Vino’s Ristorante
3611 1st Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids, IA, 52402
Vino’s Ristorante Menu
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Address :
3611 1st Avenue SE
Cedar Rapids, IA, 52402 - Phone (319) 363-7550
- Website https://www.vinosristorante.com
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :4:30 pm - 12:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : No
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Intimate, Romantic, Classy
Noise Level : Average
Good For Dancing : No
Alcohol : Full Bar
Happy Hour : No
Coat Check : Yes
Smoking : No
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
Categories
Italian Cuisine
The immense popularity of Italian cuisine globally isn't unknown. You can find an Italian Pizzeria around every corner of almost every city in the United States. Not to forget that in every house, people enjoy mac and cheese as comfort food. But it would be wrong to believe that Italian food starts with pizza and ends with good pasta as this Mediterranean country has much more to offer other than these two dishes. In Italian Cuisine, there is a high use of fresh tomatoes, all kinds of herbs, great quality of cheese, all types of meat, seafood and fresh handmade pasta. Many find it hard to believe that Italians have been making noodles long back.
Italian and Greek cuisines are always mistaken to be same, but they are poles apart. The primary difference between the two cuisines is the use of cheese in most of the Italian dishes. Italians love to cultivate their own cheese and process them as per their food requirement. It is believed that some cheese is so expensive that cheese producers secure them in lockers.
If you are bored eating the same old pasta or pizza, you can try some of the authentic Italian dishes like Risotto, Polenta, Ribollita, Lasagna, Fiorentina Steak, Bottarga, Ossobuco, Carbonara, Focaccia, Arancini and Supplì. Another item which Italians love to relish every morning is a good cup of Italian Coffee. Once you taste a freshly brewed cup of Italian Coffee, you might not visit Starbucks ever again. Authentic Italian food is made with heart and soul, so go find a restaurant where you can relish Italian cuisine in your city.
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Jody R.
Very disappointing evening at Vino's tonight. Party of four celebrating two birthdays. I made reservations 2 days ago, but upon arrival there wasn't a reservation! Hostess made us feel like we were trying to put one over on her. Eventually she said that though there was no reservation, they would take care of us, the wait would be about 15 minutes and would we like to wait in the lounge/bar. After 15 minutes we checked back and were told at least another 15 minute wait. Eventual wait was 45 minutes! Other people who arrived later than us were seated though. She didn't any offer any explanation or compensation for their error. Plenty of wait staff yet our waitress was inattentive at best. Our friend said it was inadequate service and we all agreed. Food was okay for the most part, but nothing wonderful. This place hasn't changed in years and it shows. Very dated decor, service like they don't care and rude hostess. Wish we had gone elsewhere. This was our last visit.
(2)Jeanne K.
Well this is the third year we made reservations on New Year's Eve and were dismissed. First year we had to wait almost 1-1/2 hours for reservation. Party of 10 so we sorta understood milking us at the bar. Now the last 2 years we made reservations for 2 at 7:00 for a bar table and both times we were early and they had given our table away. They said they had sat them earlier and had been there a while But interesting both times the people sitting at our table still had menus and full drinks.. We are not dumb or cheap, since we always get martinis and a bottle of wine our meal is far from inexpensive. Bottom line ...We left and went up the street to one of our absolute favorite places " NAPOLIS" and had a 20 minute wait and a FABULOUS night. They were packed and the service and food was outstanding, not to mention we paid 75.00 less for our meal ;)
(1)Jennifer P.
Not super impressed. Food was ok. Hostess hovered to take plates when fork was literally in my hand and food was still on the plate. Soda not refilled at all.
(2)JD C.
For the area, this place is really good. It wouldn't cut it in a major city but for Cedar Rapids, this is the place to go if you want italian food. The real gem here is the bar, R.G. Books. If you're planning a dinner here go early and hit the bar, which has a limited but adequate selection of high gravity brews (usually with some sort of special/happy hour deal) and a really cool atmosphere. A warning: If you're a lil' guy you may have trouble with the urinal because it comes up to your chest, but you can likely get a step stool if you ask nice.
