

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One of the best Italian restaurants I've been to in a long time. My partner and I had split the pasta. We had the pappardelle bolognese and spaghetti cacio e pepe. This is a must go place. I ordered drinks and they were heavy handed. I had to get a side of pineapple juice. :) the dessert was awesome we had bread pudding. Im going to go back for sure. Im dying to try their ravioli. Our server was the best and the atmosphere was great. read more

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Food was excellent we came here to celebrate our son's Birthday. I had a juicy tender steak with French fries and spinach. My son ordered lasagna which he said was amazing and delicious. Our server was on top of our needs and had a special birthday cake for our son at the end. The ambiance is nice with a view kitchen of their brick oven. read more

Vespaio Ristorante - View of the chefs at work and brick oven. - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Vaspaio is upscale and dark, perfect for date night. The service was friendly and happily gave recommendations. The food was all delish. The burrata was creamy and the bread was perfectly paired. I had been craving carbonara and this hit the spot perfectly! It was a big portion and so creamy dreamy. This is a lovely spot on south congress and worth a visit. While pricey it's worth it! read more

Vespaio Ristorante - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

Delicious food! I loved the bee theme! The ambient lighting in this restaurant makes for a great mood. My only note is that you should expect to be here for at least 2 hours. The service is slow and the food is slow to come out. Everything is handmade from scratch when you order it so it takes a lot of time. I got the risotto del giorne which was very strong. I liked the crispiness of the chicken skin and it went well with the dish. I also loved the apple pieces, they were a nice burst of sweet flavor. The risotto itself was very rich, it feel like there were too many flavors competing in the dish, so my mouth was kind of confused. The tiramisu is a good end to the meal. read more

Vespaio Ristorante - cuttlefish and black ink pasta - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Everything was very good! A great place to grab a bite before a show downtown. Parking is a bit difficult so you might want to valet.

Still a great place. Came here for a birthday dinner and this place delivered. Loved how the reservation was handled. The service was great too. And of course, the food was good. We had a late reservation and some of the things were sold out which was unfortunate since those items sounded delicious. I ended up getting the lasagna and enjoyed it. And the apps were great. The burrata and arancini were delectable. read more

Vespaio is intimate, fresh and service is friendly and accommodating. Here's what we ordered: Burrata: 7/10. Standard burrata. Nothing special. Caesar salad: 10/10. This was so fresh and I loved the fresh reggiano cheese on top. I'd definitely order this again. Suppli: 10/10. These balls are stuffed with rice and cheese, what's not to love? I also enjoyed dipping bread in the bed of marinara sauce. Spaghetti cacio e pepe: 10/10. I got a half order and it was filling and amazingly fresh pasta! read more

Vespaio Ristorante - Suppli - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Sadly, I've only been to Vespaio twice and both visits were separated by 4 years. Although it had been quite some time between the two visits, their quality remained great! If you're planning to visit, I'd highly recommend making a reservation. It's a tight space and the tables have always been full when I've visited. It's an intimate space and great for date nights. They have a fantastic wine selection and plenty of food options to try. Both times, I opted for the Linguine Misto Mare (I like what I like I suppose lol). Again, having ordered the same thing twice over the span of 4 years and it still tasteeamazing both times should speak volumes! read more

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We've been here twice now and enjoyed the food both times so its time to leave a review! The first time we walked in for dinner and while there wasn't a table open they were able to immediately sit us at the bar. I got the Tagliatelle con Funghi which was creamy, rich, and delicious! I can't remember what my husband got but we both enjoyed our food and a glass of wine. More recently we made a reservation, though it was also a week day and not too busy when we arrived so we probably could have walked in fine. We parked on the street out front and I'll admit did not pay through the meter but were fine for about an hour visit. Not saying I recommend doing that but we were fine. For the food we started with the fried risotto balls- delicious and the fresh marinara was top notch and cut down the richness of the cheese risotto. For mains we both got specials that I don't see on the menu now but both were fantastic! The husband got orecchiette I think in a tomato sauce with sausage- clean, simple, and cooked perfectly. I got ravioli in a sauce with sauteed mushrooms and onions- the husband thought it was too rich haha but I loved it!! Service was good but nothing stands out in my memory, maybe because I was so focused on the food lol. Price wise, it is fairly expensive, but the portions are satisfactory (I took home half of my main) and it is delicious. Worth it for a date night! read more

