My husband and I went for a date night and it was amazing. Customer service was great! The hostess was nice and our waiter was kind. The ambiance and vibes were great. The food was delicious! I did not take a picture of my dish but my husband's pasta was yummy and so was the steak. We did not have time to try the dessert but definitely coming back to try it! read more

Zarletti - Bruschetta - Italian Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Best food ever! Great service and we met amazing friends at the bar! Tiramisu was so yummy! We started off with Brushetta--A MUST! read more

The best tiramisu in Milwaukee! Occasionally I will stop by and just grab a dessert to go. However, love to come here and have dinner as well. Cute Italian vibes. Must try the calamari! As it is stuffed with crab and so different than your typical starter. Service is always great. Make sure to put in a reservation as this place is busy all the time (yes, even on a Monday)! read more

This one was on my wishlist for a while. To start, I entered the restaurant with a group of my family, and I had walked in first. Received a palatable dirty look by the hostess, who didn't say a word to me but smiled at my family as they succeeded me. Off to a good start. Then, we are sat and greeted by our waitress and a trainee. They ask for our drink orders and then come back to pour us water. The trainee is handed the pitcher, and then reaches for my glass. She begins pouring the water all over the empty seat which was infront of her (thankfully no one was there), and my brand new purse was not spared. I grabbed my bag which she had soaked only to receive a meek, "Sorry..". The waitress was more helpful with this, but I was genuinely pretty shocked that the trainee was so unapologetic. Seemed like she had to force that sorry out of herself. All of this occurred before we even had food infront of us. The caprese appetizer was good, as was my main course, the ragu. For dessert we had the banana ice cream, which was very good. It's a shame that the food was overshadowed by the overall experience here. read more

Very very good homemade ravioli. I have never had a ravioli so large and packed full! Highly recommend the ravioli. The carbonara was unique. There was something off about it but couldn't put my finger on it. Nonetheless it was cute, accommodating, and has very knowledgeable staff. The cocktails are outstanding as well read more

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This restaurant has a drawback or two but it's a great place to eat. Drawbacks would be space and price. It's a bit cramped, so much so that a waiter accidentally bumped into me and other patrons took a beat to figure out the best path to exit, it's probably a minimum of $50 per person to eat there after tax and tip. For starters I had their old fashioned. It's one of the best I've had. They use amazing bitters. Of note was the periodic emergence of a cinnamon taste throughout the drink. Lovely. For appetizers we had the gamberi (shrimp) and bruschetta. They did not preload the garlic toast with the bruschetta which kept it from being soggy. The tomato basil garlic balsamic had a perfect balance and did not overpower. Only thing they could improve on the gamberi is making it tail off and 100% peeled but it was delicious. We split a house salad and picked the balsamic dressing. It came lightly dressed and not over powering with a very interesting raw cucumber capellini, cherry tomato halves, and croutons. It could have used more cherry tomato but was a good and slightly unique salad. I had the veal al limone for my entree. It came out perfectly. It had a wonderful crispiness. They served it with one of the best reductions I've ever tasted. I tried to make out its contents: lemon, of course, perhaps white wine, at times it seemed like carmelized onion then pecorino Romano. It was an amazing flavor experience, a true workout for the palate. We finished with the bananas dessert and the almond flour chocolate cake. I had expected the cake to be dense but instead it was fairly fluffy and cake like. We preferred the bananas dessert of the two. It had a cookie-like base, a sweet vanilla Carmel cream, and banana slices. read more

Terrific food, awesome Italian wine list, by the bottle and by the glass. Service is excellent. Constantly rotating menu of classical northern Italian dishes. Valet parking Wednesday-Saturday. Warning! This place is very popular with lots of regulars. Make a reservation. Don't assume you can walk in and get a table. You might luck out... But don't risk it! read more

Stopped in for dinner last night. We sat outside to enjoy the weather. We decided to start with moscato and water as our drinks. As an appetizer we went with the Calamari, It was better than what I thought it was going to taste like. The service was excellent! read more

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I had the Vitello al Limone Strauss and my wife had the Ragu Della Casa. Both were delicious and just the right portion size. To drink, I got the Downtown Old Fashioned, which I also enjoyed. The server was attentive and checked in regularly. read more

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Another high class restaurant in the area turned us away because they overbooked. We were distraught and were able to walk in to this place just in time for the last table. They were welcoming, the server was kind. The place was full but not loud. The food was excellent. My wife had the pasta and I had the daily special. I would come here again and again if I could. Everything looked and smelled wonderful. Next time, I will take pictures. read more

