This is a family staple of ours. We have been going here for years. It is exactly what you see. Old school Italian flavors. No frills or fuss. We love to get their takeout when a nice meal is wanted but not the cooking. Their spiedini's and their vodka sauce (any dish with it) are both great options.
(4)
Jason R.
I have been to Garozzo's before and it is usually consistent. We had their stuffed artichoke for an appetizer and it was great as usual. We both ordered the special which was a petite filet and a chicken spiedini. I had never had their chicken spiedini so was excited to try it. The filet was nothing to write home about. It was sliced thin and smothered in cheese. This is not how a filet should be served, ever! The spiedini was not bad, not quite as flavorful as I expected. Overall the service and atmosphere made up for the lack luster filet. But will probably go to Jasper's next time.
(3)
Bill K.
Went during KCRW and made reservation thru Open Table. Still had to wait 15 min to be seated in the bar/lounge. This was at 1:30 too??? Service was slow, asked for Olive Oil for bread ? Busboy finally got it when I asked a 2nd time. Tried the so called House Special Spedini 3 ways. If you like sauce and lots of it, this is your place. Seems like they load up on the sauce to cover the lack of food quality. Cannaloni was a plate of sauce. Canoli was worst ever ate. I have ate at better Pizza places in NYC than this place. Great advertising on the radio, but lack of service and food quality. Avoid unless you love sauce.
(1)
David H.
Business dinner with colleagues. House salad is excellent. They always make great drinks as well. Morretti beer on draught. I had the Seafood Diablo. It was more like the feast of seafood. Very nicely seasoned and not too spicy, there was a tremendous amount of shrimp, scallops, clams and mainly calamari (squid). So much that I couldn't even touch the pasta. Many people leaving with doggie bags. Be sure to leave room for dessert.
(4)
Kay L.
This Garozzo's is perfectly fitted to the upscale-corporate-JoCo neighborhood in which it's located: where the original Columbus Park location feels like an old-school, family-run, straight-off-the-Hill joint (or maybe something from an episode of the Sopranos,) this restaurant is light, airy, and caters to the lunch crowd. The food is the same, though -- excellent. Chicken Speidini (still the original, and best, in the city) is always a good bet. The stuffed artichoke is my personal favorite. I've only been here a couple times (I usually end up at the Olathe restaurant) but service has been pretty good each time. They can get very busy at lunchtime, so there is sometimes a wait for a table, but once seated I've been able to order quickly & receive my food promptly. The calamari is great!!
(4)
Tasha S.
The service at this location was horrible. It took at least 15 minutes to be seated. After we got seated, it took another 15 minutes for anyone to take our order. This was our first visit and will be the last at this location. The food was good, but with the poor service, we won't be back. The server seemed less than interested in being there, as did the rest of the restaurant staff. We noticed two other tables complaining about their service. We went after the lunch rush...and still....
(2)
Shawn J.
The service here sucks. The Chicken Spiedini sure doesn't. In fact it's the only reason I come here when I return back to KC. I don't even bother with anything else on their menu. Chicken Spiedini travels, and travels well. 4 Stars, yes, just for the Chicken Spiedini.
(4)
Michelle G.
update 5/12/08, upgrade to four starts tonight, i did try Garozzos again and i'd like to amend my review i still wouldnt order the trio its not baked ravioli or mostocholi and i really thought it was bland, tonight but i tried the lasanga toasted ravioli and cannoli and it all was VERY good. i'll return for that meal. my old review: i was also here once, it was allright. nice place people were friendly, nothing against them like the other reviewer said there is a whole host of italian places i'd go to before i'd hit here again, i really didnt want the spedini i'm not a fan of lemon anything when its a main course. i tried the trio, wasnt thrilled with anything so much i'd go back for it and i didnt even reheat my leftovers, I've had lasanga everywhere from a little Place in Sherman Oaks California that served the first pizza to the Valley to Omaha and all over town here. i've been meaning to give Garozzos another chance but the other places i like Riccos Johnny Cascones Johnny Carinos Carrabas on Metcalf and 105th, evenOlive Garden Macaroni Grill Zios and Figlios are better meals. and the price is WOW are they a bit pricey! Lunch i'd like to try sometime since they are near my house.. now to find them OPEN.
(4)
Janine d.
on a scale of one to five, this restuarant gets fifty stars in my book. this is just about my favorite food on earth! my ex-girlfriend brought me garozzos tortellini gina once when she came to visit me, and even after being flown cross country, it still rocked so hard it converted my primary partner to garozzos worship. the original restuarant in the river market area burned, but there's a new one there now, plus locations in just about every suburb of kansas city. so, if you're ever anywhere near one, go! eat tortellini gina! eat cavatelli catagna! eat zitti con broccoli! eat! and think of me . . .
(5)
Carrie R.
Very average. We went there on a Wednesday for lunch. It wasn't very busy (even at noon when we were there). From the time we ordered our food, it took over 45 minutes until it was delivered. A "quick bite to eat" turned into an hour and a half lunch. When we said something to the server, he quickly blamed it on the kitchen. Classy. The food was also very average. I ordered the lasagne, which could have very well come from a frozen entree. It didn't taste fresh and was actually quite bland. My husband got the chicken spiedini in Alfredo. That was a good heart-attack on a plate, by far the best item any of us ordered. Probably won't go back, ever.
(2)
Bimal K.
The food and service were great! The Spedini Garrozo and garlic bread was really worth it. Halfway during dinner we had an unexpected visitor at our table. The manager apologized for the bug but gave us some comment about how it never happens. Don't know how others feel about this, but to me that's just unacceptable. Hopefully this two star rating gets their attention!
(2)
Jeff S.
I'm giving this a 3, because it's a good restaurant. It's by no means great and now that I understand it's a small chain, it stands to reason. Pros: If you are alone, staying the Doubletree, and want to watch the ESPY's with some decent cannelloni and some cheap red wine...you are in luck. Sit in the bar, set the bar low, you'll be fine. Cons: Food is ok, not great. Wait staff clearly work on volume, not quality. Not bad people, just rushed. Now that I know exactly what to expect, I'd come back. But alone, and with lower expectations.
(3)
L F.
Just enjoyed Father's Day brunch at Garozzo. What can you say other then it was very delicious. The quality of the food makes it one of the best brunch is you can find the Kansas City area. Prime rib, nice Italian specialties the restaurant is known for serving. To finish it off there was great Italian pastries. Overall a very good value for great Italian food.
(5)
Billie H.
Garozzo's isn't bad, but it isn't stellar. I have been to various locations in the past. They do tend to be consistent throughout the metro. They are known for the spedini and I have to say, these are pretty good. I have tried pastas with red sauces, lasagna, fettucine, spedini, etc. I have never had a bad meal here, but it is very old school Italian. A lot of the dishes are submerged in sauce instead of lightly tossed and complimenting the dish. Service can be hit or miss. On my most recent visit, it was good, but very odd. I wasn't sure if the waiter was new, was thinking about his date from the night before, or what, but he just wasn't all there. We were offered bread at the end of our meal.... If you are really hungry, or have a family of twelve to feed for a week, get the pasta trio. It is seriously like five pounds of pasta! In a town that severely lacks really good Italian, Garozzo's is a decent option.
(3)
Nikhil R.
Amazing taste. One should definitely try any dish with marinara sauce. Best Marinara sauce I have ever tasted. Also try their martini. They have quite a variety.
(5)
Nick V.
Awesome meal for my birthday. The meal for me was free on my birthday. Added bonus. Ashley our server was good. Servings for dinner huge. Wine list large but bottle I ordered of Pinot noir was ok. Kids loved their food. Wedge salad great. Chicken spiedini was fantastic. As good as Carmens. I will be back. We all had leftovers to take home.
(5)
Loretta F.
Ordered eggplant Parmesan for Togo .it was so bad...the eggplant was not cooked.the bread was not fresh. Bad experience.
(2)
Zarina P.
Perfect for an anniversary! My boyfriend took me here for our 1 year. We had a wonderful time, lovely atmosphere (man singing Frank Sinatra & another playing piano) He spent $105, $75 food the rest tip.We had the artichoke with shrimp as an appetizer, wedge salad, the seafood ravioli mario, and he had the 3 way pasta(took a mountain of pasta home!). I had a mago passion martini had no complaints;) I would recommend garozzo's for a special occasion.
(5)
Ali B.
Chicken Spedini three-ways for Restaurant Week was amazing! Their house salad is excellent too. We'll be back again!
(4)
Calle H.
Our food was pretty good. The artichoke heart appetizer was delicious! My fettuccine Alfredo was creamy and delicious. However, what ruined my experience is when I asked for a to go box because our waiter took my plate, insisted on boxing it up himself, picked up other people's dirty dishes and put them all on the same tray and carried it into the back....totally ruined my meal.
(4)
Eric L.
Had the chicken spiedini diavolo. The portion was very generous and the chicken was tasty enough. Thought the sauce was overly thick but not too bad. Definitely spicy as advertised. Service was good. Thought it was a bit pricy given the $$ on the profile. I think it's more in the $$$ range. Any pasta dish with meat was going to be at least $20. Fish dishes were in the $30 range. Never been to an Italian restaurant, upscale or otherwise that didn't at least have the standard parmigiana dishes. Suspicious about huge pasta plates with a really large meatball. Are they trying to impress or overwhelm me? Personally would prefer smaller meatballs to facilitate sharing and just make the plate more manageable. Not overly impressed with the food or the value with their prices but you'll definitely have a reasonably tasty and filling meal.
(3)
Cassandra A.
The people I went to this restaurant with would probably give it more stars as several people said it was one of their longtime favorite restaurants. I like this little italian place, but I definitely have other venues I enjoy more for my pasta carb eating experience. Service: First I will start off with saying that I think my waitress was hard of hearing because there were several service encounters that made my experience slightly frustrating. Example: when I was ushered to my seat with my group, my waitress asked me if I wanted a glass of wine. I stated I would like to look at the wine menu and she then removed my wine glass. When other guests arrived later I had to go out of my way to ask for a glass. Later when I she came by to take appetizer plates, I stated I was still working on my salad, but she took my plate away anyway. Appetizers: The artichoke was awesome. The garlic cheese bread was loaded with quit a bit more cheese than I would ever like. Main Course: I ordered the Chicken Spiendini with the house salad. This was a great option. Both were good. Dessert: Our table sampled the Torte Di Ricotta Con Frogole and the Limoncello Cake. Loved the both but preferred the Lemon cake. Overall, the food was good, but the service had something more to be desired, especially considering the cost of the meal. I just honestly felt like my server could give a flip less about what I wanted while I was there. I honestly don't know if she really was hard of hearing, but I just have to assume that she was based on how she responded during my visit. I personally will not make a trip back here unless my group or party insists on it. I have enjoyed great italian with much better service (and price) elsewhere.
(3)
Steffon C.
Very good food, the server did a good job but took a little too much time in between visits. My wife ordered the spaghetti with meat sauce very very good lots of meat the sauce was a little sweet but yummy. I had chicken spiedini with the diablo sauce, perfect! I'd come back soon.
(4)
Dawn C.
I've eaten here for lunch twice now. I have to say I like the place. White linens, lots of windows letting in the sunlight, waiters in aprons... it strikes a nice balance between clean, welcoming and classy. The chicken spiedini has caught my fancy both times, and was so juicy! Seriously, I make some mean chicken at home and pride myself on keeping it juicy, but I've got nothing on these chefs!! The alfredo sauce is very potent. I can be really choosy about alfredo since it is easy to make it pasty, bland and still super fattening. This tasted cheesy and garlicky and though it was very thick (oh my goodness I can't even imagine how much fat was in there) you still wanted to soak it up with a piece of bread once the pasta was gone. Not that I finished my pasta, these are generous portions! The bread that is served table side is nothing fancy. I think there's room for improvement there. I'd also like it to be served with olive oil for dipping, not butter. But that's me. The calamari appetizer is wonderful. Both times I have had it I've found it to be soft and not at all chewy or rubbery. The red sauce it is served with has a little kick, which I enjoy, especially since I douse the calamari with fresh squeezed lemons. My lunchmate didn't think the lasagna was anything spectacular. Neither did our other companion think the spaghetti with giant meatball was the best she had tried. It's impressive in size but tasted more like meatloaf, or so I was told. I'd say stick with the spiedini, it's their specialty and you won't miss the mark.
(4)
Libby J.
My husband and I had a wonderful night at this location. We usually go to the downtown KC location, but this time decided to try the OP location. We are glad we did. The waitress (Rose) was very helpful and the food was wonderful. We will be back and will recommend to our friends!
(5)
Numbers D.
Very good Italian food. I went here for a medical education talk so didn't get to see the full menu and my dinner was selected for me but it was all very tasty. Service was excellent and the restaurant was clean.
(4)
Troy D.
With my recent visit, I've officially visited every Garozzo's in town (do I get bonus points for that?)... and this one comes in second after the original. It's located in a strip mall next to corporate woods, but doesn't feel strip mally. It doesn't quite have the genteel Italian family atmosphere of the original downtown -- but it ain't bad. (It's certainly better than Olathe and Lee's Summit.) Had the spedini for dinner, and it lived up to the quality of the other locations -- although the specific one I had wasn't totally up to my expectations. I count this more as being a difference in taste than a "bad meal." Service was decent and on time (although there were a couple of slurp moments)... and we were seated pretty quickly on a weeknight (although we did have a reservation, it didn't seem like the wait was too long). It wasn't bad.
(4)
Kathy B.
I was disappointed with my visit to Garozzo's. The bread was delicious, but I found the rest of the meal to be average. Not anything I'd send back, but not good enough to make me want to return either. I had the house salad. It comes heavily drenched in dressing, and I felt that it overpowered the rest of the salad. For dinner I tried their signature dish, the Chicken Speidini Garozzo. It was a bit too spicy for my tastes and it must have been a bad night, because it was not very moist. The food wasn't the problem though. Our server was very pushy about selling wine and dessert. After telling her from the start that we were not interested in drinking wine, we were asked more than four times if we wanted wine. Then when dinner was over, she started on the dessert. Over and over. Really. None of us were ambivalent. When it goes beyond two "No thank you's", it becomes irritating.
(2)
Stephen H.
Please note: this rating is for this Garozzo's only. I've been to the OG location in Columbus Park and had a great time. Okay, so when I first moved to Overland Park, one of the points of conversation was that I lived in Italy as an undergrad and Garozzo's was a name that would come up more than once. I've not been since the last time I went, which was 3 years ago now (and I would love to be corrected by a staff member) when I received poor service on 2 occasions and returned for a 3rd because of a gift card I had received. I was ravenous that night and would have eaten anything, but just so you know, I generally judge an Italian restaurant by its gnocchi. Now this is an odd taste-idiosyncrasy of mine. Gnocchi is a favorite dish of mine, but you should probably judge an Italian restaurant by its penne or cannoli. That being said, the gnocchi at this Garozzo's was terrible. I was hungry, so I ate half of it, but then I stopped out of just hating it. The waitress: "So, what's wrong." "Your gnocchi is terrible." "Oh, you know, I thought about telling you that it's not our best when you ordered it." (30 Rock swoosh moment: "Okay, you THOUGHT about telling me, but you didn't tell me? Is that like thinking about not cheating on me, and then cheating on me?") "It tasted like it came out of a can. I'm really disappointed." I don't think she charged me for the gnocchi at the end, but that wasn't the point. I didn't get a satisfactory explanation for what happened, or why I wouldn't get the same experience the next time I went, and what if I felt like gnocchi. Haven't been back since. Poof.
(2)
V. M.
This review is only for the Overland Park location. The one on Missouri Ave is excellent. Service was really slow and for a while we didn't know if we would get the chance to order dinner. Literally over a half hour passed before our order was taken. Food was average at best. I had the evening special which was a Fillet that was about the size of a fast food hamburger patty (not the quarter pounder either) and a chicken kabob (the chicken was small also). Together they almost made up a happy meal. Not worth the time or money.
(1)
Erin W.
Huge portions. Food is good, not anything extra special but good. Fairly pricy so I'd rather go to Olive Garden where quality is similar but cheaper. I'll be back if someone wants to go, but not often
(3)
Joe H.
I've been here once. It was aight. Since chicken spedini began here, I got the one in diablo sauce or something to that effect. It was good, nothing special. I didn't consider it a special dining experience. There are a number of other Italian restaurants I would hit up before going here again. My brother did come to this location with his wife and another couple. They sat down, one of them reached for the basket of bread to take a piece and a live cockroach came running out of it. Awesome right? What was awesomer was that the restaurant offered to do nothing after it happened. The excuse was that they buy the bread prepared from another vendor, like that makes it better. They did bring them out another basket of bread though, which my sister-in-law actually took a piece of and ate. Classic. Garozzo's, where cockroach bread began!!!
(2)
B K.
what can i say about a small little italian place that is steps from the hotel I stayed at? Well, maybe you should drive elsewhere. Granted, the place is nice. The wait staff was friendly if not dependable. Was there for a business dinner and was told it was an awesome little find. I disagree slightly. Food was good but nothing to write home about. I was burping garlic all night long in my hotel room. had the house specialty which is a chicken breast cooked on a skewer and lightly breaded served over four types of noodles and sauces. Mine was the spicy version. while it delivered on the spicy there just wasn't enough sauce to go around. We had the toasted ravioli app and it was OK but nothing great. the cheese inside was quite dry actually now that I think about it. and the wine list left something to be desired. not very many selections by the glass. I think one Chianti was all they offered. oh well, at least it was close to the hotel.
(2)
Grant H.
Love the vodka cream sauce, but doesn't have as much nostalgia as the downtown location.
(3)
Julie W.
Maybe I'm just really picky. Maybe each time I've tried Garozzo's, I've just had bad luck. But this place is gross and makes me think that people that like it don't know what real Italian food tastes like.
(1)
Meredith S.