Vespaio Ristorante - Ravioli with a sauteed mushroom and onion sauce. - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

A hidden gem. I don't know how I've let this one slide under radar. The perfect atmosphere beautiful old-school, perfectly dim but not stuffy at all. We had a taste of almost the whole menu from antipasti and bread to appetizer, pasta dessert, wine, cocktails and liqueur. Everything here is made from scratch and they know what they are doing! The perfect fluffy bread, dense focaccia, and garlic cheese crisps paired with the marinated mushroom peppers cheeses and pickled vegetables. I would have been thrilled with just that for my meal accompanied by a delightful, refreshing Prosecco. We moved onto the mussels. These mussels were everything I want in a mussels dish. White wine based tomato broth thickened with big chunks of seasoned tomato cooked down, perfect for dipping the grilled bread in. This was paired with a cynar based cocktail somehow showcasing all the flavor of this unique liquor with no harshness. The herbal notes played well with the tomato broth. We proceeded to the star of the show. A duck confit stuffed tortellini with sage, walnuts and an apple gremolata, or as I now call it, manna from heaven. Convinced I couldn't eat more but knowing no meal is complete without dessert we topped everything off with a chocolate torte with raspberry caramel sauce paired with homemade limoncello. Decadent and delightful from first to last bite. From the moment we walked in to the moment we left everyone was welcoming, thrilled to see us, incredibly knowledgeable and eager to make this an unforgettable meal. Job well done all around. read more

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I went at around 7pm with no reservation, and luckily was able to be sat at the bar. The atmosphere is so vibey and moody, perfect for a date night, late night drinks, catching up with friends. Definitely make reservations if you want to ensure proper seats though! Food: I got the RAVIOLI WITH BRISKET (half order) for $19. Sure it is a bit pricier, but I'm not mad about it because it was DELICIOUS. You get 4 pieces of ravioli stuffed with smoky, salty brisket. The sauce is very salty and deep, very flavorful. It also has brocolli and beans. pro tip: ask for free service bread. this is something you have to request, but they bring out bread with this bean dip that is pretty good! I will definitely be back to try other items. I would love to try the truffle tagliatelle next! Service was good, the waiters are so kind and accommodating. The food didn't come out the fastest, but not a terrible wait. Overall, I'd recommend. p.s. as with all my reviews, as i continue to try more menu items, i'll be editing this review. read more

Came in for a birthday dinner, easy to get to right off of congress. Greeted right when walking in, and seated quickly. The host staff was by far the best. This spot looks like it has been open for a while in this location, but I think it's newish. Ambiance is dim and the bathroom has some great stocked hair ties, mints, pads, and bobby pins. We ordered and got our food pretty quickly. The complimentary bread and oil was good. We got The cacio e pepe large size and it was average. The tiramisu was yummy. read more

We had a great experience. Two of our party of 4 arrived on time and were seated to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We were welcomed to a table with a card signed by staff. I appreciated the effort at recognizing our reason for the night. Our server was great. The rest of our party was about 20 mins late. Our server was patient. Bread for the table was brought. We had calamari, bruschetta, and fried olives. Although everyone enjoyed each dish, the castelvetrano olives were an unexpected standout. I had the small Bolognese as an entree and it was plenty as a main dish. It's pork forward which made the dish seem a little drier than I prefer. I enjoyed the dish. Others had lasagna, shrimp scampi, and ravioli. Everyone enjoyed their dishes and lasagna was the only dish taken to enjoy later. For cocktails we had Heaven or Las Vegas, Gepetteo, and Billy Ray Valentine. Each drink was a good pour with balanced spirits and mixer. No complaints. Dessert was also enjoyed -- tiramisu and peach pecan sorbet. Our server was excellent -- offering attentive unintrusive service. Other team members kept our water glasses full, delivered dishes hot off the line, and worked to clear the table between courses. I'd definitely return when I'm back in the area. My guest who live in the area stated that they would add it to their list of restaurants to recommend and bring other guests in the future. Well done. read more