(4)Khiem L.
I had one meal here and it was fantastic. It was a while back so remembering each entree is difficult. We made a reservation and easily walked in and had a table ready. The staff was super friendly and did everything they could to make the meal enjoyable. For appetizers, we had two things but the most memorable was a tuna sashimi plate. If they have it again I would highly suggest it. Each of the entrees was also very good but like I said it was a while back. If you want drinks afterwards. RG books is a great place to sit back.
(5)Mike M.
One of the fancier places in Cedar Rapids, despite the location, and the service is fantastic. It's nice to have a great locally-owned place like this nearby. If an out-of-towner asked me where to go for a quality meal and experience in CR, this is where I'd send them.
(5)Lisa V.
This was my second visit. Don't be weirded out by the bookstore. Once you're inside you feel like you're in a novel. Amazing food. This time out group tried almost every appetizer and we were not disappointed. The good was excellent. I had the seafood pasta and it was filled with seafood. Yum! I've tried their spicy sausage and shrimp pasta on a previous visit and it was great as well. Just the right amount of spice. The only downside this time was out server. Last time we had an awesome server this time the young girl was....we think drunk. She was a bit off and hardly checked on us and took forever to take our wine bottle order and lagged on takin our dinner order. Luckily it was raining outside and we were not in any rush but we hope she was just overwhelmed since our group of 12 had to sit in the bar area instead of the dining area because of another big party. Regardless the service will not stop me from returning. Great small gem
(4)sofiane b.
Ok, I was expecting better veal but it was just Ok, service was very good though
(3)Gina Marie H.
Being an Italian from the East Coast I was stoked to find this place in CR. Food is pretty darn good and nice wine selection. Very happy to have discovered this place.
(4)James L.
It feels funny to say, but my favorite Italian restaurant is Vino's in Cedar Rapids. Always a great meal and excellent atmosphere.
(5)Kate M.
First off, this place is really easy to miss. There is no big sign above the door like the other businesses in the strip mall. The only sign is a neon sign in the window. The service was just ok. Although I'm not totally sure if they are going for a nice restaurant, professional server vibe. Or, are they trying to do a more casual, family owned, "you're part of the family when you're here" kinda place? Hard to say. Either way, the server wasn't very attentive, but they were all very friendly. The food was really good. Everything was tasty and well made. The spaghetti and meatballs was very good. The marinara was a tad spicy, but not too bad. Being such a simple dish makes spaghetti and meatballs very easy to mess up. There aren't that many flavors going on and if it's not made well you can taste it right away. The tiramisu was very good, definitely house-made. The table next to us had a 5 year old who asked for ice cream. The manager (or maybe just host?) told him they didn't have ice cream but he'd see what he could find for him. He brought out a creatively served chocolate pie with Reese's pieces. He had cut up a piece of chocolate pie to kid friendly pieces and scattered Reese's pieces all over the plate; this was definitely not on the menu. The little ones face lit up, he was delighted. Our server may not have been that great, but seeing this gave me hope for the service here. The wine list is pretty big and the drink menu had some tasty concoctions on it too. Their wine by the glass flight is a good value for trying a few wines with your meal.
(4)Serhan O.
Just had dinner at this establishment. Overpriced and greasy Italian food, combined with a crabby attitude server is not a good combination you wanna have on your birthday. The prices were expensive for comparable places, picked a pesto sauce pasta. Added chicken for another five bucks, whick came pan-fried with a thick coating on. The pesto sauce was too much and greasy. The server (I think her name was Lanessa) was quite uninterested. We did not order appetizer or bottles of wine, so she did not stop by the table as much. She kept passing by our table and looking at my empty coke glass, but not offered to refill it until I had to ask. She spilled cheese on our table during service and never bothered to clean. When we tried to pay the credit card did not work, and she was loud and rude when she was explaining that. We paid using another card, and when she brought back the credit card she stuck the card into the cheese pile that never cleaned. Bad food, bad attitude, never coming back....