I'm combining my experiences here. I've eaten at this OP location several times, enough to know it's just not on my list of favorite places. Service seems to to hit or miss. One time my sister and I had such awful service we left a tip accordingly. The waiter...it was winter time...literally ran outside to our cars and told us we had failed to pay the correct amount and owed another $10.00. We were shocked as we KNEW we had paid the bill in full and left him a small tip of a few dollars but we didn't get the type of service that warrants 15-20% so we didn't leave that amount. He was insistant that we had short-changed him. We had both counted the money and looked at the bill. Anyway, we each handed him another $5.00! I called the restaurant when I got home because we were both steaming over what he'd done. HE answered the phone. It took forever for the manager to come to the phone and he flatly denied his waiter could have done such a thing. I waited a LONG time before I went back after that one. A friend suggested we go there for my birthday this year because if you go on your birthday and show your ID they give you a comp meal. That does not include the salad...just the meal. You must take another person with you who orders a dinner and you have to go after 4pm. We took a group of four. We were seated at one of the tables in the center of the room with a light and a fan over it. Every time the fan blades passed the lights it gave the effect of a mirrored ball from the old disco days over our table. Trying to read the menu with that happened caused us to get headaches and a couple of us felt nauseated. The waitress said she'd have to check about turning the fan off because all the fans operate together. That seems really dumb to me but finally somebody came to turn off the fans. They arrived just before we were getting ready to get up and leave. I love their house salad and the manicotti. It's nothing special but I like it. The bread is good as well and I believe it's purchased from a bakery not fresh-baked. I will probably go back again because it's convenient to where I live but I'm seriously looking for another place to satisfy by Italian food hankerings. This location has never been as good as the one downtown and the old one that was in Independence. They are too far out for a casual dinner. Maybe I'll save up and just go once in awhile to Lydia's?
(2)
Monica B.
I went here for a rehearsal dinner, and although the room was very small it was a lovely place! There was a 4 course meal served and every course was delicious!! After the dinner several of us stayed out on the patio until after midnight and they were very accommodating. The waiter, at one point, had been taking forever with our drinks and I went and told the manager and we got the round for free!! So all is forgiven. I would return although it won't be the first spot I hit when back in OP.
(4)
Kristen B.
PS. Tomorrow is my Birthday and someone told me that you can get a free chicken spidini at Garozzos on your Bday! I think that is the bees knees!
(4)
Jeff H.
I'm a little biased towards this little piece of heaven because it is where I took my wife on our first real date. The wine list is great. The pasta dishes are fabulous. The chicken spiedini must be eaten. It's the best dish in KC.
(5)
Aww W.
We were travelling through and staying at the Double Tree hotel across from the restaurant. We decided to eat there because we love Italian food. We were greeted by the host who did not seemed welcoming. However, we were hungry after travelling the whole day. We were seated and was served by a rude waiter whopaid very little attention to us and was hurrying us to finish our meals. At one point, the waiter was clearing off the plates when my husband was still eating. Coming from an unbaised non-local, we were not impressed by the quality of the food. The food was bland and overpriced for the quality and quantity. The bread was served with only pats of butter. Other restaurant that we frequented in other cities had much better flavor and the fine dining restuarant would serve their bread with flavored olive oil. I will not recommend this restaurant to anyone who is travelling through nor any locals who truly appreciate Italian food.
(1)
Amanda S.
I know what to expect from this location - average food, slow service and generic "Italian" atmosphere. I was outvoted for a lunch outing with work people. I haven't enjoyed the food here and only order the Inslata Santa Teresa. The salad is good but not as fresh tasting as it is at the original Garozzo's location. My party of four were the first table seated for lunch. We had three salads, an order of fried ravioli, one pasta and one Spiedini. We were there for almost one hour and 45 minutes. To me, that isn't acceptable for lunch service. But, if you have more than an hour for lunch during the work day then this is the place for you. This location doesn't have the warm, family feeling like the original location. It's sterile and the Italian shout out is literally Dean Martin on repeat.
(2)
Paul M.
If cheap knock-off Italian food at premiere prices is your thing, then you've found your next favorite restaurant--and here it is!
(1)
Zach G.
I have been to two locations of Garozzo's and had more-or-less the same experience. Therefore, I am going to review both but stick to mostly the same review. I do like the feel of the restaurant here in Overland Park. The only negative is that I think it can feel slightly cramped when busy, but not too bad. Luckily, despite that, it doesn't seem to get too loud. Staff here is very friendly, and prices are maybe slightly higher than I would expect, but nothing too painful in my opinion. The wine list is not great, but it gets the job done. The menu is filled with many choices, but none of them are overly inventive...it's all rather mundane. The taste is better than average, but far from outstanding. The pasta's here are fairly basic, but tasty. They are cooked to a good level of done-ness. While the sauces are flavorful, they are nothing spectacular. Many people know Garozzo's for their spiedini, which I have had twice. I really enjoyed my experience with the veal spiedini - it was moist, flavorful, and the perfect size. However the chicken spiedini, which they consider their "signature dish", was only OK...slightly dry with not as much flavor. I'd choose the veal again over the chicken without a doubt. I will probably return, but there are plenty of other Italian restaurants I would like to check out first.
(3)
Vivian M.
My mother and my son visited Garozzo's this morning for Easter brunch. Big mistake. Cold, dry food, raw shrimp with big poop veins still in them, not even an omelet station, or pastries, just cold bluberry muffins. For $23.99 I expected more than this. Horrible, will never go back, so gross. I almost forgot, my son went to the rest room and he heard loud cursing coming from the kitchen. He said whoever it was used every profanity in the cuss book. Not professional at all and its Easter sunday! This place needs help!
(1)
Rob M.
I've had lunch here a few times with my Dad and some of his buddies who have a birthday club that gets together almost every month. I've liked the food at Garozzo's, and their red sauce (available to take home) is not sweet, which I like. Red sauce shouldn't be sugary, in my book! I've had the lasagna here, which was good, and on my latest visit, a few days ago, I had the restaurant's specialty, chicken spiedini -- they have various versions and this time I ordered the house special version. It's numerous chunks of de-skewered chicken breast, very lightly breaded, in a lemon-herb sauce. I thought the sauce was a bit bitter, which surprised me, but it was OK. My Dad had the spaghetti and meatball, which was a large order that he could only eat half of! (It was a really BIG meatball!!!) I had a small Caesar salad as a starter and thought it was good. Garozzo's seems a little bit pricey to me, compared to similar Italian-American places in the area. There is no lunch menu. Lunch and dinner are the same price. Service was friendly and very competent. This location is on College Blvd. in the small shopping center on the north side of the street, just east of the Doubletree Hotel. Easy to find.
(3)
Katie M.
Visited Garozzo's over lunch with two coworkers during restaurant week last week. I hadn't eaten there in years, but it was close to the office, and the RW menu looked tasty, so we decided to give it a try. What a waste of time and calories! Our waiter was absolutely horrible. Not only was his service terrible, he proceeded to tell us how bad he was at doing routine server things throughout the meal. Upon taking our order, "I better write this down... because I always forget. Haha!" Upon bringing out our soup, he brought us two bread plates and then awkwardly carried a messy bowl to us. "I have trouble with spilling the soup. Haha!" Two of us wanted boxes for our food: "I better wrap these up separately... because I always mix these up. Haha!" He was the only one laughing. Two of us had the soup and one had the salad. My soup was extremely salty and my coworker's colorless iceberg salad was drenched in dressing. My entree was quite tasty, chicken in a yummy dijon cream sauce. Another coworker order the seafood ravioli, which she enjoyed, but I thought it was a little too fishy. All of us ordered the cannoli for dessert, which came out rock hard and full of slivered almonds, which, while typical of most cannoli, came as quite a surprise to my friend who CLEARLY MENTIONED HER NUT ALLERGY BEFORE ORDERING DESSERT and was assured by the waiter that this was a safe option. Are you serious? Come on, that's just dangerous! Needless to say, we left our desserts on the table. I highly doubt this waiter will be employed with Garozzo's for much longer, but the food was poor to mediocre at best, so I will not be returning anytime soon.
(1)
John I.
Forget it!. Last night's dinner was awful. My wife had eggplant which looked like it was taken out of the freezer cooked in oil and smothered with sauce and cheese. She ate one piece and decided that was it. She did like her salad, but anyone can make a salad. I chose Lasagna. It came to the table right out of the micro-wave. Smothered again in sauce. It turned into lasagna soup. I needed a spoon to eat the stuff. I also ate half and said enough. I did have a salad with wilting lettuce. Not good. My wife both agreed the Calamari was very good. For $60 I will go elsewhere. Casone's has never let us down nor has Caraberas. The highlight was our waiter Eric. He is to good to work at this place
(1)
Melissa H.
Horrible! From just walking in & being sat, the server mumbled to herself, "god, is this me?" (meaning, does she have to stay). Thank goodness it wasnt her, just the angry bartender that was pissed he had to take another table. We proceeded to order, an appetizer, a salad,and two entrees. As well as a couple drinks. The food and drinks came out in proper order, and things were timely, but the attitude of the server/bartender was " I hate you, and I cant wait till you finish so I can go." My bf and I are seriously industry, and quite forgiving. We truly felt like we were being punished for walking in the door an hour before closing. Not to mention the food was sub par, way below anything we have ever had there. We tipped the norm, 20%, because tip karma is a bitch, but really just wanted to leave our food uneaten and not pay for any of it. We have leftovers to doctor up at home to make them edible ( it was $90 all said and done) & will NEVER be back. (so freakin bland, seriously)
(1)
Galen M.
Ate at Garozzo's tonight, and while waiting for a table, decided to read some reviews. I'm from out of town, so while I had heard good things about the place, I had never been there. One of the other reviews almost threw a wrench in my plan to eat there. Apparently, the red sauce (and potentially other sauces) has animal-derived stock in it, and I don't eat meat. I almost immediately left, but knowing yelp is not always the most reliable, I decided to ask about it. I got confirmation that the red sauce does have beef stock in it, but that the cream sauce does not. The manager then offered to make me some red sauce without the beef stock in it, and pointed out a number of vegetarian dishes on the menu. I eventually took the manager up on the offer of beef-less red sauce and had the eggplant parmesan. It was quite good, if not a bit different than your average eggplant parmesan. So, while the food wasn't outstanding, the customer service was pretty great, and they were willing to help out a vegetarian when asked--something that they really didn't have to do. But to be fair to the person who complained before: beef stock in the red sauce? Why?
(4)
Thai L.
Great place to go for your birthday! You get a free dinner entree of their house specialty, Chicken Spiedini (but only on your actual birthday). I love getting the Spicy Georgio Spiedini - it is epic!
(5)
Monica K.
Garozzo's is amazing! I love the Alfredo sauce. The tortellini Gina is my favorite. My sister usually gets the spiedini and hasn't found one that she doesn't like. I highly recommend this restaurant
(5)
Ben M.
We recently ate here and for the price it was excellent. The calimari was perfectly crispy and had a great taste and the wedding soup was also quite good with fresh wilted spinach in it. The house specialty is the Spiedini di Pollo and this appears to be what most people on here recommend. The waiter offered a combination special with this and the Bistecca Modiga (which he stated was his favorite dish) so I tried it. While the chicken was definitely good the steak was spectacular. It was extremely tender and smothered with cheese and a garlicy white wine sauce. I strongly recommend going to this restaurant if only to try the Bistecca Modiga. Also, the prices were quite reasonable and the service was very good. It is also walking distance from the Doubletree so it is a perfect place to eat if staying there.
(4)
C L.
Garozzo's earned its fourth star from an excellent server we had on a busy night. It was their 20th anniversary dinner, so entrees were sold at 1989 prices, and that had drawn quite a crowd. Ours was a party of 11 (I think), which included 3 kids. I'd only been to the Olathe location on two different occasions, and had not been overly impressed with the food. That impression slightly improved with my visit in OP. Appetizers: The stuffed artichoke fell short of its description. Though good, it lacked artichoke and was hard to eat/share. The fried calamari was wisps of breading with little meat. Better, however, was the calamari marinara. Sauteed, and swimming in a pool of spiced tomato sauce, it was much "meatier" than its fried brother. Salad: I felt sorry for my friends who'd ordered the cesar salad over the house salad. I didn't try theirs, but it looked quite lackluster compared to my exciting mix of lettuce, pimentos, artichokes, parmigiano cheese, and oil/vinegar dressing. Loved it! Entree: Linguine alla Frutti di Mare - clams, shrimp, and scallops in a creamy sauce: Yum! I liked that they weren't afraid to let seafood be seafood. They let the fishy essence pervade the sauce and create a marvelously fragrant flavor. It wasn't so strong that it was foul, but it was definitely a seafood lover's delight. The entree was so large that I got my fill and had enough to take home to my 13-year old's bottomless stomach. Best of all, was our accommodating server. We sat near an emergency exit, which was all glass. It was dusk, so the sun was shining in at eye-level. Without being prompted, he remedied the situation by placing a translucent black cloth above the door, which cascaded down to match the length of the door. He was also very patient with our odd arrival/departure times and our requests for boxes and extra appetizers. He also jested with the kids and did not annoy easily with their constant reminders of their orders. Though Garrozo's isn't my idea of KC's best food, I enjoyed my experience and would have no problem going back.
(4)
Matt C.
UPDATE to my post after checking my bank statement, on top of having poor service, our server over charged my card! I paid using a Garozzos gift card, a visa gift card, and then the rest on my debit. (I know a lot of cards but still pretty easy to take care of). She ran my cards correctly according to what I signed for BUT then decided to close my debit card for an extra $35 more at the end of the night! Spoke with the manager once I saw this on my account who informed me it was a "mistake" made by the server and she forgot to close out the Visa gift card and put it all on my debit on accident. Oh and she also held onto the visa gift card since there was nothing else on it. So you are telling me she ran everything correctly the first time, BUT at the end of the night apparently "forgot" to close out that visa card, and then just close mine out for that extra $35?? Which would have had to be added into the tip column?? Absolute BS to me!! No matter what the food tasted like, this has left a completely bad taste in my mouth on Garozzos, will not be back!! Food was great, service was poor. Went to this location during restaurant week and booked a reservation online on Open Tables. Once we arrived we were seating immediately (which was great considering the wait others had). First complaint has to be the main dining room which is not a very intimate experience at all. It is a very crowded room, where if you are not in a both, you will be backed up chair against chair with someone else pretty much. We constantly had different servers bringing different items all of which maybe saying one word each time. Our primary female server just lacked any personality. All of our food came out in a fairly timely manner, it did take awhile to get our drinks, but she just seemed angry and annoyed the whole time. Gave no recommendations, could barely describe the featured wines (which we had to ask her to do), and just overall came across very rude. On a positive note the food was very good. Went with my girlfriend and we both tried to get different items to try many things. We started with the Insalata Casa(House Salad) and Canneloni both to me were average. For entrees we got the Linguini alla Frutti di Mare and the Three Way Spiedini. Both of those were great, very good sauces on both would definitely recommend both, the Spiedini I was told is something they are known for, it came with six pieces of chicken covered in three different sauces. Good size portions if you are hungry. For desert we picked out the Cannoli and Limoncello Torte. The Limoncello was great, very refreshing after a big dinner. Cannoli was good, nothing amazing. Overall I would go back to Garozzos again, but will go to a different location next time.
(1)
Sarah W.
Good place to take out of town guests. My folks have been staying with me, and wanted a place to eat that wasn't The Olive Garden. The OP location is kinda blah for ambiance, but the food is consistent although nothing to write home about. My parents, however enjoyed it so that's what counts. Our service was a little slow, but our server was knowledgeable. Half price bottle of wines on Sundays, so that's a plus. This wishy washiness of my review is a perfect reflection of how I felt about dinner. If you want to experience Garozzo's, just go to the downtown location.
Ate at Garozzo's tonight, and while waiting for a table, decided to read some reviews. I'm from out of town, so while I had heard good things about the place, I had never been there. One of the other reviews almost threw a wrench in my plan to eat there. Apparently, the red sauce (and potentially other sauces) has animal-derived stock in it, and I don't eat meat. I almost immediately left, but knowing yelp is not always the most reliable, I decided to ask about it. I got confirmation that the red sauce does have beef stock in it, but that the cream sauce does not. The manager then offered to make me some red sauce without the beef stock in it, and pointed out a number of vegetarian dishes on the menu. I eventually took the manager up on the offer of beef-less red sauce and had the eggplant parmesan. It was quite good, if not a bit different than your average eggplant parmesan. So, while the food wasn't outstanding, the customer service was pretty great, and they were willing to help out a vegetarian when asked--something that they really didn't have to do. But to be fair to the person who complained before: beef stock in the red sauce? Why?
(4)
Thai L.
Great place to go for your birthday! You get a free dinner entree of their house specialty, Chicken Spiedini (but only on your actual birthday). I love getting the Spicy Georgio Spiedini - it is epic!
(5)
Monica K.
Garozzo's is amazing! I love the Alfredo sauce. The tortellini Gina is my favorite. My sister usually gets the spiedini and hasn't found one that she doesn't like. I highly recommend this restaurant
(5)
Ben M.
We recently ate here and for the price it was excellent. The calimari was perfectly crispy and had a great taste and the wedding soup was also quite good with fresh wilted spinach in it. The house specialty is the Spiedini di Pollo and this appears to be what most people on here recommend. The waiter offered a combination special with this and the Bistecca Modiga (which he stated was his favorite dish) so I tried it. While the chicken was definitely good the steak was spectacular. It was extremely tender and smothered with cheese and a garlicy white wine sauce. I strongly recommend going to this restaurant if only to try the Bistecca Modiga. Also, the prices were quite reasonable and the service was very good. It is also walking distance from the Doubletree so it is a perfect place to eat if staying there.
(4)
Meghan B.
I go here 3-4 times a year and look forward to it every time. The Chicken Spiedini Garozzo style is a must try and I literally get cravings for the house salad. The wait staff is what really makes this place special. Matt and Hillary are by far the best servers...make sure to request their sections! I am only in a handful of times a year but each make us feel special by remembering us. In fact last time Matt was our server, but Hillary made sure to come over and say hi! Unfortunately about two months ago I was in for a friend's birthday and we had a server who was a young girl home from college for the summer. The experience was just not the same. She was a nice girl, but just did not aid in making my friend''s birthday great. Garozzo's does have an amazing Birthday special. The birthday girl/guy gets a free chicken spiedini dish on their actual birthday with ID. This brings me in every year! Mark was our server about a month ago for my birthday and he did a wonderful job of making our dinner special. A regular customer was sitting a table over and heard it was birthday and sent over a tiramisu...by the why, one of the best in town! Only negatives would be possibility of getting a so-so server if Matt or Hillary are not in and the bread is not the greatest...sometimes it is a little stale, but the food completely makes up for this!
(4)
John G.