One of the best places to get pasta! I took my wife and we had a great time and the food was fantastic! not to mention the lemoncello huge fan!! read more

This restaurant is incredible! A few things to note - we had a celebratory ladies dinner and called an hour before our dining to try to find a table. The restaurants host was kind, attentive, and polite. She was able to find us a table last minute that would fit, and asked if outside was okay. I shared it was, as I thought the temperature would stay warm, and we really wanted a nice dinner that was close to our hotel (The Pfister). We arrived at our reservation start and the outdoor patio was beautiful, however we quickly realized how chilly it was once the sun set. The host greeted us right away and helped start drinks and appetizers. Our server arrived and he was perfect, efficient yet friendly. We had a situation with one of our ladies who needed to leave the dinner, so our group shrunk to 7 due to an unexpected situation. Due to the weather and size adjustment, we asked if there was room for us inside. They helped us move our whole table into the bar (which was perfect for our group) and ended up finishing our meal inside (THANK YOU FOR HELPING US MOVE INSIDE!). Finally, our bartender (new gentleman) was so attentive and polite, while creating some fun banter with our group. The food was UNBELIEVABLE, and the drinks were perfect. We had the absolute best time given the circumstances and would absolutely come back. Thank you to Aileen (host), John (server), Dan (bartender), Karen (manager) for making our night so special. - the ladies who caused a ruckus! read more

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We went to celebrate two birthdays and the staff and server were outstanding in recognizing the event and giving us great service throughout the meal. We started with the baby stuffed calamari and some olives. Appetizers were good. For the main course we had the pistachio crusted grouper and the mushroom ravioli. Both entrees were outstanding and will definitely be what brings us back to this restaurant! read more

One of our favorite restaurants in Milwaukee. Short walk from the Pfister hotel. The italian food served is always great. Nice wine selection. We prefer to sit inside rather than on the sidewalk and reservations are suggested especially in the Summer months. read more

Zarletti - Ragu Pappardelle - A plate of pasta with a tomato-based sauce, garnished with grated cheese and herbs, accompanied by a small dish of olive oil and grated cheese. - Italian Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Third time eating here. Service is superb. Food was outstanding. Server helped us celebrate twin birthday with homemade Limoncello! Exquisite! Keep it going. read more

1. Such a fun restaurant. The menu is incredible. So many wonderful choices. Most of the pastas were homemade and you can tell. The panzanella was wonderful and so fresh. The osso buco was tremendous. 2. Our server was so fun. She made great recommnedations. 3. Just a great spot in downtown Milwaukee. I am ready to go back. Honestly one of the best italian restaurants I have been to... read more

Went for a fun girls night. Ordered shareables, pizza was good just wish it was a little more crispy. We enjoyed ordering different drinks and trying them. Would definitely recommend the barrata cheese!! read more

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Food was good here. The service was great as well. Started with meatballs and stuffed calamari appetizers. I thought the stuffing calamari was going to be more tender than it was. The carbonara was good but we prefer without the addition of the little lemon flavor. The short rib ravioli special was very good. The chicken saltimbocca and Ossobucco were good as well. The banana dessert was one of the best desserts I have ever had! read more

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We had a great dinner at Zarletti! We had a reservation which I would recommend and we wrapped up what we were doing early and showed up around 20 min minutes early and they were able to accommodate us (our reservation was at 5:45). They had quite a few specials available and both of us really enjoyed our meals! They started us off with bread, oil, and Parmesan before we had our main courses. The service was awesome and the restaurant had a great ambiance to it and it's both indoor and outdoor seating options. I would definitely recommend Zarletti for any dinner, but especially for a special occasion! read more

Zarletti - Funghi Portobella alla Griglia - A pasta dish with mushrooms, grated cheese, and herbs served on a white plate, with a glass of water nearby. - Italian Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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We had a party of 20 that they were able to section the back for us to be semiprivate. We were seated in an L though. However, we had great services and portions were large. The best part was the dessert selection. For our party, we decided to try a flight of different desserts. We were satisfied read more

What an excellent find. Had dinner here before the Counting Crows show this week. A bit early so we were able to eat at the bar - my favorite place to eat. The bartender was personable and on her game. Provided recommendations on the menu as well as local things to do. She was very helpful, and wish I had gotten her name! The food was outstanding. My Osso Buco was delicious. The texture and flavor of the veal created a mouthfeel that's almost illegal. Lol. The owner comped us limoncello that was made in house. Omg, took me back to my visit to Florence Italy. Very generous. Raviolis were house made and equally delicious. Overall, an excellent dining experience. Highly recommend. read more