(1)Jessica W.
Vino's is hands down my favorite place to grab a drink and chat or have dinner with a friend or family...or in my most recent case, take my best friend from out of town to the lounge, having a couple drinks, moving into the dining room for dinner and enjoying ourselves immensely in a wonderful, "grown up" environment with absolutely delicious food and wonderful, friendly service. We sort of lived there for the evening...literally! We arrived for drinks around 6, and left around 10! Love, love, love this place. Would recommend it to anyone.
(5)Katherine L.
Vino's is by far, the best Italian restaurant in Cedar Rapids. The menu is limited, but they have an excellent selection of fish, poultry, and vegetarian dishes. The wine list is extensive, and there is a full bar in the restaurant. They offer a wine flight menu, which is great if you want to try a couple of different types of wine. This is a great place for a date or an anniversary dinner.
(5)Bill D.
Always a great meal whether for business or an intimate meal. Great selection and quality. Friendly staff.
(4)Willis M.
My wife and I have been here a dozen times. By far the best Italian restaraunt in CR. All of their ingredients are fresh, the atmosphere incredibly intimate and romantic. If you're on a date, get a table on the R.G. books side, it's cozier. It would be the perfect hangout for hipsters... except they play blues and jazz as background music softly to add to the ambiance.
(5)P R.
Pretty good. Started with the calamari - excellent. The salad was a below average - the balsamic dressing was good, but the salad itself was old with several pieces of browned lettuce. Had the veal marsala - the sauce was very good but the veal itself was only okay.
(3)Tara R.
Doesn't look like much from the outside and would be easily missed if you didn't know it was there, but inside it is very charming although for being Cedar Rapids' signature Italian resturaunt, the decor and ambience could be stepped up a notch. The wait staff was very friendly and very attentive. Tables for two to six people, although a few could probably be pulled together if you needed more room. The menu comes printed on a sheet of paper, probably because their menu changes. I had the ravioli florentine, which was delicious. Side salad and bread provided with entrees. A lounge is connected (RG Books), and you can also get Vino's food there.
(4)Jake O.
Delicious! Best Itallian in town. It's been a while so I can't tell you what I recommend, which I usually like to do, but I know that this is a place I'd happily go back to in an instant. Skip Biaggi's, go here!
(5)Daddy O.
You've had a rough day. You get home, open the cupboard and nothing's looking good. So you decide to go out to eat. Hmm. Italian sounds good. I know, Vino's! Only, it's in a strip mall...and the entrance is so small it's VERY easy to miss. To make matters worse, the front window area and actual restaurant is obscured by a floor-to-ceiling bookcase that you have to walk through! You might mistake it for a bookstore, but once inside there's no mistaking you're in for a dining delight. This is by far my favorite restaurant in Cedar Rapids. I used to come here on special occasions for some authentic, delicious, and reasonably priced Italian food and wine. Staff were always friendly, the food outstanding, and the ambiance is really special.
(4)Liz A.
So this is a hidden gem in a strip mall - a crappy one at that. Half of it is a bar that looks like a library - reminds me of a gentleman's club. The other half is a nice restaurant - primarily for couples or groups of 4; no more since the place is tiny. I went twice and had FANTASTIC meals both times. If I am ever in Cedar Rapids, THIS is where I will go to eat. I am not sure if they change the menu often but I had the tortelini dinner with white sauce, prosciutto, and peas. I would definitely recommend to anyone, especially if you are sick of the chains,
(5)k r.
I've eaten here half a dozen times. They are consistently excellent in both food and service. The place is hard to find. Ask for recommendations and go with it. Check out their wine fleet price as well. Its fairly small, so make reservations during busy times. Hanging out in the bar is great too.
(5)Susanne D.
Excellent food and service! We had small children in our party and the server was very accommodating. Recommend reservations on weekend nights, it filled up quickly. We had a variety pasta and seafood entrees. Everyone was pleased.