I ate there tonight (Aug 16, 2012) while traveling to K-State. I stayed across the street in the Doubletree. I'm not sure why there are so many mixed reviews. I went with a party of 6. We all enjoyed our meals. Our waitress was very polite and attentive (perhaps they've fixed previous problems?). I ordered their Chicken Speidini. It was excellent. My wife ordered the Diablo version. Also excellent. I thought everything was fine and I would definitely go here again.
(4)
Angel N.
My husband and I love the food here. We went to Little Italy this summer in NY and nothing came close. We always have Matt wait on us he is a great server.
(5)
Krystal P.
I don't understand where the positive reviews come from. I am a huge fan, and known critic of Italian food. It's not as easy as throwing a heartless ladle of sauce over an overcooked and soggy bowl of store bought pasta. The entire meal at Garozzo's was just below average. A greasy appetizer of fried ravioli and garlic oil - the oil was served in a bowl, with the favorless ingredients pooled on the bottom of the bowl where you ended up with 95% oil soaked break with a speck of oregano left to flavor. This should be served on a plate. The ravioli's were obviously frozen. I tried the chicken spiedini - not only because it was the only thing on the menu, which lacked any excitement and your traditional Italian homeruns (Osso Bucco, Bolognese, veal piccata). It is also supposed to be the house specialty. I was presented a dried out piece of rolled up chicken again covered in a sauce of garlic, lemon and herbs you would expect to explode with flavor rather than frown on your plate. My husband's veal parmigiana was just as disappointing. There red sauce is such a far cry from an Italian red sauce that I just pushed my pasta aside. May be a harsh review, but after the bold positive reviews I have recieved from friends who apparently don't know better - I had to set the story straight.
I hadn't been to the O.Park Garozzo's in approximately 2 years, so decided to visit tonight. The service was very prompt and attentive. Sadly, the food didn't match. I ordered the Manicotti and it arrived - 3 tubes on a plate, covered with a sauce. To be fair, the sauce was good, but 3 room-temperature 1" inch diameter tubes for $14.00 & no salad !! Bland and chilled would best describe my dining experience. Maybe I should have looked for the word "baked" on the menu, which would have indicated the pasta had at least seen the inside of an oven. Won't reccomend this location.
(2)
Samantha B.
The Chicken Spiedini Samantha was really delicious!! Absolutely the best dish we had. We came in on my birthday, so we also got it for free. The other dish we ordered was the Capelli D'Angelo, which was tasty but nothing special. They have a full bar, so you can order pretty much anything you want. We also got a cannoli and spumoni for dessert, which were both excellent. Overall, a pleasant experience and very good Italian food.
(4)
Lyn P.
This place was hyped up to me by my co-worker that suggested we eat here for dinner. It was definitely a fancy schmancy place. The atmosphere was nice and we had great service from our waitress. I had the Vitella Saltimbucco. The veal was a bit tougher than I expected (the first reviewer was right that Carraba's, even though it is a chain restaurant, is better.) But they totally redeemed themselves with dessert. The tiramisu is homemade and you could really taste the amaretto. We also had the turtle cheesecake - the caramel was thick and super yummy.
(3)
Lea K.
My personal opinion: If you don't eat meat...don't bother. I asked the server about several different meals...EVERYTHING seemed to have some kind of meat broth. I couldn't even have the option of taking out the chicken and having a vegetarian dish. I just have to ask, does the chicken stock really add that much to the stock that they can't use vegetable broth instead. I couldn't even order. I didn't even try any of the food since there wasn't a dinner option for me to try. They should have a few sauces 'white, red etc' that don't have chicken stock. I ordered a dinner salad. The server messed up and brought me a side salad before everyone else got their meals. To her correcting this meant leaving the side salad to wilt while I waited for everyone else to be served and then brining me another side salad while everyone else got their dinner. Then when the bill came she tried charging me for two small salads which was more expensive than the dinner salad. I WANTED the dinner salad. The two small salads were a mistake on their part. I was not happy with the food or the service.
(1)
Jessica Y.
I've been to the Olathe Garozzo's several times, but recently visited this location for the first time for a business dinner. The place was totally packed on a Tuesday night at eight so I'm glad we made reservations. I got the Rigatoni Angela because i was looking for some cream but nothing too heaving. This was beef tips and green peppers in a red creamy sauce and it was quite good. The beef tips were cooked perfectly a little pink inside, the mushroom flavor wasn't overpowered by the sauce, I though the green peppers were a little soft-but that is being very picky. It also reheated perfectly the next day. One of my dinning companions had the Spedini alla Samantha-I tasted the Alfredo sauce that came with it. This was a serious Alfredo we are talking so rich and thick you can hear the cows being milked in back. The sauce was delicious, but I doubt my ability to finish a whole meal of because it was just so rich. Like I said it was packed that night, our waitress was obviously very busy, but took care of our entire party of 12 and got everything out in a timely manner. While the service was good, there wasn't that spark from the servers who seem to get into listing the specials or helping you decide that makes it really great, that was a bit disappointing because i am used to that at the other location. Additionally, I felt like the restaurant overall lacked the classiness I am used to at the other location. The decor at the Overland park location was a little more plastic plant versus the sleek, modern design in Olathe (possibly the first time anyone has ever used sleek, modern and Olathe in the same sentence without a negative). Overall, the food was still great, I love their food and wine offerings, but I felt like the service and atmosphere did not live up to my Garozzo's expectations.
(4)
L F.
Just enjoyed Father's Day brunch at Garozzo. What can you say other then it was very delicious. The quality of the food makes it one of the best brunch is you can find the Kansas City area. Prime rib, nice Italian specialties the restaurant is known for serving. To finish it off there was great Italian pastries. Overall a very good value for great Italian food.
(5)
Bridget R.
This is a family staple of ours. We have been going here for years. It is exactly what you see. Old school Italian flavors. No frills or fuss. We love to get their takeout when a nice meal is wanted but not the cooking. Their spiedini's and their vodka sauce (any dish with it) are both great options.
(4)
Jason R.
I have been to Garozzo's before and it is usually consistent. We had their stuffed artichoke for an appetizer and it was great as usual. We both ordered the special which was a petite filet and a chicken spiedini. I had never had their chicken spiedini so was excited to try it. The filet was nothing to write home about. It was sliced thin and smothered in cheese. This is not how a filet should be served, ever! The spiedini was not bad, not quite as flavorful as I expected. Overall the service and atmosphere made up for the lack luster filet. But will probably go to Jasper's next time.
(3)
Billie H.
Garozzo's isn't bad, but it isn't stellar. I have been to various locations in the past. They do tend to be consistent throughout the metro. They are known for the spedini and I have to say, these are pretty good. I have tried pastas with red sauces, lasagna, fettucine, spedini, etc. I have never had a bad meal here, but it is very old school Italian. A lot of the dishes are submerged in sauce instead of lightly tossed and complimenting the dish. Service can be hit or miss. On my most recent visit, it was good, but very odd. I wasn't sure if the waiter was new, was thinking about his date from the night before, or what, but he just wasn't all there. We were offered bread at the end of our meal.... If you are really hungry, or have a family of twelve to feed for a week, get the pasta trio. It is seriously like five pounds of pasta! In a town that severely lacks really good Italian, Garozzo's is a decent option.
(3)
Bimal K.
The food and service were great! The Spedini Garrozo and garlic bread was really worth it. Halfway during dinner we had an unexpected visitor at our table. The manager apologized for the bug but gave us some comment about how it never happens. Don't know how others feel about this, but to me that's just unacceptable. Hopefully this two star rating gets their attention!
(2)
Jeff S.
I'm giving this a 3, because it's a good restaurant. It's by no means great and now that I understand it's a small chain, it stands to reason. Pros: If you are alone, staying the Doubletree, and want to watch the ESPY's with some decent cannelloni and some cheap red wine...you are in luck. Sit in the bar, set the bar low, you'll be fine. Cons: Food is ok, not great. Wait staff clearly work on volume, not quality. Not bad people, just rushed. Now that I know exactly what to expect, I'd come back. But alone, and with lower expectations.
(3)
Nikhil R.
Amazing taste. One should definitely try any dish with marinara sauce. Best Marinara sauce I have ever tasted. Also try their martini. They have quite a variety.
(5)
Nick V.
Awesome meal for my birthday. The meal for me was free on my birthday. Added bonus. Ashley our server was good. Servings for dinner huge. Wine list large but bottle I ordered of Pinot noir was ok. Kids loved their food. Wedge salad great. Chicken spiedini was fantastic. As good as Carmens. I will be back. We all had leftovers to take home.
(5)
Loretta F.
Ordered eggplant Parmesan for Togo .it was so bad...the eggplant was not cooked.the bread was not fresh. Bad experience.
(2)
Zarina P.
Perfect for an anniversary! My boyfriend took me here for our 1 year. We had a wonderful time, lovely atmosphere (man singing Frank Sinatra & another playing piano) He spent $105, $75 food the rest tip.We had the artichoke with shrimp as an appetizer, wedge salad, the seafood ravioli mario, and he had the 3 way pasta(took a mountain of pasta home!). I had a mago passion martini had no complaints;) I would recommend garozzo's for a special occasion.
(5)
Ali B.
Chicken Spedini three-ways for Restaurant Week was amazing! Their house salad is excellent too. We'll be back again!
(4)
Calle H.
Our food was pretty good. The artichoke heart appetizer was delicious! My fettuccine Alfredo was creamy and delicious. However, what ruined my experience is when I asked for a to go box because our waiter took my plate, insisted on boxing it up himself, picked up other people's dirty dishes and put them all on the same tray and carried it into the back....totally ruined my meal.
(4)
Eric L.
Had the chicken spiedini diavolo. The portion was very generous and the chicken was tasty enough. Thought the sauce was overly thick but not too bad. Definitely spicy as advertised. Service was good. Thought it was a bit pricy given the $$ on the profile. I think it's more in the $$$ range. Any pasta dish with meat was going to be at least $20. Fish dishes were in the $30 range. Never been to an Italian restaurant, upscale or otherwise that didn't at least have the standard parmigiana dishes. Suspicious about huge pasta plates with a really large meatball. Are they trying to impress or overwhelm me? Personally would prefer smaller meatballs to facilitate sharing and just make the plate more manageable. Not overly impressed with the food or the value with their prices but you'll definitely have a reasonably tasty and filling meal.
(3)
Libby J.
My husband and I had a wonderful night at this location. We usually go to the downtown KC location, but this time decided to try the OP location. We are glad we did. The waitress (Rose) was very helpful and the food was wonderful. We will be back and will recommend to our friends!
(5)
Numbers D.
Very good Italian food. I went here for a medical education talk so didn't get to see the full menu and my dinner was selected for me but it was all very tasty. Service was excellent and the restaurant was clean.
(4)
Kay L.
This Garozzo's is perfectly fitted to the upscale-corporate-JoCo neighborhood in which it's located: where the original Columbus Park location feels like an old-school, family-run, straight-off-the-Hill joint (or maybe something from an episode of the Sopranos,) this restaurant is light, airy, and caters to the lunch crowd. The food is the same, though -- excellent. Chicken Speidini (still the original, and best, in the city) is always a good bet. The stuffed artichoke is my personal favorite. I've only been here a couple times (I usually end up at the Olathe restaurant) but service has been pretty good each time. They can get very busy at lunchtime, so there is sometimes a wait for a table, but once seated I've been able to order quickly & receive my food promptly. The calamari is great!!
(4)
Tasha S.
The service at this location was horrible. It took at least 15 minutes to be seated. After we got seated, it took another 15 minutes for anyone to take our order. This was our first visit and will be the last at this location. The food was good, but with the poor service, we won't be back. The server seemed less than interested in being there, as did the rest of the restaurant staff. We noticed two other tables complaining about their service. We went after the lunch rush...and still....
(2)
Shawn J.
The service here sucks. The Chicken Spiedini sure doesn't. In fact it's the only reason I come here when I return back to KC. I don't even bother with anything else on their menu. Chicken Spiedini travels, and travels well. 4 Stars, yes, just for the Chicken Spiedini.
(4)
Dawn C.
I've eaten here for lunch twice now. I have to say I like the place. White linens, lots of windows letting in the sunlight, waiters in aprons... it strikes a nice balance between clean, welcoming and classy. The chicken spiedini has caught my fancy both times, and was so juicy! Seriously, I make some mean chicken at home and pride myself on keeping it juicy, but I've got nothing on these chefs!! The alfredo sauce is very potent. I can be really choosy about alfredo since it is easy to make it pasty, bland and still super fattening. This tasted cheesy and garlicky and though it was very thick (oh my goodness I can't even imagine how much fat was in there) you still wanted to soak it up with a piece of bread once the pasta was gone. Not that I finished my pasta, these are generous portions! The bread that is served table side is nothing fancy. I think there's room for improvement there. I'd also like it to be served with olive oil for dipping, not butter. But that's me. The calamari appetizer is wonderful. Both times I have had it I've found it to be soft and not at all chewy or rubbery. The red sauce it is served with has a little kick, which I enjoy, especially since I douse the calamari with fresh squeezed lemons. My lunchmate didn't think the lasagna was anything spectacular. Neither did our other companion think the spaghetti with giant meatball was the best she had tried. It's impressive in size but tasted more like meatloaf, or so I was told. I'd say stick with the spiedini, it's their specialty and you won't miss the mark.
(4)
Meghan B.
I go here 3-4 times a year and look forward to it every time. The Chicken Spiedini Garozzo style is a must try and I literally get cravings for the house salad. The wait staff is what really makes this place special. Matt and Hillary are by far the best servers...make sure to request their sections! I am only in a handful of times a year but each make us feel special by remembering us. In fact last time Matt was our server, but Hillary made sure to come over and say hi! Unfortunately about two months ago I was in for a friend's birthday and we had a server who was a young girl home from college for the summer. The experience was just not the same. She was a nice girl, but just did not aid in making my friend''s birthday great. Garozzo's does have an amazing Birthday special. The birthday girl/guy gets a free chicken spiedini dish on their actual birthday with ID. This brings me in every year! Mark was our server about a month ago for my birthday and he did a wonderful job of making our dinner special. A regular customer was sitting a table over and heard it was birthday and sent over a tiramisu...by the why, one of the best in town! Only negatives would be possibility of getting a so-so server if Matt or Hillary are not in and the bread is not the greatest...sometimes it is a little stale, but the food completely makes up for this!
(4)
John G.
I ate there tonight (Aug 16, 2012) while traveling to K-State. I stayed across the street in the Doubletree. I'm not sure why there are so many mixed reviews. I went with a party of 6. We all enjoyed our meals. Our waitress was very polite and attentive (perhaps they've fixed previous problems?). I ordered their Chicken Speidini. It was excellent. My wife ordered the Diablo version. Also excellent. I thought everything was fine and I would definitely go here again.
(4)
Krystal P.
I don't understand where the positive reviews come from. I am a huge fan, and known critic of Italian food. It's not as easy as throwing a heartless ladle of sauce over an overcooked and soggy bowl of store bought pasta. The entire meal at Garozzo's was just below average. A greasy appetizer of fried ravioli and garlic oil - the oil was served in a bowl, with the favorless ingredients pooled on the bottom of the bowl where you ended up with 95% oil soaked break with a speck of oregano left to flavor. This should be served on a plate. The ravioli's were obviously frozen. I tried the chicken spiedini - not only because it was the only thing on the menu, which lacked any excitement and your traditional Italian homeruns (Osso Bucco, Bolognese, veal piccata). It is also supposed to be the house specialty. I was presented a dried out piece of rolled up chicken again covered in a sauce of garlic, lemon and herbs you would expect to explode with flavor rather than frown on your plate. My husband's veal parmigiana was just as disappointing. There red sauce is such a far cry from an Italian red sauce that I just pushed my pasta aside. May be a harsh review, but after the bold positive reviews I have recieved from friends who apparently don't know better - I had to set the story straight.
I hadn't been to the O.Park Garozzo's in approximately 2 years, so decided to visit tonight. The service was very prompt and attentive. Sadly, the food didn't match. I ordered the Manicotti and it arrived - 3 tubes on a plate, covered with a sauce. To be fair, the sauce was good, but 3 room-temperature 1" inch diameter tubes for $14.00 & no salad !! Bland and chilled would best describe my dining experience. Maybe I should have looked for the word "baked" on the menu, which would have indicated the pasta had at least seen the inside of an oven. Won't reccomend this location.
(2)
Lea K.
My personal opinion: If you don't eat meat...don't bother. I asked the server about several different meals...EVERYTHING seemed to have some kind of meat broth. I couldn't even have the option of taking out the chicken and having a vegetarian dish. I just have to ask, does the chicken stock really add that much to the stock that they can't use vegetable broth instead. I couldn't even order. I didn't even try any of the food since there wasn't a dinner option for me to try. They should have a few sauces 'white, red etc' that don't have chicken stock. I ordered a dinner salad. The server messed up and brought me a side salad before everyone else got their meals. To her correcting this meant leaving the side salad to wilt while I waited for everyone else to be served and then brining me another side salad while everyone else got their dinner. Then when the bill came she tried charging me for two small salads which was more expensive than the dinner salad. I WANTED the dinner salad. The two small salads were a mistake on their part. I was not happy with the food or the service.
(1)
Jessica Y.
I've been to the Olathe Garozzo's several times, but recently visited this location for the first time for a business dinner. The place was totally packed on a Tuesday night at eight so I'm glad we made reservations. I got the Rigatoni Angela because i was looking for some cream but nothing too heaving. This was beef tips and green peppers in a red creamy sauce and it was quite good. The beef tips were cooked perfectly a little pink inside, the mushroom flavor wasn't overpowered by the sauce, I though the green peppers were a little soft-but that is being very picky. It also reheated perfectly the next day. One of my dinning companions had the Spedini alla Samantha-I tasted the Alfredo sauce that came with it. This was a serious Alfredo we are talking so rich and thick you can hear the cows being milked in back. The sauce was delicious, but I doubt my ability to finish a whole meal of because it was just so rich. Like I said it was packed that night, our waitress was obviously very busy, but took care of our entire party of 12 and got everything out in a timely manner. While the service was good, there wasn't that spark from the servers who seem to get into listing the specials or helping you decide that makes it really great, that was a bit disappointing because i am used to that at the other location. Additionally, I felt like the restaurant overall lacked the classiness I am used to at the other location. The decor at the Overland park location was a little more plastic plant versus the sleek, modern design in Olathe (possibly the first time anyone has ever used sleek, modern and Olathe in the same sentence without a negative). Overall, the food was still great, I love their food and wine offerings, but I felt like the service and atmosphere did not live up to my Garozzo's expectations.
