Caffe Italia Ristorante

Went once for lunch. It was horrific– will go through all the things that went wrong. When my friend and I arrived, there were barely any other customers. Despite being practically empty, the waiter acted disinterested in us and was rude at the end. Not only that, but the food was absolutely horrible.
I ordered a sandwich and was absolutely stunned to find what appeared to be HALF of a sandwich. The bread was extraordinarily soggy and the sauce was dripping from the bun. Also they advertised vegetables on it and not all the vegetables were on the sandwich.
My friends chicken Parmesan was edible, but she said that there was some very gummy, fatty parts deep fried and attached to the rest of the meat. She said she ate an entire mouthful of deep fried fat.
The waiter was MIA the entire time. I kept looking for him constantly– had to turn my head around and make constant awkward eye contact with the table directly behind me (despite there being virtually no other customers, they had to sit us directly next to an occupied table). It was so bad the other customer asked me if he took a lunch break. That joke would be the highlight of our meal.
I asked a question about their «famous» gelato for dessert and the waiter shrugged and said «um, it’s pretty popular I guess. I can’t give you any more information because I’ve never tried it. Better to just try it yourself.» And after he said it he just stared straight ahead waiting for me to say my response.
I was stunned by the rudeness, and asked for the check. I am baffled at the hype about this restaurant. I will never return.

Tried to go for dinner. Went and waited to be seated. The restaurant had plenty of people. The hostess then came out to tell us they were closed for a xmas holiday dinner. In February? As my 11 year old noted, xmas was 2 months ago. And, please put a sign outside or lock the door if you plan to close down your business for an employee only event. Geez! So awkward!
* Update: per the manager the restaurant is ALWAYS closed on Sundays. That’s too bad. You would think that a restaurant would be open on Sunday. It never even crossed my mind to check the door sign for hours for that reason. I wish the hostess had just said that rather than telling us that the restaurant was closed for a party for employees. Still have to say it was awkward and could have been handled better.

Had a meal there with the parents at Thanksgiving and was pretty disappointed. They burned the garlic in my dad’s marinara and after questioning this, the answer that came back from the kitchen? Not possible because there is no garlic in the sauce.
Wait, what?! Even if that were true (although being Italian and having made many a marinara, we were actually quite sure that those black flecks WERE in fact burned garlic) why would you even bother to make marinara withOUT garlic?
We had a spirited debate as to which was worse… and then decided that both were only eclipsed by the chef (s) essentially telling us that they didn’t know what they were doing back there. Knocking my rating back accordingly. 2.5 stars.

Last week stopped at the Caffe. Had a wonderful late lunch, the perfect pizza and tasty bologenese. We can always count on this fine restaurant for great food and service.

Have eaten there before, used to be really good. Had like two meals in the past two years and they were not memorable. However weird experience tonight, wakes in at 5:30 with the family, place is pretty empty, the owner says without a reservation he had no room, the place was empty. maybe it was about to be packed but that’s weird to me.

This place is simply great. Excellent food, attentive service, classic cocktails, large clean restrooms. Our server, Heather, is charming and efficient. This is our Go To restaurant in Bloomington.

Food is average. The music was playing loudly and was annoying. Not inclined to try again.

Ate here for the first time 9−17−15. It was Thursday evening, so they had ½ off appetizers. My friend and I ordered the fried calamari and bruschetta to share. Sangria’s were also $ 4. We loved the bruschetta and I would come back just for that. The calamari was a bit chewy, but we ate it all. Overall, we will be back to try more items.

Went for the first time this evening. It was a phenomenal experience! The drinks we ordered were delicious. Make sure to check out the craft selection of beers, they are so diverse. The pizza is very fresh and house-​made. The tiramisu cake was the perfect way to end the meal.