(4)Scott L.
My wife and I had a great dinner here. Very cozy place, nice place inside -- even though the outside looks bad as it is part of a gross strip mall. The service was excellant. The cocktails great -- especially the hand-crafted Margarita with fresh squeezed fruit juice. Food was very good -- especailly the Chicken Picata. We will go back again for sure!
(4)Carla I.
My absolute favorite Italian restaurant in Cedar Rapids. Delicious Italian cuisine, and a fun library-themed bar connected to it. Everyone is very friendly. Reservation recommended.We always have our special nights out there.
(5)Lucie B.
Friendly and accommodating staff, great music, fabulous atmosphere, delicious food, comfortable and inviting lounge space. Definitely a diamond among the rough in Iowa.
(5)Amanda B.
In the heart of the oldest and crappiest strip mall in town this is what real Italian cooking should be. It's expensive but worth it. No mixes, no pre packaged food made by so called chefs that haven't been to culinary school. Try the tiramisu!
(5)Jessica P.
LOVE this place. Came here twice, highly recommend the spicy Italian sausage meal. INCREDIBLE! also, the mozzarella and salami appetizer is to DIE for.
(5)Mark B.
This is easily the best Italian restaurant in Cedar Rapids. I've yet to have anything less than great food there. A great option for an appetizer, entree, and dessert was a flight of several different wines to go along perfectly with your meal.
(5)Olie R.
This is easily my favorite Italian restaurant in town. I love the ambiance and also the bar area. They have a great wine selection too. Their seafood is always fresh. I've had the classic dishes like chicken or eggplant parm, and also their specials. No complaints. The staff is also really great. On weekends, I would highly suggest that you make a reservation. Enjoy!
(5)Jacqueline F.
I have eaten here once and the experience was very memorable. I took my boss here for a business dinner. We split an appetizer, each had an entree and dessert. The food was very good. Service was good considering there was a work party going on that night as well.
(5)KT B.
Vino's/RG Books is one of our absolute favorite restaurants in Cedar Rapids! The food is always delicious and fresh, and the service is perfect - attentive but not annoying; relaxed but not slow. Try the baked mozzarella appetizer and do a wine flight!
(5)Anthony S.
Vino's has always been a place I have enjoyed going both for the atmosphere and food. We went the other night go dinner and I had the special which was sea bass and my wife had the Frutti de mare. As soon as I got my entree I knew the fish was not bass. My wife asked me not to say anything at the time. When her entree came out the fish that came was the exact same as what mine was. So I asked the waiter when he came back what the fish was on her dish and he indicated mahi mahi. I took another look at hers and no way was it that fish either. Very disappointed to be purposely duped by the waiter, chef and restaurant. I won't be going back anytime soon.
(2)Anavmy F.
Friendly service, nice atmosphere and good food. Easy to miss since the restaurant's sign is on the window.
(4)The Grand D.
A very fine place to get a steak. It's located in a book store, and is exactly the kind of atmosphere I want in a nice restaurant/bar. It's classy without a hint of snootiness, which few places can pull off. If I had to pick a restaurant to live in, this would be a serious contender. It's probably the best restaurant in Cedar Rapids, definitely the best of the 10 or so I've been to.
(5)Scott Y.
Vino's is definitely my kind of Italian place. The portions are big by Northeast standards. (It seems like people have a slightly different definition of "big" in Iowa, though. So take my opinion with a grain of salt.) They don't skimp on the garlic, and they don't seem to take shortcuts. That combination generally makes for a nice meal. I had the penne a la vodka, which was very good. The sauce was not so rich as to overpower the chicken and sausage, nor so thin that it served no purpose. What I especially liked was that it seemed like they went light on the seasonings to allow the considerable spice from the sausage to add character to the sauce. My wife ordered the chicken parm. I had a significant helping of it, and really liked it. It seemed like they may have made it the old fashioned way (in an oven, as opposed to a deep fryer). Regardless, it tasted like it had been made the old fashioned way, which was awesome. I also ordered French onion soup, because you have to try French onion soup if it's home made. I thought it was quite good. The only part of the meal that was a disappointment was the salads that my wife and her grandmother ordered. I could tell by looking at them that they weren't going to be very good, and the fact that the waitress didn't feel compelled to ask why both salads were going back virtually untouched tells me that they're aware of the issue. Who orders salad at an Italian restaurant, anyway? I also liked the bread. They serve garlic bread as their standard table bread. Another cool thing was that they allow you to build your own tasting flight of wines, but I didn't partake in that.