(4)
Bimal K.
The food and service were great! The Spedini Garrozo and garlic bread was really worth it. Halfway during dinner we had an unexpected visitor at our table. The manager apologized for the bug but gave us some comment about how it never happens. Don't know how others feel about this, but to me that's just unacceptable. Hopefully this two star rating gets their attention!
(2)
Jeff S.
I'm giving this a 3, because it's a good restaurant. It's by no means great and now that I understand it's a small chain, it stands to reason. Pros: If you are alone, staying the Doubletree, and want to watch the ESPY's with some decent cannelloni and some cheap red wine...you are in luck. Sit in the bar, set the bar low, you'll be fine. Cons: Food is ok, not great. Wait staff clearly work on volume, not quality. Not bad people, just rushed. Now that I know exactly what to expect, I'd come back. But alone, and with lower expectations.
(3)
Nikhil R.
Amazing taste. One should definitely try any dish with marinara sauce. Best Marinara sauce I have ever tasted. Also try their martini. They have quite a variety.
(5)
L F.
Just enjoyed Father's Day brunch at Garozzo. What can you say other then it was very delicious. The quality of the food makes it one of the best brunch is you can find the Kansas City area. Prime rib, nice Italian specialties the restaurant is known for serving. To finish it off there was great Italian pastries. Overall a very good value for great Italian food.
(5)
Billie H.
Garozzo's isn't bad, but it isn't stellar. I have been to various locations in the past. They do tend to be consistent throughout the metro. They are known for the spedini and I have to say, these are pretty good. I have tried pastas with red sauces, lasagna, fettucine, spedini, etc. I have never had a bad meal here, but it is very old school Italian. A lot of the dishes are submerged in sauce instead of lightly tossed and complimenting the dish. Service can be hit or miss. On my most recent visit, it was good, but very odd. I wasn't sure if the waiter was new, was thinking about his date from the night before, or what, but he just wasn't all there. We were offered bread at the end of our meal.... If you are really hungry, or have a family of twelve to feed for a week, get the pasta trio. It is seriously like five pounds of pasta! In a town that severely lacks really good Italian, Garozzo's is a decent option.
(3)
Nick V.
Awesome meal for my birthday. The meal for me was free on my birthday. Added bonus. Ashley our server was good. Servings for dinner huge. Wine list large but bottle I ordered of Pinot noir was ok. Kids loved their food. Wedge salad great. Chicken spiedini was fantastic. As good as Carmens. I will be back. We all had leftovers to take home.
(5)
Loretta F.
Ordered eggplant Parmesan for Togo .it was so bad...the eggplant was not cooked.the bread was not fresh. Bad experience.
(2)
Zarina P.
Perfect for an anniversary! My boyfriend took me here for our 1 year. We had a wonderful time, lovely atmosphere (man singing Frank Sinatra & another playing piano) He spent $105, $75 food the rest tip.We had the artichoke with shrimp as an appetizer, wedge salad, the seafood ravioli mario, and he had the 3 way pasta(took a mountain of pasta home!). I had a mago passion martini had no complaints;) I would recommend garozzo's for a special occasion.
(5)
Ali B.
Chicken Spedini three-ways for Restaurant Week was amazing! Their house salad is excellent too. We'll be back again!
(4)
Calle H.
Our food was pretty good. The artichoke heart appetizer was delicious! My fettuccine Alfredo was creamy and delicious. However, what ruined my experience is when I asked for a to go box because our waiter took my plate, insisted on boxing it up himself, picked up other people's dirty dishes and put them all on the same tray and carried it into the back....totally ruined my meal.
(4)
Eric L.
Had the chicken spiedini diavolo. The portion was very generous and the chicken was tasty enough. Thought the sauce was overly thick but not too bad. Definitely spicy as advertised. Service was good. Thought it was a bit pricy given the $$ on the profile. I think it's more in the $$$ range. Any pasta dish with meat was going to be at least $20. Fish dishes were in the $30 range. Never been to an Italian restaurant, upscale or otherwise that didn't at least have the standard parmigiana dishes. Suspicious about huge pasta plates with a really large meatball. Are they trying to impress or overwhelm me? Personally would prefer smaller meatballs to facilitate sharing and just make the plate more manageable. Not overly impressed with the food or the value with their prices but you'll definitely have a reasonably tasty and filling meal.
(3)
Libby J.
My husband and I had a wonderful night at this location. We usually go to the downtown KC location, but this time decided to try the OP location. We are glad we did. The waitress (Rose) was very helpful and the food was wonderful. We will be back and will recommend to our friends!
(5)
Numbers D.
Very good Italian food. I went here for a medical education talk so didn't get to see the full menu and my dinner was selected for me but it was all very tasty. Service was excellent and the restaurant was clean.
(4)
Cassandra A.
The people I went to this restaurant with would probably give it more stars as several people said it was one of their longtime favorite restaurants. I like this little italian place, but I definitely have other venues I enjoy more for my pasta carb eating experience. Service: First I will start off with saying that I think my waitress was hard of hearing because there were several service encounters that made my experience slightly frustrating. Example: when I was ushered to my seat with my group, my waitress asked me if I wanted a glass of wine. I stated I would like to look at the wine menu and she then removed my wine glass. When other guests arrived later I had to go out of my way to ask for a glass. Later when I she came by to take appetizer plates, I stated I was still working on my salad, but she took my plate away anyway. Appetizers: The artichoke was awesome. The garlic cheese bread was loaded with quit a bit more cheese than I would ever like. Main Course: I ordered the Chicken Spiendini with the house salad. This was a great option. Both were good. Dessert: Our table sampled the Torte Di Ricotta Con Frogole and the Limoncello Cake. Loved the both but preferred the Lemon cake. Overall, the food was good, but the service had something more to be desired, especially considering the cost of the meal. I just honestly felt like my server could give a flip less about what I wanted while I was there. I honestly don't know if she really was hard of hearing, but I just have to assume that she was based on how she responded during my visit. I personally will not make a trip back here unless my group or party insists on it. I have enjoyed great italian with much better service (and price) elsewhere.
(3)
Steffon C.
Very good food, the server did a good job but took a little too much time in between visits. My wife ordered the spaghetti with meat sauce very very good lots of meat the sauce was a little sweet but yummy. I had chicken spiedini with the diablo sauce, perfect! I'd come back soon.
(4)
Bill K.
Went during KCRW and made reservation thru Open Table. Still had to wait 15 min to be seated in the bar/lounge. This was at 1:30 too??? Service was slow, asked for Olive Oil for bread ? Busboy finally got it when I asked a 2nd time. Tried the so called House Special Spedini 3 ways. If you like sauce and lots of it, this is your place. Seems like they load up on the sauce to cover the lack of food quality. Cannaloni was a plate of sauce. Canoli was worst ever ate. I have ate at better Pizza places in NYC than this place. Great advertising on the radio, but lack of service and food quality. Avoid unless you love sauce.
(1)
David H.
Business dinner with colleagues. House salad is excellent. They always make great drinks as well. Morretti beer on draught. I had the Seafood Diablo. It was more like the feast of seafood. Very nicely seasoned and not too spicy, there was a tremendous amount of shrimp, scallops, clams and mainly calamari (squid). So much that I couldn't even touch the pasta. Many people leaving with doggie bags. Be sure to leave room for dessert.
(4)
Kay L.
This Garozzo's is perfectly fitted to the upscale-corporate-JoCo neighborhood in which it's located: where the original Columbus Park location feels like an old-school, family-run, straight-off-the-Hill joint (or maybe something from an episode of the Sopranos,) this restaurant is light, airy, and caters to the lunch crowd. The food is the same, though -- excellent. Chicken Speidini (still the original, and best, in the city) is always a good bet. The stuffed artichoke is my personal favorite. I've only been here a couple times (I usually end up at the Olathe restaurant) but service has been pretty good each time. They can get very busy at lunchtime, so there is sometimes a wait for a table, but once seated I've been able to order quickly & receive my food promptly. The calamari is great!!
(4)
Tasha S.
The service at this location was horrible. It took at least 15 minutes to be seated. After we got seated, it took another 15 minutes for anyone to take our order. This was our first visit and will be the last at this location. The food was good, but with the poor service, we won't be back. The server seemed less than interested in being there, as did the rest of the restaurant staff. We noticed two other tables complaining about their service. We went after the lunch rush...and still....
(2)
Shawn J.
The service here sucks. The Chicken Spiedini sure doesn't. In fact it's the only reason I come here when I return back to KC. I don't even bother with anything else on their menu. Chicken Spiedini travels, and travels well. 4 Stars, yes, just for the Chicken Spiedini.
(4)
Dawn C.
I've eaten here for lunch twice now. I have to say I like the place. White linens, lots of windows letting in the sunlight, waiters in aprons... it strikes a nice balance between clean, welcoming and classy. The chicken spiedini has caught my fancy both times, and was so juicy! Seriously, I make some mean chicken at home and pride myself on keeping it juicy, but I've got nothing on these chefs!! The alfredo sauce is very potent. I can be really choosy about alfredo since it is easy to make it pasty, bland and still super fattening. This tasted cheesy and garlicky and though it was very thick (oh my goodness I can't even imagine how much fat was in there) you still wanted to soak it up with a piece of bread once the pasta was gone. Not that I finished my pasta, these are generous portions! The bread that is served table side is nothing fancy. I think there's room for improvement there. I'd also like it to be served with olive oil for dipping, not butter. But that's me. The calamari appetizer is wonderful. Both times I have had it I've found it to be soft and not at all chewy or rubbery. The red sauce it is served with has a little kick, which I enjoy, especially since I douse the calamari with fresh squeezed lemons. My lunchmate didn't think the lasagna was anything spectacular. Neither did our other companion think the spaghetti with giant meatball was the best she had tried. It's impressive in size but tasted more like meatloaf, or so I was told. I'd say stick with the spiedini, it's their specialty and you won't miss the mark.
(4)
Cassandra A.
The people I went to this restaurant with would probably give it more stars as several people said it was one of their longtime favorite restaurants. I like this little italian place, but I definitely have other venues I enjoy more for my pasta carb eating experience. Service: First I will start off with saying that I think my waitress was hard of hearing because there were several service encounters that made my experience slightly frustrating. Example: when I was ushered to my seat with my group, my waitress asked me if I wanted a glass of wine. I stated I would like to look at the wine menu and she then removed my wine glass. When other guests arrived later I had to go out of my way to ask for a glass. Later when I she came by to take appetizer plates, I stated I was still working on my salad, but she took my plate away anyway. Appetizers: The artichoke was awesome. The garlic cheese bread was loaded with quit a bit more cheese than I would ever like. Main Course: I ordered the Chicken Spiendini with the house salad. This was a great option. Both were good. Dessert: Our table sampled the Torte Di Ricotta Con Frogole and the Limoncello Cake. Loved the both but preferred the Lemon cake. Overall, the food was good, but the service had something more to be desired, especially considering the cost of the meal. I just honestly felt like my server could give a flip less about what I wanted while I was there. I honestly don't know if she really was hard of hearing, but I just have to assume that she was based on how she responded during my visit. I personally will not make a trip back here unless my group or party insists on it. I have enjoyed great italian with much better service (and price) elsewhere.
(3)
Steffon C.
Very good food, the server did a good job but took a little too much time in between visits. My wife ordered the spaghetti with meat sauce very very good lots of meat the sauce was a little sweet but yummy. I had chicken spiedini with the diablo sauce, perfect! I'd come back soon.
(4)
Bill K.
Went during KCRW and made reservation thru Open Table. Still had to wait 15 min to be seated in the bar/lounge. This was at 1:30 too??? Service was slow, asked for Olive Oil for bread ? Busboy finally got it when I asked a 2nd time. Tried the so called House Special Spedini 3 ways. If you like sauce and lots of it, this is your place. Seems like they load up on the sauce to cover the lack of food quality. Cannaloni was a plate of sauce. Canoli was worst ever ate. I have ate at better Pizza places in NYC than this place. Great advertising on the radio, but lack of service and food quality. Avoid unless you love sauce.
(1)
David H.
Business dinner with colleagues. House salad is excellent. They always make great drinks as well. Morretti beer on draught. I had the Seafood Diablo. It was more like the feast of seafood. Very nicely seasoned and not too spicy, there was a tremendous amount of shrimp, scallops, clams and mainly calamari (squid). So much that I couldn't even touch the pasta. Many people leaving with doggie bags. Be sure to leave room for dessert.
(4)
Lyn P.
This place was hyped up to me by my co-worker that suggested we eat here for dinner. It was definitely a fancy schmancy place. The atmosphere was nice and we had great service from our waitress. I had the Vitella Saltimbucco. The veal was a bit tougher than I expected (the first reviewer was right that Carraba's, even though it is a chain restaurant, is better.) But they totally redeemed themselves with dessert. The tiramisu is homemade and you could really taste the amaretto. We also had the turtle cheesecake - the caramel was thick and super yummy.
(3)
Troy D.
With my recent visit, I've officially visited every Garozzo's in town (do I get bonus points for that?)... and this one comes in second after the original. It's located in a strip mall next to corporate woods, but doesn't feel strip mally. It doesn't quite have the genteel Italian family atmosphere of the original downtown -- but it ain't bad. (It's certainly better than Olathe and Lee's Summit.) Had the spedini for dinner, and it lived up to the quality of the other locations -- although the specific one I had wasn't totally up to my expectations. I count this more as being a difference in taste than a "bad meal." Service was decent and on time (although there were a couple of slurp moments)... and we were seated pretty quickly on a weeknight (although we did have a reservation, it didn't seem like the wait was too long). It wasn't bad.
(4)
Kathy B.
I was disappointed with my visit to Garozzo's. The bread was delicious, but I found the rest of the meal to be average. Not anything I'd send back, but not good enough to make me want to return either. I had the house salad. It comes heavily drenched in dressing, and I felt that it overpowered the rest of the salad. For dinner I tried their signature dish, the Chicken Speidini Garozzo. It was a bit too spicy for my tastes and it must have been a bad night, because it was not very moist. The food wasn't the problem though. Our server was very pushy about selling wine and dessert. After telling her from the start that we were not interested in drinking wine, we were asked more than four times if we wanted wine. Then when dinner was over, she started on the dessert. Over and over. Really. None of us were ambivalent. When it goes beyond two "No thank you's", it becomes irritating.
(2)
Stephen H.
Please note: this rating is for this Garozzo's only. I've been to the OG location in Columbus Park and had a great time. Okay, so when I first moved to Overland Park, one of the points of conversation was that I lived in Italy as an undergrad and Garozzo's was a name that would come up more than once. I've not been since the last time I went, which was 3 years ago now (and I would love to be corrected by a staff member) when I received poor service on 2 occasions and returned for a 3rd because of a gift card I had received. I was ravenous that night and would have eaten anything, but just so you know, I generally judge an Italian restaurant by its gnocchi. Now this is an odd taste-idiosyncrasy of mine. Gnocchi is a favorite dish of mine, but you should probably judge an Italian restaurant by its penne or cannoli. That being said, the gnocchi at this Garozzo's was terrible. I was hungry, so I ate half of it, but then I stopped out of just hating it. The waitress: "So, what's wrong." "Your gnocchi is terrible." "Oh, you know, I thought about telling you that it's not our best when you ordered it." (30 Rock swoosh moment: "Okay, you THOUGHT about telling me, but you didn't tell me? Is that like thinking about not cheating on me, and then cheating on me?") "It tasted like it came out of a can. I'm really disappointed." I don't think she charged me for the gnocchi at the end, but that wasn't the point. I didn't get a satisfactory explanation for what happened, or why I wouldn't get the same experience the next time I went, and what if I felt like gnocchi. Haven't been back since. Poof.
(2)
V. M.
This review is only for the Overland Park location. The one on Missouri Ave is excellent. Service was really slow and for a while we didn't know if we would get the chance to order dinner. Literally over a half hour passed before our order was taken. Food was average at best. I had the evening special which was a Fillet that was about the size of a fast food hamburger patty (not the quarter pounder either) and a chicken kabob (the chicken was small also). Together they almost made up a happy meal. Not worth the time or money.
(1)
Erin W.
Huge portions. Food is good, not anything extra special but good. Fairly pricy so I'd rather go to Olive Garden where quality is similar but cheaper. I'll be back if someone wants to go, but not often
(3)
Amanda S.
I know what to expect from this location - average food, slow service and generic "Italian" atmosphere. I was outvoted for a lunch outing with work people. I haven't enjoyed the food here and only order the Inslata Santa Teresa. The salad is good but not as fresh tasting as it is at the original Garozzo's location. My party of four were the first table seated for lunch. We had three salads, an order of fried ravioli, one pasta and one Spiedini. We were there for almost one hour and 45 minutes. To me, that isn't acceptable for lunch service. But, if you have more than an hour for lunch during the work day then this is the place for you. This location doesn't have the warm, family feeling like the original location. It's sterile and the Italian shout out is literally Dean Martin on repeat.
(2)
Paul M.
If cheap knock-off Italian food at premiere prices is your thing, then you've found your next favorite restaurant--and here it is!
(1)
Zach G.
I have been to two locations of Garozzo's and had more-or-less the same experience. Therefore, I am going to review both but stick to mostly the same review. I do like the feel of the restaurant here in Overland Park. The only negative is that I think it can feel slightly cramped when busy, but not too bad. Luckily, despite that, it doesn't seem to get too loud. Staff here is very friendly, and prices are maybe slightly higher than I would expect, but nothing too painful in my opinion. The wine list is not great, but it gets the job done. The menu is filled with many choices, but none of them are overly inventive...it's all rather mundane. The taste is better than average, but far from outstanding. The pasta's here are fairly basic, but tasty. They are cooked to a good level of done-ness. While the sauces are flavorful, they are nothing spectacular. Many people know Garozzo's for their spiedini, which I have had twice. I really enjoyed my experience with the veal spiedini - it was moist, flavorful, and the perfect size. However the chicken spiedini, which they consider their "signature dish", was only OK...slightly dry with not as much flavor. I'd choose the veal again over the chicken without a doubt. I will probably return, but there are plenty of other Italian restaurants I would like to check out first.