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Sad day. Vespaio opened its doors in 1998 and I was lucky to dine here many times; the last time being tonight. The classic ATX staple ends tomorrow and I'm genuinely heartbroken. As an ATX native it's painful to see more and more original restaurants close their doors to only be replaced by cheap copies or a store that sells novelty Tyler's T-Shirts. It's just sad. I understand the cost must be insane to operate a business on SOCO. I can't help but also recognize the dedication of patrons, specifically locals, who have kept this incredible restaurant alive for almost three decades; some have even supported you every Friday for years. I witnessed tearful goodbyes to staff favorites and the mood was melancholy. Far from the normal vigor Vespaio has shown in the past but more unique, genuine, and intentional as we all said our goodbyes. To the staff- thank you. The service has always been exceptional and the food legendary. To the cooks, the hostesses, the servers and the table bussers- you made dining here memorable and impactful to the culture and community of Austin. You will all be missed. To the owners, whatever motivates you to sell, I truly hope it isn't profit. The cost of operating in Austin is ridiculous and I fear we are losing every bit of what we used to call home. I hope it was worth it for you because it was always worth it for me. A somber farewell to one of the Austin greats. read more

I went during the dinner rush after a long day. Ambiance was just what I was searching for. Although a touch on the louder side, I was in the bar area after all, it was still an interesting experience. The food was delivered fast and was very pleasant. Better than expected! read more

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Love this place! It's definitely one of our go to spots in atx definitely if we want Italian, the lasagna it's amazing swing by and give it a try! read more

Vespaio Ristorante - Wagyu carp Carpaccio Nostra Moda* - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Before I go on writing this review, if you come here you MUST I TELL YOU MUST get the Green Beans!!!! Out of this world! The best vegetable I have ever had at any restaurant in my life. I would come back to Vespaio every day just to eat these green beans. They are buttery, garlicky, and cooked to perfect with the perfect crunch. Chefs kiss!! The service was great at Vespaio! We were sat right away, our waitress let us sample the wine before we ordered, she was attentive and very nice. The ambiance was cute, it was giving old Austin vibes. This restaurant was established in 1998 and glad to see it's still around and doing well. We were greeted with complimentary bread and bean dip- not a fan of the dip, I would have preferred butter or olive oil but I get they were trying to be unique. The bread is made fresh daily and was great. For our entrees we split the hanger steak frites - comes with ALOT of fries. Cooked perfectly. Flavor was fine. I've had butter but it was good. We also got a 1/2 order of the caico e Pepe and spaghetti in a vodka cream sauce. Both again good, but nothing special. I liked that they were extra saucy - I will say though Red Ash for their 1/2 portion sized pastas which are priced the same gives you more food. And last the green beans - incredible. You must order. Overall great experience at Vespaio! read more

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I had high hopes for this place, because I always walk past it and it seems high quality. The only positives to this were our waiter, Jordan, was nice and the suppli appetizer was good. Unfortunately, it was the best thing we ate all night. I'm not pleased when I pay over $60 a person and the best thing I ate all night was an appetizer. And this was after we sent back the calamari because it was over cooked and too tough. My Cacio e Pepe was hyped up by our waiter and lacked flavor, disappointed when the dish costs $27 and is apparently simple to make- for that price I expect some truffle or something expensive on it because I could make this at home. I only ate half and didn't even want the leftovers. My friend's bolognese was good but she wasn't pleased with the ratio of pasta to meat (too much meat). My other friend got (not pictured) Tagliatelle con fungi, which we all agreed was the most complex flavor out of all of our dishes. On top of that, we were talked to by the staff in a condescending manner on several occasions and waited nearly an hour for our entrées to come out. To put it in perspective, a couple sitting next to us, who was seated 20 min after us, were paying just as our entrees came out. The staff did not seem coordinated at all, we will not be back and I hope this review helps you before you go. read more