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Food: I have never tried calamari that wasn't fried so this was a new fun experience. The calamari was chewy but delicious, especially the stuffed crab. All the chewing was worth it! Im not the biggest fan of tomato sauce but this was doable. The best part of Ragú was the hand pulled duck. The noodles were long and satisfying but the sauce lacked. The mushroom pasta was the best meal. Everything in the pasta complimented each other perfectly. Service: We had a trainee waitress and she did great at taking orders. A trained waitress was there to cover anything she missed. While the waitress checked in often, there were big waiting periods in between when all we needed was the check or our leftovers. Towards the end, my group got cold waiting for the waitress to come back. Ambiance: We had a table outside and it was a pretty chilly evening. The tables were set up nicely and had a candle to set the mood. If I go here again, I will definitely get a table inside since the staff will not let you go inside if you're cold. read more

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I ordered what Karen, the bartender recommended, and it was a 10 out of 10. The service is always top-notch. It's pricey to go ($80 all in). However, that includes all courses and drinks. Totally worth every penny. read more

Zarletti - Noodles with sausage - Italian Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

We went for my boyfriend's birthday. They knew ahead of time. Gave us a great window seat! Food, service and ambiance was wonderful! Will so be back! read more

Zarletti - Italian Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I travel to Milwaukee once a year for work and every time I have to get food from this restaurant. Every time I am extremely pleased with the quality of food. I recommend it to all of the people I work with who visit as well. Excellent job! read more

This place is amazing. Friendly staff, good food and great service. We had a late reservation for 8 people. We arrived early but our table wasn't ready yet so we had to wait outside or across the street at a bar. It was chilly out so we chose to wait in the doorway. But sure enough 845 rolled around and our table was ready. The waitress was really nice and very personable and she got our humor. There was a variety of dishes ordered. And the portions were manageable and not overwhelming as some Italian places. I loved my pasta carbonara with fresh pappardelle pasta, pancetta. It was delicious and I wished I had more. My bf ordered the special of the day veal ossobucco with gnocchi. The veal was outstanding and very tender. The bone marrow melted in my mouth. The place is small and you have to make a reservation to guarantee a table. It is worth it. I will definitely eat here again. read more

Zarletti - Veal Ossobuco with gnocchi - Italian Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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My husband and I booked a reservation for my birthday at Zarletti and had a very good experience. We were both blown away by how delicious the food was. It really exceeded our expectations! I had a truffle oil and mushroom pappardelle and my husband had the bolognese, both were exceptional. My favorite dessert of all time is tiramisu, which a lot of places get wrong, but not Zarletti! Their tiramisu is an old family recipe and it is obvious in the taste. A really satisfying tiramisu with lady fingers well-soaked with coffee. My only critique is that the staff should be more knowledgeable about the wine list than they were. Our server did not seem to know much about wine and struggled to recommend a wine to my liking. I was not pleased with the recommendation as it really wasn't aligned with what I said I was looking for. I was much happier with the wine I selected for my 2nd glass. It's a small thing really. Overall we were very happy with our experience. read more

Enjoyed a delicious birthday dinner at Zarlettis. My husband and i both had had the salmon with vegetables. I had a house salad and my husband had a cup of minestrone soup. The staff were pleasant and knowledgeable. We sat at a corner table in the back, an ideal location. For dessert we ordered the chocolate cake and banana custard. The banana dessert was delicious! Better than the chocolate cake. The seasonal vegetables were asparagus. Very tasty! The Salmon was a large serving and delicious. read more

Zarletti - House salad with vinaigrette dressing. Minestrone soup and warm bread. - Italian Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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One of the best Italian restaurants I've found. I come to Milwaukee once a year for work and never miss a chance to eat here. Food, atmosphere and service are all impeccable. My server John was top notch read more

Zarletti - A dish featuring cooked chicken with gravy and herbs is served on a white plate at a restaurant table with wine glasses and a candle. - Italian Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Excellent service, food, cocktails. The banana custard was particularly unique. Shrimp appetizer had great depth of flavor.