(3)
Vivian M.
My mother and my son visited Garozzo's this morning for Easter brunch. Big mistake. Cold, dry food, raw shrimp with big poop veins still in them, not even an omelet station, or pastries, just cold bluberry muffins. For $23.99 I expected more than this. Horrible, will never go back, so gross. I almost forgot, my son went to the rest room and he heard loud cursing coming from the kitchen. He said whoever it was used every profanity in the cuss book. Not professional at all and its Easter sunday! This place needs help!
(1)
Rob M.
I've had lunch here a few times with my Dad and some of his buddies who have a birthday club that gets together almost every month. I've liked the food at Garozzo's, and their red sauce (available to take home) is not sweet, which I like. Red sauce shouldn't be sugary, in my book! I've had the lasagna here, which was good, and on my latest visit, a few days ago, I had the restaurant's specialty, chicken spiedini -- they have various versions and this time I ordered the house special version. It's numerous chunks of de-skewered chicken breast, very lightly breaded, in a lemon-herb sauce. I thought the sauce was a bit bitter, which surprised me, but it was OK. My Dad had the spaghetti and meatball, which was a large order that he could only eat half of! (It was a really BIG meatball!!!) I had a small Caesar salad as a starter and thought it was good. Garozzo's seems a little bit pricey to me, compared to similar Italian-American places in the area. There is no lunch menu. Lunch and dinner are the same price. Service was friendly and very competent. This location is on College Blvd. in the small shopping center on the north side of the street, just east of the Doubletree Hotel. Easy to find.
(3)
Katie M.
Visited Garozzo's over lunch with two coworkers during restaurant week last week. I hadn't eaten there in years, but it was close to the office, and the RW menu looked tasty, so we decided to give it a try. What a waste of time and calories! Our waiter was absolutely horrible. Not only was his service terrible, he proceeded to tell us how bad he was at doing routine server things throughout the meal. Upon taking our order, "I better write this down... because I always forget. Haha!" Upon bringing out our soup, he brought us two bread plates and then awkwardly carried a messy bowl to us. "I have trouble with spilling the soup. Haha!" Two of us wanted boxes for our food: "I better wrap these up separately... because I always mix these up. Haha!" He was the only one laughing. Two of us had the soup and one had the salad. My soup was extremely salty and my coworker's colorless iceberg salad was drenched in dressing. My entree was quite tasty, chicken in a yummy dijon cream sauce. Another coworker order the seafood ravioli, which she enjoyed, but I thought it was a little too fishy. All of us ordered the cannoli for dessert, which came out rock hard and full of slivered almonds, which, while typical of most cannoli, came as quite a surprise to my friend who CLEARLY MENTIONED HER NUT ALLERGY BEFORE ORDERING DESSERT and was assured by the waiter that this was a safe option. Are you serious? Come on, that's just dangerous! Needless to say, we left our desserts on the table. I highly doubt this waiter will be employed with Garozzo's for much longer, but the food was poor to mediocre at best, so I will not be returning anytime soon.
(1)
Carrie R.
Very average. We went there on a Wednesday for lunch. It wasn't very busy (even at noon when we were there). From the time we ordered our food, it took over 45 minutes until it was delivered. A "quick bite to eat" turned into an hour and a half lunch. When we said something to the server, he quickly blamed it on the kitchen. Classy. The food was also very average. I ordered the lasagne, which could have very well come from a frozen entree. It didn't taste fresh and was actually quite bland. My husband got the chicken spiedini in Alfredo. That was a good heart-attack on a plate, by far the best item any of us ordered. Probably won't go back, ever.
(2)
Matt C.
UPDATE to my post after checking my bank statement, on top of having poor service, our server over charged my card! I paid using a Garozzos gift card, a visa gift card, and then the rest on my debit. (I know a lot of cards but still pretty easy to take care of). She ran my cards correctly according to what I signed for BUT then decided to close my debit card for an extra $35 more at the end of the night! Spoke with the manager once I saw this on my account who informed me it was a "mistake" made by the server and she forgot to close out the Visa gift card and put it all on my debit on accident. Oh and she also held onto the visa gift card since there was nothing else on it. So you are telling me she ran everything correctly the first time, BUT at the end of the night apparently "forgot" to close out that visa card, and then just close mine out for that extra $35?? Which would have had to be added into the tip column?? Absolute BS to me!! No matter what the food tasted like, this has left a completely bad taste in my mouth on Garozzos, will not be back!! Food was great, service was poor. Went to this location during restaurant week and booked a reservation online on Open Tables. Once we arrived we were seating immediately (which was great considering the wait others had). First complaint has to be the main dining room which is not a very intimate experience at all. It is a very crowded room, where if you are not in a both, you will be backed up chair against chair with someone else pretty much. We constantly had different servers bringing different items all of which maybe saying one word each time. Our primary female server just lacked any personality. All of our food came out in a fairly timely manner, it did take awhile to get our drinks, but she just seemed angry and annoyed the whole time. Gave no recommendations, could barely describe the featured wines (which we had to ask her to do), and just overall came across very rude. On a positive note the food was very good. Went with my girlfriend and we both tried to get different items to try many things. We started with the Insalata Casa(House Salad) and Canneloni both to me were average. For entrees we got the Linguini alla Frutti di Mare and the Three Way Spiedini. Both of those were great, very good sauces on both would definitely recommend both, the Spiedini I was told is something they are known for, it came with six pieces of chicken covered in three different sauces. Good size portions if you are hungry. For desert we picked out the Cannoli and Limoncello Torte. The Limoncello was great, very refreshing after a big dinner. Cannoli was good, nothing amazing. Overall I would go back to Garozzos again, but will go to a different location next time.
(1)
Stephanie P.
I teetered between three and four stars on this review. I'll go with four just for the original recipe chicken spedini alone. It is what they are known for, and they do it damn jolly good. The hosts and hostesses are usually sour and surly and ask if you have reservations. Well, hmmm, it's in Johnson county folks and you're not really that special. Reservations and attitudes aside, we were shown to a table fairly quickly. Our server was wonderful and prompt. We ordered a bottle of wine and knew that we each wanted the chicken spedini when we sat down. Another favorite thing of mine is that they serve fresh Italian bread with real butter. I think we ate two loaves before our meal came out. The atmosphere is classy and homey at the same time. I was bummed that they have started using those god forsaken led flameless tea lights. Really?! I want some real god damn candlelight while I'm salivating over my bread and butter. All negativity aside, this is a great Italian place that is a favorite of mine.
(4)
John I.
Forget it!. Last night's dinner was awful. My wife had eggplant which looked like it was taken out of the freezer cooked in oil and smothered with sauce and cheese. She ate one piece and decided that was it. She did like her salad, but anyone can make a salad. I chose Lasagna. It came to the table right out of the micro-wave. Smothered again in sauce. It turned into lasagna soup. I needed a spoon to eat the stuff. I also ate half and said enough. I did have a salad with wilting lettuce. Not good. My wife both agreed the Calamari was very good. For $60 I will go elsewhere. Casone's has never let us down nor has Caraberas. The highlight was our waiter Eric. He is to good to work at this place
(1)
Melissa H.
Horrible! From just walking in & being sat, the server mumbled to herself, "god, is this me?" (meaning, does she have to stay). Thank goodness it wasnt her, just the angry bartender that was pissed he had to take another table. We proceeded to order, an appetizer, a salad,and two entrees. As well as a couple drinks. The food and drinks came out in proper order, and things were timely, but the attitude of the server/bartender was " I hate you, and I cant wait till you finish so I can go." My bf and I are seriously industry, and quite forgiving. We truly felt like we were being punished for walking in the door an hour before closing. Not to mention the food was sub par, way below anything we have ever had there. We tipped the norm, 20%, because tip karma is a bitch, but really just wanted to leave our food uneaten and not pay for any of it. We have leftovers to doctor up at home to make them edible ( it was $90 all said and done) & will NEVER be back. (so freakin bland, seriously)
(1)
C L.
Garozzo's earned its fourth star from an excellent server we had on a busy night. It was their 20th anniversary dinner, so entrees were sold at 1989 prices, and that had drawn quite a crowd. Ours was a party of 11 (I think), which included 3 kids. I'd only been to the Olathe location on two different occasions, and had not been overly impressed with the food. That impression slightly improved with my visit in OP. Appetizers: The stuffed artichoke fell short of its description. Though good, it lacked artichoke and was hard to eat/share. The fried calamari was wisps of breading with little meat. Better, however, was the calamari marinara. Sauteed, and swimming in a pool of spiced tomato sauce, it was much "meatier" than its fried brother. Salad: I felt sorry for my friends who'd ordered the cesar salad over the house salad. I didn't try theirs, but it looked quite lackluster compared to my exciting mix of lettuce, pimentos, artichokes, parmigiano cheese, and oil/vinegar dressing. Loved it! Entree: Linguine alla Frutti di Mare - clams, shrimp, and scallops in a creamy sauce: Yum! I liked that they weren't afraid to let seafood be seafood. They let the fishy essence pervade the sauce and create a marvelously fragrant flavor. It wasn't so strong that it was foul, but it was definitely a seafood lover's delight. The entree was so large that I got my fill and had enough to take home to my 13-year old's bottomless stomach. Best of all, was our accommodating server. We sat near an emergency exit, which was all glass. It was dusk, so the sun was shining in at eye-level. Without being prompted, he remedied the situation by placing a translucent black cloth above the door, which cascaded down to match the length of the door. He was also very patient with our odd arrival/departure times and our requests for boxes and extra appetizers. He also jested with the kids and did not annoy easily with their constant reminders of their orders. Though Garrozo's isn't my idea of KC's best food, I enjoyed my experience and would have no problem going back.
(4)
Samantha B.
The Chicken Spiedini Samantha was really delicious!! Absolutely the best dish we had. We came in on my birthday, so we also got it for free. The other dish we ordered was the Capelli D'Angelo, which was tasty but nothing special. They have a full bar, so you can order pretty much anything you want. We also got a cannoli and spumoni for dessert, which were both excellent. Overall, a pleasant experience and very good Italian food.
(4)
Angel N.
My husband and I love the food here. We went to Little Italy this summer in NY and nothing came close. We always have Matt wait on us he is a great server.
(5)
Joe H.
I've been here once. It was aight. Since chicken spedini began here, I got the one in diablo sauce or something to that effect. It was good, nothing special. I didn't consider it a special dining experience. There are a number of other Italian restaurants I would hit up before going here again. My brother did come to this location with his wife and another couple. They sat down, one of them reached for the basket of bread to take a piece and a live cockroach came running out of it. Awesome right? What was awesomer was that the restaurant offered to do nothing after it happened. The excuse was that they buy the bread prepared from another vendor, like that makes it better. They did bring them out another basket of bread though, which my sister-in-law actually took a piece of and ate. Classic. Garozzo's, where cockroach bread began!!!
(2)
B K.
what can i say about a small little italian place that is steps from the hotel I stayed at? Well, maybe you should drive elsewhere. Granted, the place is nice. The wait staff was friendly if not dependable. Was there for a business dinner and was told it was an awesome little find. I disagree slightly. Food was good but nothing to write home about. I was burping garlic all night long in my hotel room. had the house specialty which is a chicken breast cooked on a skewer and lightly breaded served over four types of noodles and sauces. Mine was the spicy version. while it delivered on the spicy there just wasn't enough sauce to go around. We had the toasted ravioli app and it was OK but nothing great. the cheese inside was quite dry actually now that I think about it. and the wine list left something to be desired. not very many selections by the glass. I think one Chianti was all they offered. oh well, at least it was close to the hotel.
(2)
Grant H.
Love the vodka cream sauce, but doesn't have as much nostalgia as the downtown location.
(3)
Julie W.
Maybe I'm just really picky. Maybe each time I've tried Garozzo's, I've just had bad luck. But this place is gross and makes me think that people that like it don't know what real Italian food tastes like.
(1)
Meredith S.
I'm combining my experiences here. I've eaten at this OP location several times, enough to know it's just not on my list of favorite places. Service seems to to hit or miss. One time my sister and I had such awful service we left a tip accordingly. The waiter...it was winter time...literally ran outside to our cars and told us we had failed to pay the correct amount and owed another $10.00. We were shocked as we KNEW we had paid the bill in full and left him a small tip of a few dollars but we didn't get the type of service that warrants 15-20% so we didn't leave that amount. He was insistant that we had short-changed him. We had both counted the money and looked at the bill. Anyway, we each handed him another $5.00! I called the restaurant when I got home because we were both steaming over what he'd done. HE answered the phone. It took forever for the manager to come to the phone and he flatly denied his waiter could have done such a thing. I waited a LONG time before I went back after that one. A friend suggested we go there for my birthday this year because if you go on your birthday and show your ID they give you a comp meal. That does not include the salad...just the meal. You must take another person with you who orders a dinner and you have to go after 4pm. We took a group of four. We were seated at one of the tables in the center of the room with a light and a fan over it. Every time the fan blades passed the lights it gave the effect of a mirrored ball from the old disco days over our table. Trying to read the menu with that happened caused us to get headaches and a couple of us felt nauseated. The waitress said she'd have to check about turning the fan off because all the fans operate together. That seems really dumb to me but finally somebody came to turn off the fans. They arrived just before we were getting ready to get up and leave. I love their house salad and the manicotti. It's nothing special but I like it. The bread is good as well and I believe it's purchased from a bakery not fresh-baked. I will probably go back again because it's convenient to where I live but I'm seriously looking for another place to satisfy by Italian food hankerings. This location has never been as good as the one downtown and the old one that was in Independence. They are too far out for a casual dinner. Maybe I'll save up and just go once in awhile to Lydia's?
(2)
Monica B.
I went here for a rehearsal dinner, and although the room was very small it was a lovely place! There was a 4 course meal served and every course was delicious!! After the dinner several of us stayed out on the patio until after midnight and they were very accommodating. The waiter, at one point, had been taking forever with our drinks and I went and told the manager and we got the round for free!! So all is forgiven. I would return although it won't be the first spot I hit when back in OP.
(4)
Kristen B.
PS. Tomorrow is my Birthday and someone told me that you can get a free chicken spidini at Garozzos on your Bday! I think that is the bees knees!
(4)
Jeff H.
I'm a little biased towards this little piece of heaven because it is where I took my wife on our first real date. The wine list is great. The pasta dishes are fabulous. The chicken spiedini must be eaten. It's the best dish in KC.
(5)
Sarah W.
Good place to take out of town guests. My folks have been staying with me, and wanted a place to eat that wasn't The Olive Garden. The OP location is kinda blah for ambiance, but the food is consistent although nothing to write home about. My parents, however enjoyed it so that's what counts. Our service was a little slow, but our server was knowledgeable. Half price bottle of wines on Sundays, so that's a plus. This wishy washiness of my review is a perfect reflection of how I felt about dinner. If you want to experience Garozzo's, just go to the downtown location.
(3)
Aww W.
We were travelling through and staying at the Double Tree hotel across from the restaurant. We decided to eat there because we love Italian food. We were greeted by the host who did not seemed welcoming. However, we were hungry after travelling the whole day. We were seated and was served by a rude waiter whopaid very little attention to us and was hurrying us to finish our meals. At one point, the waiter was clearing off the plates when my husband was still eating. Coming from an unbaised non-local, we were not impressed by the quality of the food. The food was bland and overpriced for the quality and quantity. The bread was served with only pats of butter. Other restaurant that we frequented in other cities had much better flavor and the fine dining restuarant would serve their bread with flavored olive oil. I will not recommend this restaurant to anyone who is travelling through nor any locals who truly appreciate Italian food.
(1)
Michelle G.
update 5/12/08, upgrade to four starts tonight, i did try Garozzos again and i'd like to amend my review i still wouldnt order the trio its not baked ravioli or mostocholi and i really thought it was bland, tonight but i tried the lasanga toasted ravioli and cannoli and it all was VERY good. i'll return for that meal. my old review: i was also here once, it was allright. nice place people were friendly, nothing against them like the other reviewer said there is a whole host of italian places i'd go to before i'd hit here again, i really didnt want the spedini i'm not a fan of lemon anything when its a main course. i tried the trio, wasnt thrilled with anything so much i'd go back for it and i didnt even reheat my leftovers, I've had lasanga everywhere from a little Place in Sherman Oaks California that served the first pizza to the Valley to Omaha and all over town here. i've been meaning to give Garozzos another chance but the other places i like Riccos Johnny Cascones Johnny Carinos Carrabas on Metcalf and 105th, evenOlive Garden Macaroni Grill Zios and Figlios are better meals. and the price is WOW are they a bit pricey! Lunch i'd like to try sometime since they are near my house.. now to find them OPEN.
(4)
Janine d.
on a scale of one to five, this restuarant gets fifty stars in my book. this is just about my favorite food on earth! my ex-girlfriend brought me garozzos tortellini gina once when she came to visit me, and even after being flown cross country, it still rocked so hard it converted my primary partner to garozzos worship. the original restuarant in the river market area burned, but there's a new one there now, plus locations in just about every suburb of kansas city. so, if you're ever anywhere near one, go! eat tortellini gina! eat cavatelli catagna! eat zitti con broccoli! eat! and think of me . . .
With my recent visit, I've officially visited every Garozzo's in town (do I get bonus points for that?)... and this one comes in second after the original. It's located in a strip mall next to corporate woods, but doesn't feel strip mally. It doesn't quite have the genteel Italian family atmosphere of the original downtown -- but it ain't bad. (It's certainly better than Olathe and Lee's Summit.) Had the spedini for dinner, and it lived up to the quality of the other locations -- although the specific one I had wasn't totally up to my expectations. I count this more as being a difference in taste than a "bad meal." Service was decent and on time (although there were a couple of slurp moments)... and we were seated pretty quickly on a weeknight (although we did have a reservation, it didn't seem like the wait was too long). It wasn't bad.
(4)
Kathy B.
I was disappointed with my visit to Garozzo's. The bread was delicious, but I found the rest of the meal to be average. Not anything I'd send back, but not good enough to make me want to return either. I had the house salad. It comes heavily drenched in dressing, and I felt that it overpowered the rest of the salad. For dinner I tried their signature dish, the Chicken Speidini Garozzo. It was a bit too spicy for my tastes and it must have been a bad night, because it was not very moist. The food wasn't the problem though. Our server was very pushy about selling wine and dessert. After telling her from the start that we were not interested in drinking wine, we were asked more than four times if we wanted wine. Then when dinner was over, she started on the dessert. Over and over. Really. None of us were ambivalent. When it goes beyond two "No thank you's", it becomes irritating.