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Met a new friend, her parents, and some of her other friends for dinner here last week. I haven't been to Vespaio in years and it's still consistently good! They were really busy on a Thursday night and we were seated in what I think is one of their newer room sections. The food was yummy all around. I had the crab tortellini and others on the table had lasagna, salad, pastas, etc. We had some really nice wine too! Given how hard it is to park on South Congress these days, we were glad they had a complimentary valet option. I look forward to going back again and hopefully sooner than a few years from now. read more

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Cool, long-standing spot in South Congress. The fried olives with aioli were to die for. The ossobuco pasta dish was also really tasty. Ambience is old-school but still with some residual elegance. Nothing overtly fancy. Extensive wine list. Restaurant is set to close next month which is a bummer so I'd recommend folks try it before then. Might just visit again for the olives alone. read more

Tiny cups for pits for the olives Amazing drink, the Variation Gorgeous decor They have rabbit on the menu. If you're eating rabbit, you might as well have your dog & house cat as well. I can't comprehend how someone can eat a rabbit. That's really an entire lack of compassion for animals. Leave the rabbits alone. That being said, the prices for drinks are reasonable given the elegance of the restaurant, and the older bartender named Tom/Thomas was lovely. He said he loves "tiny forks," and I do too. My drink was remarkably excellent & very smooth, and I'm very sensitive to alcohol taste-wise given that I typically make a strange face when drinking a cocktail. Not at all with this one. It was perfect. Tom made my mother a Cosmopolitan but with less alcohol than it usually has bc she doesn't like to drink too much. She liked her drink! The decor is very nice. There's bar countertop seating but behind it are tall one-on-one seats that are very romantic for couples or close friends. There's a large booth in the corner that can fit 5-8, maybe more, people - for a celebration or a big group of friends. We didn't see the restaurant side because we only came in for a drink while walking along the avenue. Stay away from the rabbits. Get one as a pet instead. Cheers :) read more

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Tried to go in the weekend as a tourist but couldn't get in. Thankfully open seating at the bar so we were able to sit there to eat. Bartenders were awesome and recommended a good Italian wine to go with our meal. The items are really big definitely enough to share between 2 people. We ordered too much food (1 meal per person with 2 being a half pasta) and were unable to take back to the hotel :( read more

Vespaio Ristorante - Lasagne Alla Bolognese - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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I am in awh of this place. Came here for my birthday with my family and we had a fabulous experience!!! Parking was surprisingly easy. The restaurant is small from the outside but with plenty of seating inside and outside. I would recommend having a reservation! The food was beautiful and absolutely delicious!!! The burrata was my favorite. The lasagna was huge and sooo good, it had a whole sausage link on top! My brother loved his steak and mashed potatoes and my mom thought the shrimp pasta was creamy and filling. We all had leftovers since the portions are huge. The chocolate mouse was super chocolatey, which I loved. I overall had an amazing experience and can't wait to come again! read more

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Tourist trap! 4 stars... HOW? The service was extremely poor and the food is way overpriced. Go somewhere else. Our waiter didn't bring us complimentary bread. We noticed that the three other tables around us all received bread, but we didn't. I was going to ask, but he was never around to help, plus I wanted to see if he would actually notice. We needed to leave, so we asked for the check... and that's when he suddenly started doing random things instead of helping us. He was running around, folding another guest's napkin like we were at some upscale steakhouse, cutting bread (which was pretty amusing considering we never got any), and just generally avoiding us. Keep in mind, the restaurant was hardly busy. It was like watching how bad the service could possibly be. The price of the food is ridiculous. I understand that most places are expensive now, but when I'm paying $40 for pasta, I expect it to be more than an oily creamy goo. This place could be decent if they didn't advertise themselves as an upscale Italian restaurant. In reality, it's an Italian Chili's charging $80 per person. Not sure how this place has a 4.8 rating. It's a 2.5 at best, maybe a 3.5 if they seriously stepped up their service. As I said before, this is a tourist trap preying on hungry people after a day on South Congress. Save yourself time and money and go to one of the many great food spots Austin has to offer! This is not a representation of Austin cuisine, and I hope they can actually start representing this city better. read more