One of the better Italian Restaurants I've been to. Family owned. Nice atmosphere and service was very good. There four of us and everyone order something different and I would have liked any of the dishes. Menu is perfect size for kitchen to be able to everything well read more

We visited this place last Saturday for the first time and wow....this is a great little Italian restaurant! I would definitely recommend making a reservation (which we had). We really liked the ambiance of the place (for us at least). Our server, John, was outstanding throughout the whole meal. The homemade pasta was delicious, as was the dessert. Definitely recommend this place! read more

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Came here with a large group and had an excellent time. Service was great, friendly...we tried a number of apprizers (arancini - 4 stars; polpette - 4 stars; calamari - 2 stars (chewy and sauce not great); burrata - 4 stars). My wife also got a half Italian chopped salad and that was excellent (5-stars). For the main entree, I had the cavatappi salsiccia Marsala and it was excellent (5-stars), had some spice to it, was creamy, flavorful, every part of the dish cooked perfectly. My wife enjoyed the wild mushroom ravioli as well. read more

Stopped by for dinner with a group of friends. The ambiance was relaxing and dimly lit, and the service was kind and friendly. Since it seemed like a fancier place, we dressed up, but some people were wearing casual clothing (jeans). Our dinner started off with some complimentary bread with olive oil and parmesan. If you order a pasta dish, they'll offer to make you homemade pasta for an upcharge - I didn't choose to do this, and I still thought my pasta was fantastic. Overall, it was a lovely experience, and I could see this being a cute date night spot! read more

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Solid food, good ambiance and service. Definitely recommend. Ate here with three colleagues. Meatball app was good, but not memorable - would try other apps next time. Cream of broccoli soup with Asiago cheese was very tasty. Salmon with Brussels sprouts was very good. Pasta with oil, red pepper flakes and herbs was very tasty, but the portion was on the small side. The pappardelle with mushrooms was very good and it was a generous portion - colleague also ordered spicy sausage with it which was great. read more

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Zarletti's. Our server, Nate, wonderfully guided us through our dinner. Zarletti's offered delicious choices that we shared, from antipasto to pasta and entrée. The portions were bigger than I expected. We laughed that the crêpe with Maryland crab was more like a burrito. Dinner was well paced and comfortable, yet allowed us to get to our performance at the Marcus Center with plenty of time. We started with some fun cocktails, a spritz Venezia aperole and Amalfi sunset (Italian margarita). We split a pera e Gorgonzola salad, which was lightly dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette. We immediately noticed the antipasto, crespelle di granchio e funghi. We shared this delicious crêpe with crab and mushroom. Loved the browned sage butter. Our pasta choice was the salsiccia al Marsala. They split the plate and we completely enjoyed it. We ended our meal with an entrée. My wife had the short rib special. I had the Salmone in Padella. Both delicious. Zarletti's offers a fine dining experience with some of the best Italian cuisine in Milwaukee. read more

Great Italian restaurant in Downtown Milwaukee. Food and service were both excellent. Cozy decor as well.

Visited Zarletti for our anniversary. The restaurant was so charming & romantic perfect for an anniversary! My husband ordered Pasta allá Bolognese & I ordered Pasta Salsiccia al Marsala and they were both very delicious pastas after a few bites I just think the walnuts in my pasta got a little too sweet & overwhelming. I definitely want to go back and try other dishes though :) read more

Zarletti - Pasta Salsiccia al Marsala Pasta Bolognese - Italian Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Again, I wish Yelp had half stars, because I would give Zarletti a solid 3.5*. Service felt rushed. Wine selection was good. I did start to worry when I saw the option of adding shrimp/sausage/chicken to your pasta-never a good sign if you want an authentic experience. Stuffed calamari dish was tasty but uninspired. Sage/brown butter ragu ravioli dish was pretty good in terms of sauce but pasta itself was way too thick. I only liked rabbit ragu because I am a fan of rabbit meat, hubby thought it was nothing special. House Tiramisu was the winner of the night and complimentary home made limoncello was a pleasant and delectable surprise. read more

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Spent a night in Milwaukee along our journey through Wisconsin celebrating a 50th birthday weekend. Am I so glad we stopped into Zarletti's! We started at the bar with a boulevardier and a Downtown Old Fashioned - Perfectly constructed drinks! We started with a stuffed calamari appetizer. Wow! The calamari was poached in this amazing sauce and then served with perfectly grilled crusty bread. I normally seek out dishes that I will never get around to cooking myself, so Ossobuco is one that I frequently land on. I have probably had it well over a dozen times at Italian restaurants all over the country. I have finally found the best one! The shanks were perfectly cooked and. the sauce was rich and heavenly. The Parmesan gnocchi was delicate and a perfect blend. If you are an ossobuco fan, stop looking at the menu options and get this dish. You are welcome. The misses had the bolognese pasta with pappardelle instead of the normal pasta. We would strongly recommend this substitute. The pasta and the sauce are amazing together. We finished our meal by sharing a delicate and rich piece of tiramisu. All-in-all, a really fantastic night out in Milwaukee! read more

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