(2)
Stephen H.
Please note: this rating is for this Garozzo's only. I've been to the OG location in Columbus Park and had a great time. Okay, so when I first moved to Overland Park, one of the points of conversation was that I lived in Italy as an undergrad and Garozzo's was a name that would come up more than once. I've not been since the last time I went, which was 3 years ago now (and I would love to be corrected by a staff member) when I received poor service on 2 occasions and returned for a 3rd because of a gift card I had received. I was ravenous that night and would have eaten anything, but just so you know, I generally judge an Italian restaurant by its gnocchi. Now this is an odd taste-idiosyncrasy of mine. Gnocchi is a favorite dish of mine, but you should probably judge an Italian restaurant by its penne or cannoli. That being said, the gnocchi at this Garozzo's was terrible. I was hungry, so I ate half of it, but then I stopped out of just hating it. The waitress: "So, what's wrong." "Your gnocchi is terrible." "Oh, you know, I thought about telling you that it's not our best when you ordered it." (30 Rock swoosh moment: "Okay, you THOUGHT about telling me, but you didn't tell me? Is that like thinking about not cheating on me, and then cheating on me?") "It tasted like it came out of a can. I'm really disappointed." I don't think she charged me for the gnocchi at the end, but that wasn't the point. I didn't get a satisfactory explanation for what happened, or why I wouldn't get the same experience the next time I went, and what if I felt like gnocchi. Haven't been back since. Poof.
(2)
V. M.
This review is only for the Overland Park location. The one on Missouri Ave is excellent. Service was really slow and for a while we didn't know if we would get the chance to order dinner. Literally over a half hour passed before our order was taken. Food was average at best. I had the evening special which was a Fillet that was about the size of a fast food hamburger patty (not the quarter pounder either) and a chicken kabob (the chicken was small also). Together they almost made up a happy meal. Not worth the time or money.
(1)
Erin W.
Huge portions. Food is good, not anything extra special but good. Fairly pricy so I'd rather go to Olive Garden where quality is similar but cheaper. I'll be back if someone wants to go, but not often
(3)
Amanda S.
I know what to expect from this location - average food, slow service and generic "Italian" atmosphere. I was outvoted for a lunch outing with work people. I haven't enjoyed the food here and only order the Inslata Santa Teresa. The salad is good but not as fresh tasting as it is at the original Garozzo's location. My party of four were the first table seated for lunch. We had three salads, an order of fried ravioli, one pasta and one Spiedini. We were there for almost one hour and 45 minutes. To me, that isn't acceptable for lunch service. But, if you have more than an hour for lunch during the work day then this is the place for you. This location doesn't have the warm, family feeling like the original location. It's sterile and the Italian shout out is literally Dean Martin on repeat.
(2)
Paul M.
If cheap knock-off Italian food at premiere prices is your thing, then you've found your next favorite restaurant--and here it is!
(1)
Zach G.
I have been to two locations of Garozzo's and had more-or-less the same experience. Therefore, I am going to review both but stick to mostly the same review. I do like the feel of the restaurant here in Overland Park. The only negative is that I think it can feel slightly cramped when busy, but not too bad. Luckily, despite that, it doesn't seem to get too loud. Staff here is very friendly, and prices are maybe slightly higher than I would expect, but nothing too painful in my opinion. The wine list is not great, but it gets the job done. The menu is filled with many choices, but none of them are overly inventive...it's all rather mundane. The taste is better than average, but far from outstanding. The pasta's here are fairly basic, but tasty. They are cooked to a good level of done-ness. While the sauces are flavorful, they are nothing spectacular. Many people know Garozzo's for their spiedini, which I have had twice. I really enjoyed my experience with the veal spiedini - it was moist, flavorful, and the perfect size. However the chicken spiedini, which they consider their "signature dish", was only OK...slightly dry with not as much flavor. I'd choose the veal again over the chicken without a doubt. I will probably return, but there are plenty of other Italian restaurants I would like to check out first.
(3)
Vivian M.
My mother and my son visited Garozzo's this morning for Easter brunch. Big mistake. Cold, dry food, raw shrimp with big poop veins still in them, not even an omelet station, or pastries, just cold bluberry muffins. For $23.99 I expected more than this. Horrible, will never go back, so gross. I almost forgot, my son went to the rest room and he heard loud cursing coming from the kitchen. He said whoever it was used every profanity in the cuss book. Not professional at all and its Easter sunday! This place needs help!
(1)
Rob M.
I've had lunch here a few times with my Dad and some of his buddies who have a birthday club that gets together almost every month. I've liked the food at Garozzo's, and their red sauce (available to take home) is not sweet, which I like. Red sauce shouldn't be sugary, in my book! I've had the lasagna here, which was good, and on my latest visit, a few days ago, I had the restaurant's specialty, chicken spiedini -- they have various versions and this time I ordered the house special version. It's numerous chunks of de-skewered chicken breast, very lightly breaded, in a lemon-herb sauce. I thought the sauce was a bit bitter, which surprised me, but it was OK. My Dad had the spaghetti and meatball, which was a large order that he could only eat half of! (It was a really BIG meatball!!!) I had a small Caesar salad as a starter and thought it was good. Garozzo's seems a little bit pricey to me, compared to similar Italian-American places in the area. There is no lunch menu. Lunch and dinner are the same price. Service was friendly and very competent. This location is on College Blvd. in the small shopping center on the north side of the street, just east of the Doubletree Hotel. Easy to find.
(3)
Katie M.
Visited Garozzo's over lunch with two coworkers during restaurant week last week. I hadn't eaten there in years, but it was close to the office, and the RW menu looked tasty, so we decided to give it a try. What a waste of time and calories! Our waiter was absolutely horrible. Not only was his service terrible, he proceeded to tell us how bad he was at doing routine server things throughout the meal. Upon taking our order, "I better write this down... because I always forget. Haha!" Upon bringing out our soup, he brought us two bread plates and then awkwardly carried a messy bowl to us. "I have trouble with spilling the soup. Haha!" Two of us wanted boxes for our food: "I better wrap these up separately... because I always mix these up. Haha!" He was the only one laughing. Two of us had the soup and one had the salad. My soup was extremely salty and my coworker's colorless iceberg salad was drenched in dressing. My entree was quite tasty, chicken in a yummy dijon cream sauce. Another coworker order the seafood ravioli, which she enjoyed, but I thought it was a little too fishy. All of us ordered the cannoli for dessert, which came out rock hard and full of slivered almonds, which, while typical of most cannoli, came as quite a surprise to my friend who CLEARLY MENTIONED HER NUT ALLERGY BEFORE ORDERING DESSERT and was assured by the waiter that this was a safe option. Are you serious? Come on, that's just dangerous! Needless to say, we left our desserts on the table. I highly doubt this waiter will be employed with Garozzo's for much longer, but the food was poor to mediocre at best, so I will not be returning anytime soon.
(1)
Carrie R.
Very average. We went there on a Wednesday for lunch. It wasn't very busy (even at noon when we were there). From the time we ordered our food, it took over 45 minutes until it was delivered. A "quick bite to eat" turned into an hour and a half lunch. When we said something to the server, he quickly blamed it on the kitchen. Classy. The food was also very average. I ordered the lasagne, which could have very well come from a frozen entree. It didn't taste fresh and was actually quite bland. My husband got the chicken spiedini in Alfredo. That was a good heart-attack on a plate, by far the best item any of us ordered. Probably won't go back, ever.
(2)
Matt C.
UPDATE to my post after checking my bank statement, on top of having poor service, our server over charged my card! I paid using a Garozzos gift card, a visa gift card, and then the rest on my debit. (I know a lot of cards but still pretty easy to take care of). She ran my cards correctly according to what I signed for BUT then decided to close my debit card for an extra $35 more at the end of the night! Spoke with the manager once I saw this on my account who informed me it was a "mistake" made by the server and she forgot to close out the Visa gift card and put it all on my debit on accident. Oh and she also held onto the visa gift card since there was nothing else on it. So you are telling me she ran everything correctly the first time, BUT at the end of the night apparently "forgot" to close out that visa card, and then just close mine out for that extra $35?? Which would have had to be added into the tip column?? Absolute BS to me!! No matter what the food tasted like, this has left a completely bad taste in my mouth on Garozzos, will not be back!! Food was great, service was poor. Went to this location during restaurant week and booked a reservation online on Open Tables. Once we arrived we were seating immediately (which was great considering the wait others had). First complaint has to be the main dining room which is not a very intimate experience at all. It is a very crowded room, where if you are not in a both, you will be backed up chair against chair with someone else pretty much. We constantly had different servers bringing different items all of which maybe saying one word each time. Our primary female server just lacked any personality. All of our food came out in a fairly timely manner, it did take awhile to get our drinks, but she just seemed angry and annoyed the whole time. Gave no recommendations, could barely describe the featured wines (which we had to ask her to do), and just overall came across very rude. On a positive note the food was very good. Went with my girlfriend and we both tried to get different items to try many things. We started with the Insalata Casa(House Salad) and Canneloni both to me were average. For entrees we got the Linguini alla Frutti di Mare and the Three Way Spiedini. Both of those were great, very good sauces on both would definitely recommend both, the Spiedini I was told is something they are known for, it came with six pieces of chicken covered in three different sauces. Good size portions if you are hungry. For desert we picked out the Cannoli and Limoncello Torte. The Limoncello was great, very refreshing after a big dinner. Cannoli was good, nothing amazing. Overall I would go back to Garozzos again, but will go to a different location next time.
(1)
Stephanie P.
I teetered between three and four stars on this review. I'll go with four just for the original recipe chicken spedini alone. It is what they are known for, and they do it damn jolly good. The hosts and hostesses are usually sour and surly and ask if you have reservations. Well, hmmm, it's in Johnson county folks and you're not really that special. Reservations and attitudes aside, we were shown to a table fairly quickly. Our server was wonderful and prompt. We ordered a bottle of wine and knew that we each wanted the chicken spedini when we sat down. Another favorite thing of mine is that they serve fresh Italian bread with real butter. I think we ate two loaves before our meal came out. The atmosphere is classy and homey at the same time. I was bummed that they have started using those god forsaken led flameless tea lights. Really?! I want some real god damn candlelight while I'm salivating over my bread and butter. All negativity aside, this is a great Italian place that is a favorite of mine.
(4)
John I.
Forget it!. Last night's dinner was awful. My wife had eggplant which looked like it was taken out of the freezer cooked in oil and smothered with sauce and cheese. She ate one piece and decided that was it. She did like her salad, but anyone can make a salad. I chose Lasagna. It came to the table right out of the micro-wave. Smothered again in sauce. It turned into lasagna soup. I needed a spoon to eat the stuff. I also ate half and said enough. I did have a salad with wilting lettuce. Not good. My wife both agreed the Calamari was very good. For $60 I will go elsewhere. Casone's has never let us down nor has Caraberas. The highlight was our waiter Eric. He is to good to work at this place
(1)
Melissa H.
Horrible! From just walking in & being sat, the server mumbled to herself, "god, is this me?" (meaning, does she have to stay). Thank goodness it wasnt her, just the angry bartender that was pissed he had to take another table. We proceeded to order, an appetizer, a salad,and two entrees. As well as a couple drinks. The food and drinks came out in proper order, and things were timely, but the attitude of the server/bartender was " I hate you, and I cant wait till you finish so I can go." My bf and I are seriously industry, and quite forgiving. We truly felt like we were being punished for walking in the door an hour before closing. Not to mention the food was sub par, way below anything we have ever had there. We tipped the norm, 20%, because tip karma is a bitch, but really just wanted to leave our food uneaten and not pay for any of it. We have leftovers to doctor up at home to make them edible ( it was $90 all said and done) & will NEVER be back. (so freakin bland, seriously)
(1)
C L.
Garozzo's earned its fourth star from an excellent server we had on a busy night. It was their 20th anniversary dinner, so entrees were sold at 1989 prices, and that had drawn quite a crowd. Ours was a party of 11 (I think), which included 3 kids. I'd only been to the Olathe location on two different occasions, and had not been overly impressed with the food. That impression slightly improved with my visit in OP. Appetizers: The stuffed artichoke fell short of its description. Though good, it lacked artichoke and was hard to eat/share. The fried calamari was wisps of breading with little meat. Better, however, was the calamari marinara. Sauteed, and swimming in a pool of spiced tomato sauce, it was much "meatier" than its fried brother. Salad: I felt sorry for my friends who'd ordered the cesar salad over the house salad. I didn't try theirs, but it looked quite lackluster compared to my exciting mix of lettuce, pimentos, artichokes, parmigiano cheese, and oil/vinegar dressing. Loved it! Entree: Linguine alla Frutti di Mare - clams, shrimp, and scallops in a creamy sauce: Yum! I liked that they weren't afraid to let seafood be seafood. They let the fishy essence pervade the sauce and create a marvelously fragrant flavor. It wasn't so strong that it was foul, but it was definitely a seafood lover's delight. The entree was so large that I got my fill and had enough to take home to my 13-year old's bottomless stomach. Best of all, was our accommodating server. We sat near an emergency exit, which was all glass. It was dusk, so the sun was shining in at eye-level. Without being prompted, he remedied the situation by placing a translucent black cloth above the door, which cascaded down to match the length of the door. He was also very patient with our odd arrival/departure times and our requests for boxes and extra appetizers. He also jested with the kids and did not annoy easily with their constant reminders of their orders. Though Garrozo's isn't my idea of KC's best food, I enjoyed my experience and would have no problem going back.
(4)
Bridget R.
This is a family staple of ours. We have been going here for years. It is exactly what you see. Old school Italian flavors. No frills or fuss. We love to get their takeout when a nice meal is wanted but not the cooking. Their spiedini's and their vodka sauce (any dish with it) are both great options.
(4)
Jason R.
I have been to Garozzo's before and it is usually consistent. We had their stuffed artichoke for an appetizer and it was great as usual. We both ordered the special which was a petite filet and a chicken spiedini. I had never had their chicken spiedini so was excited to try it. The filet was nothing to write home about. It was sliced thin and smothered in cheese. This is not how a filet should be served, ever! The spiedini was not bad, not quite as flavorful as I expected. Overall the service and atmosphere made up for the lack luster filet. But will probably go to Jasper's next time.
(3)
Stephanie P.
I teetered between three and four stars on this review. I'll go with four just for the original recipe chicken spedini alone. It is what they are known for, and they do it damn jolly good. The hosts and hostesses are usually sour and surly and ask if you have reservations. Well, hmmm, it's in Johnson county folks and you're not really that special. Reservations and attitudes aside, we were shown to a table fairly quickly. Our server was wonderful and prompt. We ordered a bottle of wine and knew that we each wanted the chicken spedini when we sat down. Another favorite thing of mine is that they serve fresh Italian bread with real butter. I think we ate two loaves before our meal came out. The atmosphere is classy and homey at the same time. I was bummed that they have started using those god forsaken led flameless tea lights. Really?! I want some real god damn candlelight while I'm salivating over my bread and butter. All negativity aside, this is a great Italian place that is a favorite of mine.
Ate at Garozzo's tonight, and while waiting for a table, decided to read some reviews. I'm from out of town, so while I had heard good things about the place, I had never been there. One of the other reviews almost threw a wrench in my plan to eat there. Apparently, the red sauce (and potentially other sauces) has animal-derived stock in it, and I don't eat meat. I almost immediately left, but knowing yelp is not always the most reliable, I decided to ask about it. I got confirmation that the red sauce does have beef stock in it, but that the cream sauce does not. The manager then offered to make me some red sauce without the beef stock in it, and pointed out a number of vegetarian dishes on the menu. I eventually took the manager up on the offer of beef-less red sauce and had the eggplant parmesan. It was quite good, if not a bit different than your average eggplant parmesan. So, while the food wasn't outstanding, the customer service was pretty great, and they were willing to help out a vegetarian when asked--something that they really didn't have to do. But to be fair to the person who complained before: beef stock in the red sauce? Why?
(4)
Thai L.
Great place to go for your birthday! You get a free dinner entree of their house specialty, Chicken Spiedini (but only on your actual birthday). I love getting the Spicy Georgio Spiedini - it is epic!
(5)
Monica K.
Garozzo's is amazing! I love the Alfredo sauce. The tortellini Gina is my favorite. My sister usually gets the spiedini and hasn't found one that she doesn't like. I highly recommend this restaurant
(5)
Ben M.
We recently ate here and for the price it was excellent. The calimari was perfectly crispy and had a great taste and the wedding soup was also quite good with fresh wilted spinach in it. The house specialty is the Spiedini di Pollo and this appears to be what most people on here recommend. The waiter offered a combination special with this and the Bistecca Modiga (which he stated was his favorite dish) so I tried it. While the chicken was definitely good the steak was spectacular. It was extremely tender and smothered with cheese and a garlicy white wine sauce. I strongly recommend going to this restaurant if only to try the Bistecca Modiga. Also, the prices were quite reasonable and the service was very good. It is also walking distance from the Doubletree so it is a perfect place to eat if staying there.
(4)
Meghan B.
I go here 3-4 times a year and look forward to it every time. The Chicken Spiedini Garozzo style is a must try and I literally get cravings for the house salad. The wait staff is what really makes this place special. Matt and Hillary are by far the best servers...make sure to request their sections! I am only in a handful of times a year but each make us feel special by remembering us. In fact last time Matt was our server, but Hillary made sure to come over and say hi! Unfortunately about two months ago I was in for a friend's birthday and we had a server who was a young girl home from college for the summer. The experience was just not the same. She was a nice girl, but just did not aid in making my friend''s birthday great. Garozzo's does have an amazing Birthday special. The birthday girl/guy gets a free chicken spiedini dish on their actual birthday with ID. This brings me in every year! Mark was our server about a month ago for my birthday and he did a wonderful job of making our dinner special. A regular customer was sitting a table over and heard it was birthday and sent over a tiramisu...by the why, one of the best in town! Only negatives would be possibility of getting a so-so server if Matt or Hillary are not in and the bread is not the greatest...sometimes it is a little stale, but the food completely makes up for this!
(4)
John G.