Omg randomly was walking down congress and saw this spot and spotted a couple outside and they were like this spot is really good so we walked in and the atmosphere was so dope first of the lighting in here was perfect nice and dim and slightly intimate the music selection and atmosphere was spot on the right vibes and our server Ricky was so amazing from the start to the end his service was so top notch literally from the time we sat down was overall an amazing dinner experience read more

Zuppa 1 sausage mussel chowder, too sour Bruschetta 3 small pcs of grilled octopus on bread Grilled Wild King Salmon 3 not flavorful, medium juicy read more

Truly the only good thing about this restaurant was the service. My friends' water was always immediately filled up, so shoutout to the staff. One of my friends has been raving about how Vespaio is her favorite restaurant in all of Austin, so I've been meaning to come. I...I truly don't get it. From the bread to the appetizers to the pasta to the portion sizes to the prices? Everything is ridiculously bland and overpriced. The bread comes with this really strange mashed spread. The appetizer are underseasoned. We ordered calamari, which was really soggy and didn't have enough of a fry to them. There was essentially no flavor. My friends ordered half portion sizes of the bolognese and cream vodka pasta while I ordered the full size, and I actually think they're scamming people with the portion sizes and prices. I swear my pasta was not twice the size of a half portion size. The only difference was the plate size, and as you can see from my photo, they didn't even fill the plate with pasta. It's just sauce. My friend's bolognese pasta came in a tiny bread plate and there were maybe 7 noodles total. It was incredibly watery, bland, and below mid. My other friend also ordered a half size of cream pasta, which also came in the same size bread plate. The noodles were cooked well, but that's all about I can say that's positive about the dish. My carbonara was just as terrible. The lamb was really gamey. Sauce was incredibly salty and one dimensional. I wish this had been a better experience, but almost $40 for my pasta and ~$20 for half size pastas is ridiculous. read more

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Overall, we enjoyed our dinner here and the outstanding server we had. My friend picked the appetizer, lamb brisket bruschetta with goat cheese. I didn't think I'd like it but I was way wrong. Pleasantly surprised by the combination of goat cheese and the lamb. Loved it We ordered 2 small (primi) pastas and 1 regular pasta. My favorite one was the tagliatelle con funghi, very rich and creamy, but the best tasting out of the 3. Pappardelle bolognese came second, a bit salty. Bucatini is probably my favorite type of pasta, and I order it when I see it on a menu. My all time favorite was the bucatini alla'amatriciana at Italic that's now closed. I haven't been able to find something similar. The bucatini here at Vespiao didn't turn out to be it. It was very brothy, almost like asian noodle soup. Unfortunately, we didn't like the tiramisu and the affogato. I really wanted to like the affogato, but I think there was too much ice cream for the amount espresso. read more

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We walked in to make a carry out order. The staff was professional and kind! The food is great and the atmosphere is festive. For the small amount of time we spent there, it was fully enjoyable! read more

Vespaio was quite interesting. I don't know if it was the chain of events that occurred during our dinner that led to this rating, in addition to our meal. We had reservations and were seated promptly. To our dismay, we were seated next to a table that had a gentleman that was clearly speaking to a volume as if he was speaking out of a loud speaker. I looked at my friend puzzled, and as I looked at the table across from me, a family was laughing at my face because they had endured their ENTIRE DINNER listening to this nonsense and said to us "Godspeed." How management did not walk up to this table and ask him to lower his voice is beyond me. The restaurant in general had a VERY HIGH noise level, and on top of it, they had music playing in the background, which was muffled because Sergeant No Table Manners was overbearing it. We ordered the bruschetta as the appetizer, which took a VERY long time to come out and when we got it, it was literally 4 cracker size pieces of bread with burrata and tomatoes on top. My friend and I were finished within 5 minutes, popping these like candy. Flavor was delicious, but portion size was WAY TOO SMALL. We would have hoped for at least 3 pieces per person, considering the sizes of the bread. We ate the bruschetta too fast to take a photo. On to entrees! Cue the music...or shall I say "Sergeant No Table Manners." We clearly looked over at the table several times and they had ZERO self awareness of how loud they were. All surrounding tables would glance over from time to time. My friend ordered the Panzotti filled with Butternut Squash and I ordered the scallop entree. The waiter asked if we wanted the smaller or larger portion. When asked about sizing, he said we would be satisfied with the smaller because it was very filling. When we received our meals, we legit laughed out loud. My friend had 3 pieces of pasta and I had TWO, I repeat TWO MINI SCALLOPS with some thin pasta in the middle, which I thought was hiding at least a third scallop. I was wrong. What in the actual hell?! Fastest dinner we ever completed, we're still hungry and table neighbor was still talking at a volume 30. No matter how hungry you are, order the large portion and get 2! We were not pleased with the wait of the food and/or portion size. The food quality was exceptional, but we left hungry. read more