(5)Joshua R.
The food was incredible! I had the chicken piccata and it was the best I have ever had. The staff was very nice and the atmosphere was awesome!
(5)Mary Q.
I've only been there twice. Scallops, veal, pasta were all great, perfectly prepared. Nice wine and cocktail selection. Prices were cheap. A nice simple menu. Very classy. Staff was friendly and knowledgable. A little hard to spot the place, they could use better signage.
(5)Matt U.
Having a rare night out with some friends and sans kiddos, we made the trek up to CR to check out this spot that Yelpers had raved about online. The locale, is hidden discretely in a strip mall and with a storefront that's both nondescript (read: little signage) and looks like a bookstore (it's also the entrance to the library themed bar), Going straight through the bookcase takes you to the bar and going to the right takes you into the restaurant. We had a table for four at 7 pm and the place was pretty packed when the showed up...so much so that they ran out of menus. Not a huge issue, but something we haven't come upon much, well ever. There were 3 menus for the table so we certainly managed (first world problems!). Our waitress was a very nice lady who told us she's been there for quite some time, but was less familiar with the drink menu that she should have been. For drinks we had a smattering of beer, martini's and a beer cocktail. She wasn't familiar with the stout diplomat (stout beer w/ a shot of dark rum), but brought everything out and let me mix it up which worked fine. She brought the wrong beer to our guests twice and wasn't super familiar with the beer list, but again, not a huge deal. For appetizers we shared the Sausage and Polenta dish as well and the baked Mozarella. The Sausage/Polenta was good, but not great. Decent flavor and a little kick. The Baked Mozarella on the other hand was phenomenal! Cheese wrapped in meat, wrapped in some romaine lettuce, topped with roma tomatoes and a balsamic reduction, sliced and ready to go. A must try for anyone here. Familiar enough for the less adventurous, but different enough for those wanting to try something new - surely worth checking out. We sampled four main dishes and split portions among our group. The chicken marsala was pretty standard and well presented - a good safety dish for sure! The Italian Sausage Diavolo packed the promised punch implicit from the name and was solid, buy again, didn't blow anyone away. My better half had the Roasted Pepper Italiano with Veal. It looked to be the most interesting thing on the menu, but unfortunately wasn't overly flavorful. It seemed like everything was cooked separately and then combined. Rather than being able to enjoy each others company while sauteing, this was more akin to siblings being forced to sit next to each other and told to look as if they enjoy each others company. Finally, I had the pepper crusted Tuna with orzo mac 'n cheese. I was really excited about the dish and was underwhelmed in the end. The tuna wasn't flavorful or firm and the orzo was pretty bland. As with the other dishes, the presentation was nice, but the food was just middle of the road. For dessert we all split some Tiramisu. It was very good and ended the night on a high note. The dessert selection included 6 or 7 pie/cake varieties, most of which were made in house. Our waitress told us how one of the selections was "homemade", just not here at the restaurant - an odd case of TMI. Again, not a huge deal, but a bit off from what we're normally used to. In the end, Vino was a nice Italian spot, but was a tough sell at $50 per person for the night. The highlight of the meal was the baked mozarella and our entree's were all a little more bland than I'd expect for a place of this caliber. Combined with a waitress who was very helpful, but had enough little issues that they all became very noticeable by the end of the night and we'd found a nice place that we probably won't be trekking 40 minutes for in the future.
(3)