I ate there tonight (Aug 16, 2012) while traveling to K-State. I stayed across the street in the Doubletree. I'm not sure why there are so many mixed reviews. I went with a party of 6. We all enjoyed our meals. Our waitress was very polite and attentive (perhaps they've fixed previous problems?). I ordered their Chicken Speidini. It was excellent. My wife ordered the Diablo version. Also excellent. I thought everything was fine and I would definitely go here again.
(4)
Krystal P.
I don't understand where the positive reviews come from. I am a huge fan, and known critic of Italian food. It's not as easy as throwing a heartless ladle of sauce over an overcooked and soggy bowl of store bought pasta. The entire meal at Garozzo's was just below average. A greasy appetizer of fried ravioli and garlic oil - the oil was served in a bowl, with the favorless ingredients pooled on the bottom of the bowl where you ended up with 95% oil soaked break with a speck of oregano left to flavor. This should be served on a plate. The ravioli's were obviously frozen. I tried the chicken spiedini - not only because it was the only thing on the menu, which lacked any excitement and your traditional Italian homeruns (Osso Bucco, Bolognese, veal piccata). It is also supposed to be the house specialty. I was presented a dried out piece of rolled up chicken again covered in a sauce of garlic, lemon and herbs you would expect to explode with flavor rather than frown on your plate. My husband's veal parmigiana was just as disappointing. There red sauce is such a far cry from an Italian red sauce that I just pushed my pasta aside. May be a harsh review, but after the bold positive reviews I have recieved from friends who apparently don't know better - I had to set the story straight.
I hadn't been to the O.Park Garozzo's in approximately 2 years, so decided to visit tonight. The service was very prompt and attentive. Sadly, the food didn't match. I ordered the Manicotti and it arrived - 3 tubes on a plate, covered with a sauce. To be fair, the sauce was good, but 3 room-temperature 1" inch diameter tubes for $14.00 & no salad !! Bland and chilled would best describe my dining experience. Maybe I should have looked for the word "baked" on the menu, which would have indicated the pasta had at least seen the inside of an oven. Won't reccomend this location.
(2)
Samantha B.
The Chicken Spiedini Samantha was really delicious!! Absolutely the best dish we had. We came in on my birthday, so we also got it for free. The other dish we ordered was the Capelli D'Angelo, which was tasty but nothing special. They have a full bar, so you can order pretty much anything you want. We also got a cannoli and spumoni for dessert, which were both excellent. Overall, a pleasant experience and very good Italian food.
(4)
Angel N.
My husband and I love the food here. We went to Little Italy this summer in NY and nothing came close. We always have Matt wait on us he is a great server.
(5)
Lyn P.
This place was hyped up to me by my co-worker that suggested we eat here for dinner. It was definitely a fancy schmancy place. The atmosphere was nice and we had great service from our waitress. I had the Vitella Saltimbucco. The veal was a bit tougher than I expected (the first reviewer was right that Carraba's, even though it is a chain restaurant, is better.) But they totally redeemed themselves with dessert. The tiramisu is homemade and you could really taste the amaretto. We also had the turtle cheesecake - the caramel was thick and super yummy.
(3)
Lea K.
My personal opinion: If you don't eat meat...don't bother. I asked the server about several different meals...EVERYTHING seemed to have some kind of meat broth. I couldn't even have the option of taking out the chicken and having a vegetarian dish. I just have to ask, does the chicken stock really add that much to the stock that they can't use vegetable broth instead. I couldn't even order. I didn't even try any of the food since there wasn't a dinner option for me to try. They should have a few sauces 'white, red etc' that don't have chicken stock. I ordered a dinner salad. The server messed up and brought me a side salad before everyone else got their meals. To her correcting this meant leaving the side salad to wilt while I waited for everyone else to be served and then brining me another side salad while everyone else got their dinner. Then when the bill came she tried charging me for two small salads which was more expensive than the dinner salad. I WANTED the dinner salad. The two small salads were a mistake on their part. I was not happy with the food or the service.
(1)
Jessica Y.
I've been to the Olathe Garozzo's several times, but recently visited this location for the first time for a business dinner. The place was totally packed on a Tuesday night at eight so I'm glad we made reservations. I got the Rigatoni Angela because i was looking for some cream but nothing too heaving. This was beef tips and green peppers in a red creamy sauce and it was quite good. The beef tips were cooked perfectly a little pink inside, the mushroom flavor wasn't overpowered by the sauce, I though the green peppers were a little soft-but that is being very picky. It also reheated perfectly the next day. One of my dinning companions had the Spedini alla Samantha-I tasted the Alfredo sauce that came with it. This was a serious Alfredo we are talking so rich and thick you can hear the cows being milked in back. The sauce was delicious, but I doubt my ability to finish a whole meal of because it was just so rich. Like I said it was packed that night, our waitress was obviously very busy, but took care of our entire party of 12 and got everything out in a timely manner. While the service was good, there wasn't that spark from the servers who seem to get into listing the specials or helping you decide that makes it really great, that was a bit disappointing because i am used to that at the other location. Additionally, I felt like the restaurant overall lacked the classiness I am used to at the other location. The decor at the Overland park location was a little more plastic plant versus the sleek, modern design in Olathe (possibly the first time anyone has ever used sleek, modern and Olathe in the same sentence without a negative). Overall, the food was still great, I love their food and wine offerings, but I felt like the service and atmosphere did not live up to my Garozzo's expectations.
(4)
Joe H.
I've been here once. It was aight. Since chicken spedini began here, I got the one in diablo sauce or something to that effect. It was good, nothing special. I didn't consider it a special dining experience. There are a number of other Italian restaurants I would hit up before going here again. My brother did come to this location with his wife and another couple. They sat down, one of them reached for the basket of bread to take a piece and a live cockroach came running out of it. Awesome right? What was awesomer was that the restaurant offered to do nothing after it happened. The excuse was that they buy the bread prepared from another vendor, like that makes it better. They did bring them out another basket of bread though, which my sister-in-law actually took a piece of and ate. Classic. Garozzo's, where cockroach bread began!!!
(2)
B K.
what can i say about a small little italian place that is steps from the hotel I stayed at? Well, maybe you should drive elsewhere. Granted, the place is nice. The wait staff was friendly if not dependable. Was there for a business dinner and was told it was an awesome little find. I disagree slightly. Food was good but nothing to write home about. I was burping garlic all night long in my hotel room. had the house specialty which is a chicken breast cooked on a skewer and lightly breaded served over four types of noodles and sauces. Mine was the spicy version. while it delivered on the spicy there just wasn't enough sauce to go around. We had the toasted ravioli app and it was OK but nothing great. the cheese inside was quite dry actually now that I think about it. and the wine list left something to be desired. not very many selections by the glass. I think one Chianti was all they offered. oh well, at least it was close to the hotel.
(2)
Grant H.
Love the vodka cream sauce, but doesn't have as much nostalgia as the downtown location.
(3)
Julie W.
Maybe I'm just really picky. Maybe each time I've tried Garozzo's, I've just had bad luck. But this place is gross and makes me think that people that like it don't know what real Italian food tastes like.
(1)
Meredith S.
I'm combining my experiences here. I've eaten at this OP location several times, enough to know it's just not on my list of favorite places. Service seems to to hit or miss. One time my sister and I had such awful service we left a tip accordingly. The waiter...it was winter time...literally ran outside to our cars and told us we had failed to pay the correct amount and owed another $10.00. We were shocked as we KNEW we had paid the bill in full and left him a small tip of a few dollars but we didn't get the type of service that warrants 15-20% so we didn't leave that amount. He was insistant that we had short-changed him. We had both counted the money and looked at the bill. Anyway, we each handed him another $5.00! I called the restaurant when I got home because we were both steaming over what he'd done. HE answered the phone. It took forever for the manager to come to the phone and he flatly denied his waiter could have done such a thing. I waited a LONG time before I went back after that one. A friend suggested we go there for my birthday this year because if you go on your birthday and show your ID they give you a comp meal. That does not include the salad...just the meal. You must take another person with you who orders a dinner and you have to go after 4pm. We took a group of four. We were seated at one of the tables in the center of the room with a light and a fan over it. Every time the fan blades passed the lights it gave the effect of a mirrored ball from the old disco days over our table. Trying to read the menu with that happened caused us to get headaches and a couple of us felt nauseated. The waitress said she'd have to check about turning the fan off because all the fans operate together. That seems really dumb to me but finally somebody came to turn off the fans. They arrived just before we were getting ready to get up and leave. I love their house salad and the manicotti. It's nothing special but I like it. The bread is good as well and I believe it's purchased from a bakery not fresh-baked. I will probably go back again because it's convenient to where I live but I'm seriously looking for another place to satisfy by Italian food hankerings. This location has never been as good as the one downtown and the old one that was in Independence. They are too far out for a casual dinner. Maybe I'll save up and just go once in awhile to Lydia's?
(2)
Monica B.
I went here for a rehearsal dinner, and although the room was very small it was a lovely place! There was a 4 course meal served and every course was delicious!! After the dinner several of us stayed out on the patio until after midnight and they were very accommodating. The waiter, at one point, had been taking forever with our drinks and I went and told the manager and we got the round for free!! So all is forgiven. I would return although it won't be the first spot I hit when back in OP.
(4)
Kristen B.
PS. Tomorrow is my Birthday and someone told me that you can get a free chicken spidini at Garozzos on your Bday! I think that is the bees knees!
(4)
Jeff H.
I'm a little biased towards this little piece of heaven because it is where I took my wife on our first real date. The wine list is great. The pasta dishes are fabulous. The chicken spiedini must be eaten. It's the best dish in KC.
(5)
Aww W.
We were travelling through and staying at the Double Tree hotel across from the restaurant. We decided to eat there because we love Italian food. We were greeted by the host who did not seemed welcoming. However, we were hungry after travelling the whole day. We were seated and was served by a rude waiter whopaid very little attention to us and was hurrying us to finish our meals. At one point, the waiter was clearing off the plates when my husband was still eating. Coming from an unbaised non-local, we were not impressed by the quality of the food. The food was bland and overpriced for the quality and quantity. The bread was served with only pats of butter. Other restaurant that we frequented in other cities had much better flavor and the fine dining restuarant would serve their bread with flavored olive oil. I will not recommend this restaurant to anyone who is travelling through nor any locals who truly appreciate Italian food.
(1)
Michelle G.
update 5/12/08, upgrade to four starts tonight, i did try Garozzos again and i'd like to amend my review i still wouldnt order the trio its not baked ravioli or mostocholi and i really thought it was bland, tonight but i tried the lasanga toasted ravioli and cannoli and it all was VERY good. i'll return for that meal. my old review: i was also here once, it was allright. nice place people were friendly, nothing against them like the other reviewer said there is a whole host of italian places i'd go to before i'd hit here again, i really didnt want the spedini i'm not a fan of lemon anything when its a main course. i tried the trio, wasnt thrilled with anything so much i'd go back for it and i didnt even reheat my leftovers, I've had lasanga everywhere from a little Place in Sherman Oaks California that served the first pizza to the Valley to Omaha and all over town here. i've been meaning to give Garozzos another chance but the other places i like Riccos Johnny Cascones Johnny Carinos Carrabas on Metcalf and 105th, evenOlive Garden Macaroni Grill Zios and Figlios are better meals. and the price is WOW are they a bit pricey! Lunch i'd like to try sometime since they are near my house.. now to find them OPEN.
(4)
Janine d.
on a scale of one to five, this restuarant gets fifty stars in my book. this is just about my favorite food on earth! my ex-girlfriend brought me garozzos tortellini gina once when she came to visit me, and even after being flown cross country, it still rocked so hard it converted my primary partner to garozzos worship. the original restuarant in the river market area burned, but there's a new one there now, plus locations in just about every suburb of kansas city. so, if you're ever anywhere near one, go! eat tortellini gina! eat cavatelli catagna! eat zitti con broccoli! eat! and think of me . . .
(5)
Sarah W.
Good place to take out of town guests. My folks have been staying with me, and wanted a place to eat that wasn't The Olive Garden. The OP location is kinda blah for ambiance, but the food is consistent although nothing to write home about. My parents, however enjoyed it so that's what counts. Our service was a little slow, but our server was knowledgeable. Half price bottle of wines on Sundays, so that's a plus. This wishy washiness of my review is a perfect reflection of how I felt about dinner. If you want to experience Garozzo's, just go to the downtown location.
(3)
Sorry, we don't have Q&A for this restaurant.
Sorry, No Coupons available for this restaurant.
Address :9950 College Blvd
Overland Park, KS, 66210
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : Yes Take-out : No Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Accepts Bitcoin : No Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Dogs Allowed : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
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.
Bridget R.
This is a family staple of ours. We have been going here for years. It is exactly what you see. Old school Italian flavors. No frills or fuss. We love to get their takeout when a nice meal is wanted but not the cooking. Their spiedini's and their vodka sauce (any dish with it) are both great options.
(4)Jason R.
I have been to Garozzo's before and it is usually consistent. We had their stuffed artichoke for an appetizer and it was great as usual. We both ordered the special which was a petite filet and a chicken spiedini. I had never had their chicken spiedini so was excited to try it. The filet was nothing to write home about. It was sliced thin and smothered in cheese. This is not how a filet should be served, ever! The spiedini was not bad, not quite as flavorful as I expected. Overall the service and atmosphere made up for the lack luster filet. But will probably go to Jasper's next time.
(3)Bill K.
Went during KCRW and made reservation thru Open Table. Still had to wait 15 min to be seated in the bar/lounge. This was at 1:30 too??? Service was slow, asked for Olive Oil for bread ? Busboy finally got it when I asked a 2nd time. Tried the so called House Special Spedini 3 ways. If you like sauce and lots of it, this is your place. Seems like they load up on the sauce to cover the lack of food quality. Cannaloni was a plate of sauce. Canoli was worst ever ate. I have ate at better Pizza places in NYC than this place. Great advertising on the radio, but lack of service and food quality. Avoid unless you love sauce.
(1)David H.
Business dinner with colleagues. House salad is excellent. They always make great drinks as well. Morretti beer on draught. I had the Seafood Diablo. It was more like the feast of seafood. Very nicely seasoned and not too spicy, there was a tremendous amount of shrimp, scallops, clams and mainly calamari (squid). So much that I couldn't even touch the pasta. Many people leaving with doggie bags. Be sure to leave room for dessert.
(4)Kay L.
This Garozzo's is perfectly fitted to the upscale-corporate-JoCo neighborhood in which it's located: where the original Columbus Park location feels like an old-school, family-run, straight-off-the-Hill joint (or maybe something from an episode of the Sopranos,) this restaurant is light, airy, and caters to the lunch crowd. The food is the same, though -- excellent. Chicken Speidini (still the original, and best, in the city) is always a good bet. The stuffed artichoke is my personal favorite. I've only been here a couple times (I usually end up at the Olathe restaurant) but service has been pretty good each time. They can get very busy at lunchtime, so there is sometimes a wait for a table, but once seated I've been able to order quickly & receive my food promptly. The calamari is great!!
(4)Tasha S.
The service at this location was horrible. It took at least 15 minutes to be seated. After we got seated, it took another 15 minutes for anyone to take our order. This was our first visit and will be the last at this location. The food was good, but with the poor service, we won't be back. The server seemed less than interested in being there, as did the rest of the restaurant staff. We noticed two other tables complaining about their service. We went after the lunch rush...and still....
(2)Shawn J.
The service here sucks. The Chicken Spiedini sure doesn't. In fact it's the only reason I come here when I return back to KC. I don't even bother with anything else on their menu. Chicken Spiedini travels, and travels well. 4 Stars, yes, just for the Chicken Spiedini.
(4)Michelle G.
update 5/12/08, upgrade to four starts tonight, i did try Garozzos again and i'd like to amend my review i still wouldnt order the trio its not baked ravioli or mostocholi and i really thought it was bland, tonight but i tried the lasanga toasted ravioli and cannoli and it all was VERY good. i'll return for that meal. my old review: i was also here once, it was allright. nice place people were friendly, nothing against them like the other reviewer said there is a whole host of italian places i'd go to before i'd hit here again, i really didnt want the spedini i'm not a fan of lemon anything when its a main course. i tried the trio, wasnt thrilled with anything so much i'd go back for it and i didnt even reheat my leftovers, I've had lasanga everywhere from a little Place in Sherman Oaks California that served the first pizza to the Valley to Omaha and all over town here. i've been meaning to give Garozzos another chance but the other places i like Riccos Johnny Cascones Johnny Carinos Carrabas on Metcalf and 105th, evenOlive Garden Macaroni Grill Zios and Figlios are better meals. and the price is WOW are they a bit pricey! Lunch i'd like to try sometime since they are near my house.. now to find them OPEN.
(4)Janine d.
on a scale of one to five, this restuarant gets fifty stars in my book. this is just about my favorite food on earth! my ex-girlfriend brought me garozzos tortellini gina once when she came to visit me, and even after being flown cross country, it still rocked so hard it converted my primary partner to garozzos worship. the original restuarant in the river market area burned, but there's a new one there now, plus locations in just about every suburb of kansas city. so, if you're ever anywhere near one, go! eat tortellini gina! eat cavatelli catagna! eat zitti con broccoli! eat! and think of me . . .
(5)Carrie R.
Very average. We went there on a Wednesday for lunch. It wasn't very busy (even at noon when we were there). From the time we ordered our food, it took over 45 minutes until it was delivered. A "quick bite to eat" turned into an hour and a half lunch. When we said something to the server, he quickly blamed it on the kitchen. Classy. The food was also very average. I ordered the lasagne, which could have very well come from a frozen entree. It didn't taste fresh and was actually quite bland. My husband got the chicken spiedini in Alfredo. That was a good heart-attack on a plate, by far the best item any of us ordered. Probably won't go back, ever.
(2)Bimal K.
The food and service were great! The Spedini Garrozo and garlic bread was really worth it. Halfway during dinner we had an unexpected visitor at our table. The manager apologized for the bug but gave us some comment about how it never happens. Don't know how others feel about this, but to me that's just unacceptable. Hopefully this two star rating gets their attention!
(2)Jeff S.
I'm giving this a 3, because it's a good restaurant. It's by no means great and now that I understand it's a small chain, it stands to reason. Pros: If you are alone, staying the Doubletree, and want to watch the ESPY's with some decent cannelloni and some cheap red wine...you are in luck. Sit in the bar, set the bar low, you'll be fine. Cons: Food is ok, not great. Wait staff clearly work on volume, not quality. Not bad people, just rushed. Now that I know exactly what to expect, I'd come back. But alone, and with lower expectations.