Went to dinner tonight. Ordered a sausage pizza. The pizza was HORRIBLE. There was an inch thick of cheese that was like rubber, it lacked flavor and was very salty. We had about two bites and left it — it was that bad. For $ 15, I expected a decent pizza. I could have gotten better pizza from Casey’s General Store.
We told the waitress we didn’t like the pizza and all she said was «okay» — she didn’t ask questions about it, try to make the situation better or anything. When she brought the bill, we were surprised they didn’t discount the pizza or remove it from the bill altogether. We asked her about that so she got her manager, Frank.
We told him we were surprised they were charging us full price when we only had two bites of it. His response: well you ordered it, so you’ll pay full price — that’s how it works. He was condescending. We told him that there was too much cheese on the pizza and his only response was «yeah, well it is a cheese pizza.» Actually, I ordered a sausage pizza thanks very much.
Frank didn’t care whatsoever about our negative experience and that we were unhappy with it. He was defensive, rude and a flat out jerk. No apologies made. No trying to help or even offering to make something else. He didn’t attempt to make the situation better whatsoever. It was take it or leave it and he made us feel horrible. He definitely did not care about us, the customers. It was very clear.
If you’re looking for a pleasant dining experience, avoid Caffe Italia like the plague. Frank doesn’t care about his customers.
— UPDATE ⁰⁹⁄₂₀ —
As you all can see below, Frank (manager and apparent owner) decided to respond to my review publically to save face. He said «I’m sorry you didn’t have a wonderful experience at Caffe’ Italia. The Best and Warmest Regard»
You had the opportunity last night to make it better and you didn’t care. You didn’t even try. So let’s be real, you’re not sorry. Don’t try to smooth things over publicly when you don’t mean it.
In addition, Frank decided to look up my full name from my credit card information on the receipt and post it online too. This is a violation of my personal information and it has been reported.
Careful folks if you write something bad about this restaurant. They will retaliate.

Found this place near our hotel via Unilocal!Sat at the bar, split a GF pizza, delicious! Had a couple drinks and watched the Bears win their 2^nd pre-​season game. Friendly staff, reasonably priced, we will definitely go back!

Great dinner w the family. Girls had pizza and butter noodles while the wife and I enjoyed their pasta w mussels and Italian sausage.
Girls finished w gelato, but we ended up eating it for them as they were stuffed.

Great pizza near the Bloomington airport. Gluten free crust was great and the toppings did not disappoint!

The very best Italian food I’ve had outside of my grandma’s kitchen! I can’t believe how amazing this food from scratch is. I had the Alfredo which had the smallest of kicks due to some red pepper flakes which elevated the entire dish. Boyfriend had the steak panini which was seasoned beyond this world. But I have to say, their current seasonal soup — tomato basil — will make you question everything you know about soup. Absolutely outstanding. I can’t wait to come back!

Honestly can’t think of anything bad to say. Wish i heard about this place earlier. I’ve been to a bunch of stellar Italian places around Illinois and this place hangs with the best of them. I’ve ordered take out every time so I can’t judge their service but I’m sure the food itself could only get better if dining in.
What i ordered: Linguine with clams (always try this at every italian place i try for the first time), Fried Calamari, and side house salad
Pros: Best Linguine and clams I have ever had (slight spice to it and cooked to perfection. Good calamari (not the best i’ve had but still good. they use a very good breading for the calamari). Large portions. Awesome house dressing for the side salad
Cons: Can’t think of anything other than price. If your a college kid like me it can be quite expensive but definitely worth it from time to time