Vespaio Ristorante - Scallop Entree - 2 scallops - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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The oldest restaurant on Congress for a reason. This place stands the test of time. The food is hot, fresh, authentic and always delivered by the most professional, courteous weight staff. It's beautiful and romantic, but also loud and bustling if you're meeting friends. I'm decently sure the supply might be the most important dish in Austin. I would do some terrible things if faced with the option of doing them or losing the suppli forever. The pasta dishes are freshly made, and they even do risotto made on the spot which does take time but it's worth the wait. I appreciate that there's different size options so that if you want to share, drown your sorrows, or just get a taste to satisfy an urge, there's an option for all of it. Every time I'm here I'm here for hours, and the waiter never rushes us, they never get fed up and they're always full of knowledge. Just low-key high key love Vespaio! read more

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Got in on Thursday night as a walk up. Front house staff were very nice. Very loud in the area we sat - need to add sound sound dampening tiles to the ceiling. Couldn't barely hear our part talk. Started with calamari - was bland and overcooked - rubbery. The marinara was good. There were two honey pizzas ordered, a pasta dish with mushrooms and spinach, and the lasagna. The pizzas came out with what appeared to be grease under the pizza but it was the hot honey. They were good. The pasta dish with that mushrooms and spinach was excellent. The lasagna was trash. It was well done, and it just wasn't very good - not a great flavor, and this opinion was shared by the table. Our waitress was pleasant but not very attentive , average at best. I wouldn't come back - for the price you'll pay for an entree (~$40) - just go to Red Ash. read more

Vespaio Enoteca was one of the first restaurants I tried when I moved to Austin. I was very sad to hear it closed and decided it was time to visit its sibling restaurant Vespaio. Upon arrival, you notice the fun/unique vibe. Eccentric decor, candle lit tables, and pops of color used throughout the restaurant get you excited for what's to come. We started with the Crispy Dauphine Potatoes and the Caesar Salad. The crispy potato appetizer was delightful! Fluffy mashed potatoes, fried and crispy on the outside sit atop a zesty Dijon sauce. The Caesar salad was okay, nothing outstanding really. Our main course was the Braised Short Rib Risotto and the Lasagna. The risotto was the star of the evening. The braised wagyu short ribs were falling apart, we didn't even need a knife! The sharpness of the Chianti tomato sauce cut through the extreme creaminess of the risotto so nicely. I do wish the risotto was a little thicker. The lasagna was okay, we definitely have had better for cheaper. For $35, this was not the lasagna we were expecting. Service was great! Our waters & cocktails never ran dry. Loved our date night overall. I did feel like there was a hit and a miss at each course. We will be returning to try more of the menu to see if we can improve this review! read more

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We live in the area but hadn't been to Vespaio in a few years, but decided to go sit at the bar and get some pasta and pizza. Leaving a review for anyone else who hasn't stopped by in a bit to say it was great; we shared the Caesar salad, cacio e pepe, and the hot honey pizza, which were all fantastic. We did the crostata for dessert with some vanilla gelato, which was also great. The only thing we would change would be to get some cocktail cubes for the drinks (which were great otherwise, just the small ice gets melty in the summer!), but all-in it was a neighborhood-y but high quality meal and we're excited to go back. read more