One of the best parts of road trips is finding interesting, tasty, local restaurants along the way. Today, while heading down to Houston from Wisconsin, I estimated that we’d be in Bloomington, IL around dinner time. I promptly began perusing Unilocal for places to eat. Caffe Italia appeared promising, so we added that to our route.
We arrived at 6:30 on a Saturday night. The restaurant had several large tables of families and most of the 4-​tops were vacant. Thus, my parents and I were seated quickly. Our server didn’t come by, even to ask about water and drinks, until 10 minutes later. By then, we were ready to order and just placed our whole order right away.
Happily, the drinks and ciabatta arrived quickly, as did our fried calamari appetizer. The ciabatta was warm and soft. The fried calamari’s batter was too thick for me, but seasoned well. It also tasted a tad over-​fried. It took us a bit to get our server’s attention for more bread, but once we did, he brought it out quickly.
My father ordered the Alla Diavolo pizza, which had sorpressata, mozerella, and hot pepper flakes. They were very generous with the sorpressata, which made the pizza too salty. The uncut slices of meat also made it difficult to take a bite without pulling off all the toppings. The cheese was too thick and rubbery. I have had better pizzas from chain pizza stores.
My mom got the chicken marsala, which came with spinach, mushrooms, and slices of carrots. The chicken breast itself was very thick and cut in an odd way. It was also overdone, making the meat dry. The sauce was very creamy and rich, compared to the lighter marsala sauces I’ve had in other restaurants. This dish was all right overall.
I had the linguine with clams. I was hit with a wave of garlic when the server set the dish down. A generous amount of clams surrounded the linguine. The pasta tasted of garlic, red pepper flakes, and white wine. The sweet, briny flavors of the clams were pretty much lost rather than complemented. At least the pasta was cooked al dente.
We finished our meal off with a large gelato to share. I chose the Nociolla (hazelnut) and Caffe Espresso. The coffee one was wonderfully creamy and smooth, although the coffee could have been stronger. The hazelnut gelato had a lovely, sweet nuttiness and occasional flecks of hazelnuts. However, the texture was a little off-​putting, as it was a bit gritty.
Overall, Caffe Italia did not live up to the glowing Unilocal reviews I’ve read. The food was a little better than mediocre and the service, while friendly, was slow. The gelato was my favorite part of the evening. I probably wouldn’t come back in the future.

After multiple visits I am lowering the rating just a bit — I am still a fan (the definition of 4 stars) but with some caveats:
The food is very good. Kind of an amalgamation of authentic and Americanized Italian — for groups the more adventurous and the more, um, «Olive Garden-​y» fans of Italian food will both be happy. Some dishes have fallen flat on seasoning — just not enough flavor, while others are super punchy and flavorful. The mussels and clams dish and the salmon scotto in particular are fabulous, and the pizza is consistently excellent.
The limoncello and gelato are perfection. You should always save room for both.
The service is where the biggest caveat comes in — if you are seated near the bar, you are likely being served by someone is doubling as a bartender, and if it is busy, that means you will be ignored. We have had the same problem repeatedly, so when you are being seated, ask for a table on the other side of the divide from the bar.
Still, highly recommended.

Best gelato in Bloomington Normal. My daughter and I come here often just to have dessert. Try their magnificent slices of lemon cake or tiramisu cake too.

Great meal!
Try their mussel appetizer with white wine sauce — it is literally amazing! I could eat that all day. Such a good sauce to dip bread into.
Eggplant parmesan is prepared similar to lasagna (layers) and is very nicely done. Like everyone says, their pizza is very good too.
The staff was very friendly and professional! All in all I loved it.
For business travelers — close to State Farm and Bloomington Airport, great atmosphere for business diners.

Update time, once again!
I returned to Caffe Italia, hoping that they would redeem themselves after the poor showing I experienced in March. I even brought a date, so I put a lot of faith in the folks at Caffe Italia to do their thing. They definitely did their thing, and did it well. Total redemption from my last review.
We had a caprese salad, which was quite fresh. Great mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, not too much balsamic. I added some olive oil and enjoyed it immensely.
My date had the sangria and I had the special cocktail, a classic Negroni.
Our entrees were two specials:
A pizza consisting of garlic sauce, arugula, and prosciutto. This pizza was everything my last pizza at Caffe Italia wasn’t: Crispy, thin, adequately seasoned. It was a really nice, subtle pizza that was a great complement to our entrée.
The special pasta was a cellentani (curly macaroni) pasta, tomato sauce, eggplant, and shrimp. Again, this dish was a marked improvement from the last time I ate at Caffe Italia. The sauce was excellent, the pasta cooked properly, and the shrimps were fresh. Seriously, think about the last time you had fresh-​tasting seafood in this town. That’s impressive in its own right.
Dessert was a slice of tiramisu and stracciatella gelato. Both great.
All in all, a great meal. The food, presentation, and service was much better than the last time I ate at Caffe Italia. Of note: Micah, our server, did an excellent job taking care of us for the evening. I’ll definitely be back, and with more confidence.