(3)L F.
Just enjoyed Father's Day brunch at Garozzo. What can you say other then it was very delicious. The quality of the food makes it one of the best brunch is you can find the Kansas City area. Prime rib, nice Italian specialties the restaurant is known for serving. To finish it off there was great Italian pastries. Overall a very good value for great Italian food.
(5)Billie H.
Garozzo's isn't bad, but it isn't stellar. I have been to various locations in the past. They do tend to be consistent throughout the metro. They are known for the spedini and I have to say, these are pretty good. I have tried pastas with red sauces, lasagna, fettucine, spedini, etc. I have never had a bad meal here, but it is very old school Italian. A lot of the dishes are submerged in sauce instead of lightly tossed and complimenting the dish. Service can be hit or miss. On my most recent visit, it was good, but very odd. I wasn't sure if the waiter was new, was thinking about his date from the night before, or what, but he just wasn't all there. We were offered bread at the end of our meal.... If you are really hungry, or have a family of twelve to feed for a week, get the pasta trio. It is seriously like five pounds of pasta! In a town that severely lacks really good Italian, Garozzo's is a decent option.
(3)Nikhil R.
Amazing taste. One should definitely try any dish with marinara sauce. Best Marinara sauce I have ever tasted. Also try their martini. They have quite a variety.
(5)Nick V.
Awesome meal for my birthday. The meal for me was free on my birthday. Added bonus. Ashley our server was good. Servings for dinner huge. Wine list large but bottle I ordered of Pinot noir was ok. Kids loved their food. Wedge salad great. Chicken spiedini was fantastic. As good as Carmens. I will be back. We all had leftovers to take home.
(5)Loretta F.
Ordered eggplant Parmesan for Togo .it was so bad...the eggplant was not cooked.the bread was not fresh. Bad experience.
(2)Zarina P.
Perfect for an anniversary! My boyfriend took me here for our 1 year. We had a wonderful time, lovely atmosphere (man singing Frank Sinatra & another playing piano) He spent $105, $75 food the rest tip.We had the artichoke with shrimp as an appetizer, wedge salad, the seafood ravioli mario, and he had the 3 way pasta(took a mountain of pasta home!). I had a mago passion martini had no complaints;) I would recommend garozzo's for a special occasion.
(5)Ali B.
Chicken Spedini three-ways for Restaurant Week was amazing! Their house salad is excellent too. We'll be back again!
(4)Calle H.
Our food was pretty good. The artichoke heart appetizer was delicious! My fettuccine Alfredo was creamy and delicious. However, what ruined my experience is when I asked for a to go box because our waiter took my plate, insisted on boxing it up himself, picked up other people's dirty dishes and put them all on the same tray and carried it into the back....totally ruined my meal.
(4)Eric L.
Had the chicken spiedini diavolo. The portion was very generous and the chicken was tasty enough. Thought the sauce was overly thick but not too bad. Definitely spicy as advertised. Service was good. Thought it was a bit pricy given the $$ on the profile. I think it's more in the $$$ range. Any pasta dish with meat was going to be at least $20. Fish dishes were in the $30 range. Never been to an Italian restaurant, upscale or otherwise that didn't at least have the standard parmigiana dishes. Suspicious about huge pasta plates with a really large meatball. Are they trying to impress or overwhelm me? Personally would prefer smaller meatballs to facilitate sharing and just make the plate more manageable. Not overly impressed with the food or the value with their prices but you'll definitely have a reasonably tasty and filling meal.
(3)Cassandra A.
The people I went to this restaurant with would probably give it more stars as several people said it was one of their longtime favorite restaurants. I like this little italian place, but I definitely have other venues I enjoy more for my pasta carb eating experience. Service: First I will start off with saying that I think my waitress was hard of hearing because there were several service encounters that made my experience slightly frustrating. Example: when I was ushered to my seat with my group, my waitress asked me if I wanted a glass of wine. I stated I would like to look at the wine menu and she then removed my wine glass. When other guests arrived later I had to go out of my way to ask for a glass. Later when I she came by to take appetizer plates, I stated I was still working on my salad, but she took my plate away anyway. Appetizers: The artichoke was awesome. The garlic cheese bread was loaded with quit a bit more cheese than I would ever like. Main Course: I ordered the Chicken Spiendini with the house salad. This was a great option. Both were good. Dessert: Our table sampled the Torte Di Ricotta Con Frogole and the Limoncello Cake. Loved the both but preferred the Lemon cake. Overall, the food was good, but the service had something more to be desired, especially considering the cost of the meal. I just honestly felt like my server could give a flip less about what I wanted while I was there. I honestly don't know if she really was hard of hearing, but I just have to assume that she was based on how she responded during my visit. I personally will not make a trip back here unless my group or party insists on it. I have enjoyed great italian with much better service (and price) elsewhere.
(3)Steffon C.
Very good food, the server did a good job but took a little too much time in between visits. My wife ordered the spaghetti with meat sauce very very good lots of meat the sauce was a little sweet but yummy. I had chicken spiedini with the diablo sauce, perfect! I'd come back soon.
(4)Dawn C.
I've eaten here for lunch twice now. I have to say I like the place. White linens, lots of windows letting in the sunlight, waiters in aprons... it strikes a nice balance between clean, welcoming and classy. The chicken spiedini has caught my fancy both times, and was so juicy! Seriously, I make some mean chicken at home and pride myself on keeping it juicy, but I've got nothing on these chefs!! The alfredo sauce is very potent. I can be really choosy about alfredo since it is easy to make it pasty, bland and still super fattening. This tasted cheesy and garlicky and though it was very thick (oh my goodness I can't even imagine how much fat was in there) you still wanted to soak it up with a piece of bread once the pasta was gone. Not that I finished my pasta, these are generous portions! The bread that is served table side is nothing fancy. I think there's room for improvement there. I'd also like it to be served with olive oil for dipping, not butter. But that's me. The calamari appetizer is wonderful. Both times I have had it I've found it to be soft and not at all chewy or rubbery. The red sauce it is served with has a little kick, which I enjoy, especially since I douse the calamari with fresh squeezed lemons. My lunchmate didn't think the lasagna was anything spectacular. Neither did our other companion think the spaghetti with giant meatball was the best she had tried. It's impressive in size but tasted more like meatloaf, or so I was told. I'd say stick with the spiedini, it's their specialty and you won't miss the mark.
(4)Libby J.
My husband and I had a wonderful night at this location. We usually go to the downtown KC location, but this time decided to try the OP location. We are glad we did. The waitress (Rose) was very helpful and the food was wonderful. We will be back and will recommend to our friends!
(5)Numbers D.
Very good Italian food. I went here for a medical education talk so didn't get to see the full menu and my dinner was selected for me but it was all very tasty. Service was excellent and the restaurant was clean.
(4)Troy D.
With my recent visit, I've officially visited every Garozzo's in town (do I get bonus points for that?)... and this one comes in second after the original. It's located in a strip mall next to corporate woods, but doesn't feel strip mally. It doesn't quite have the genteel Italian family atmosphere of the original downtown -- but it ain't bad. (It's certainly better than Olathe and Lee's Summit.) Had the spedini for dinner, and it lived up to the quality of the other locations -- although the specific one I had wasn't totally up to my expectations. I count this more as being a difference in taste than a "bad meal." Service was decent and on time (although there were a couple of slurp moments)... and we were seated pretty quickly on a weeknight (although we did have a reservation, it didn't seem like the wait was too long). It wasn't bad.
(4)Kathy B.
I was disappointed with my visit to Garozzo's. The bread was delicious, but I found the rest of the meal to be average. Not anything I'd send back, but not good enough to make me want to return either. I had the house salad. It comes heavily drenched in dressing, and I felt that it overpowered the rest of the salad. For dinner I tried their signature dish, the Chicken Speidini Garozzo. It was a bit too spicy for my tastes and it must have been a bad night, because it was not very moist. The food wasn't the problem though. Our server was very pushy about selling wine and dessert. After telling her from the start that we were not interested in drinking wine, we were asked more than four times if we wanted wine. Then when dinner was over, she started on the dessert. Over and over. Really. None of us were ambivalent. When it goes beyond two "No thank you's", it becomes irritating.
(2)Stephen H.
Please note: this rating is for this Garozzo's only. I've been to the OG location in Columbus Park and had a great time. Okay, so when I first moved to Overland Park, one of the points of conversation was that I lived in Italy as an undergrad and Garozzo's was a name that would come up more than once. I've not been since the last time I went, which was 3 years ago now (and I would love to be corrected by a staff member) when I received poor service on 2 occasions and returned for a 3rd because of a gift card I had received. I was ravenous that night and would have eaten anything, but just so you know, I generally judge an Italian restaurant by its gnocchi. Now this is an odd taste-idiosyncrasy of mine. Gnocchi is a favorite dish of mine, but you should probably judge an Italian restaurant by its penne or cannoli. That being said, the gnocchi at this Garozzo's was terrible. I was hungry, so I ate half of it, but then I stopped out of just hating it. The waitress: "So, what's wrong." "Your gnocchi is terrible." "Oh, you know, I thought about telling you that it's not our best when you ordered it." (30 Rock swoosh moment: "Okay, you THOUGHT about telling me, but you didn't tell me? Is that like thinking about not cheating on me, and then cheating on me?") "It tasted like it came out of a can. I'm really disappointed." I don't think she charged me for the gnocchi at the end, but that wasn't the point. I didn't get a satisfactory explanation for what happened, or why I wouldn't get the same experience the next time I went, and what if I felt like gnocchi. Haven't been back since. Poof.
(2)V. M.
This review is only for the Overland Park location. The one on Missouri Ave is excellent. Service was really slow and for a while we didn't know if we would get the chance to order dinner. Literally over a half hour passed before our order was taken. Food was average at best. I had the evening special which was a Fillet that was about the size of a fast food hamburger patty (not the quarter pounder either) and a chicken kabob (the chicken was small also). Together they almost made up a happy meal. Not worth the time or money.
(1)Erin W.
Huge portions. Food is good, not anything extra special but good. Fairly pricy so I'd rather go to Olive Garden where quality is similar but cheaper. I'll be back if someone wants to go, but not often
(3)Joe H.
I've been here once. It was aight. Since chicken spedini began here, I got the one in diablo sauce or something to that effect. It was good, nothing special. I didn't consider it a special dining experience. There are a number of other Italian restaurants I would hit up before going here again. My brother did come to this location with his wife and another couple. They sat down, one of them reached for the basket of bread to take a piece and a live cockroach came running out of it. Awesome right? What was awesomer was that the restaurant offered to do nothing after it happened. The excuse was that they buy the bread prepared from another vendor, like that makes it better. They did bring them out another basket of bread though, which my sister-in-law actually took a piece of and ate. Classic. Garozzo's, where cockroach bread began!!!
(2)B K.
what can i say about a small little italian place that is steps from the hotel I stayed at? Well, maybe you should drive elsewhere. Granted, the place is nice. The wait staff was friendly if not dependable. Was there for a business dinner and was told it was an awesome little find. I disagree slightly. Food was good but nothing to write home about. I was burping garlic all night long in my hotel room. had the house specialty which is a chicken breast cooked on a skewer and lightly breaded served over four types of noodles and sauces. Mine was the spicy version. while it delivered on the spicy there just wasn't enough sauce to go around. We had the toasted ravioli app and it was OK but nothing great. the cheese inside was quite dry actually now that I think about it. and the wine list left something to be desired. not very many selections by the glass. I think one Chianti was all they offered. oh well, at least it was close to the hotel.
(2)Grant H.
Love the vodka cream sauce, but doesn't have as much nostalgia as the downtown location.
(3)Julie W.
Maybe I'm just really picky. Maybe each time I've tried Garozzo's, I've just had bad luck. But this place is gross and makes me think that people that like it don't know what real Italian food tastes like.
(1)Meredith S.
I'm combining my experiences here. I've eaten at this OP location several times, enough to know it's just not on my list of favorite places. Service seems to to hit or miss. One time my sister and I had such awful service we left a tip accordingly. The waiter...it was winter time...literally ran outside to our cars and told us we had failed to pay the correct amount and owed another $10.00. We were shocked as we KNEW we had paid the bill in full and left him a small tip of a few dollars but we didn't get the type of service that warrants 15-20% so we didn't leave that amount. He was insistant that we had short-changed him. We had both counted the money and looked at the bill. Anyway, we each handed him another $5.00! I called the restaurant when I got home because we were both steaming over what he'd done. HE answered the phone. It took forever for the manager to come to the phone and he flatly denied his waiter could have done such a thing. I waited a LONG time before I went back after that one. A friend suggested we go there for my birthday this year because if you go on your birthday and show your ID they give you a comp meal. That does not include the salad...just the meal. You must take another person with you who orders a dinner and you have to go after 4pm. We took a group of four. We were seated at one of the tables in the center of the room with a light and a fan over it. Every time the fan blades passed the lights it gave the effect of a mirrored ball from the old disco days over our table. Trying to read the menu with that happened caused us to get headaches and a couple of us felt nauseated. The waitress said she'd have to check about turning the fan off because all the fans operate together. That seems really dumb to me but finally somebody came to turn off the fans. They arrived just before we were getting ready to get up and leave. I love their house salad and the manicotti. It's nothing special but I like it. The bread is good as well and I believe it's purchased from a bakery not fresh-baked. I will probably go back again because it's convenient to where I live but I'm seriously looking for another place to satisfy by Italian food hankerings. This location has never been as good as the one downtown and the old one that was in Independence. They are too far out for a casual dinner. Maybe I'll save up and just go once in awhile to Lydia's?
(2)Monica B.
I went here for a rehearsal dinner, and although the room was very small it was a lovely place! There was a 4 course meal served and every course was delicious!! After the dinner several of us stayed out on the patio until after midnight and they were very accommodating. The waiter, at one point, had been taking forever with our drinks and I went and told the manager and we got the round for free!! So all is forgiven. I would return although it won't be the first spot I hit when back in OP.
(4)Kristen B.
PS. Tomorrow is my Birthday and someone told me that you can get a free chicken spidini at Garozzos on your Bday! I think that is the bees knees!
(4)Jeff H.
I'm a little biased towards this little piece of heaven because it is where I took my wife on our first real date. The wine list is great. The pasta dishes are fabulous. The chicken spiedini must be eaten. It's the best dish in KC.
(5)Aww W.
We were travelling through and staying at the Double Tree hotel across from the restaurant. We decided to eat there because we love Italian food. We were greeted by the host who did not seemed welcoming. However, we were hungry after travelling the whole day. We were seated and was served by a rude waiter whopaid very little attention to us and was hurrying us to finish our meals. At one point, the waiter was clearing off the plates when my husband was still eating. Coming from an unbaised non-local, we were not impressed by the quality of the food. The food was bland and overpriced for the quality and quantity. The bread was served with only pats of butter. Other restaurant that we frequented in other cities had much better flavor and the fine dining restuarant would serve their bread with flavored olive oil. I will not recommend this restaurant to anyone who is travelling through nor any locals who truly appreciate Italian food.
(1)Amanda S.
I know what to expect from this location - average food, slow service and generic "Italian" atmosphere. I was outvoted for a lunch outing with work people. I haven't enjoyed the food here and only order the Inslata Santa Teresa. The salad is good but not as fresh tasting as it is at the original Garozzo's location. My party of four were the first table seated for lunch. We had three salads, an order of fried ravioli, one pasta and one Spiedini. We were there for almost one hour and 45 minutes. To me, that isn't acceptable for lunch service. But, if you have more than an hour for lunch during the work day then this is the place for you. This location doesn't have the warm, family feeling like the original location. It's sterile and the Italian shout out is literally Dean Martin on repeat.
(2)Paul M.
If cheap knock-off Italian food at premiere prices is your thing, then you've found your next favorite restaurant--and here it is!
(1)Zach G.
I have been to two locations of Garozzo's and had more-or-less the same experience. Therefore, I am going to review both but stick to mostly the same review. I do like the feel of the restaurant here in Overland Park. The only negative is that I think it can feel slightly cramped when busy, but not too bad. Luckily, despite that, it doesn't seem to get too loud. Staff here is very friendly, and prices are maybe slightly higher than I would expect, but nothing too painful in my opinion. The wine list is not great, but it gets the job done. The menu is filled with many choices, but none of them are overly inventive...it's all rather mundane. The taste is better than average, but far from outstanding. The pasta's here are fairly basic, but tasty. They are cooked to a good level of done-ness. While the sauces are flavorful, they are nothing spectacular. Many people know Garozzo's for their spiedini, which I have had twice. I really enjoyed my experience with the veal spiedini - it was moist, flavorful, and the perfect size. However the chicken spiedini, which they consider their "signature dish", was only OK...slightly dry with not as much flavor. I'd choose the veal again over the chicken without a doubt. I will probably return, but there are plenty of other Italian restaurants I would like to check out first.
(3)Vivian M.
My mother and my son visited Garozzo's this morning for Easter brunch. Big mistake. Cold, dry food, raw shrimp with big poop veins still in them, not even an omelet station, or pastries, just cold bluberry muffins. For $23.99 I expected more than this. Horrible, will never go back, so gross. I almost forgot, my son went to the rest room and he heard loud cursing coming from the kitchen. He said whoever it was used every profanity in the cuss book. Not professional at all and its Easter sunday! This place needs help!
(1)Rob M.
I've had lunch here a few times with my Dad and some of his buddies who have a birthday club that gets together almost every month. I've liked the food at Garozzo's, and their red sauce (available to take home) is not sweet, which I like. Red sauce shouldn't be sugary, in my book! I've had the lasagna here, which was good, and on my latest visit, a few days ago, I had the restaurant's specialty, chicken spiedini -- they have various versions and this time I ordered the house special version. It's numerous chunks of de-skewered chicken breast, very lightly breaded, in a lemon-herb sauce. I thought the sauce was a bit bitter, which surprised me, but it was OK. My Dad had the spaghetti and meatball, which was a large order that he could only eat half of! (It was a really BIG meatball!!!) I had a small Caesar salad as a starter and thought it was good. Garozzo's seems a little bit pricey to me, compared to similar Italian-American places in the area. There is no lunch menu. Lunch and dinner are the same price. Service was friendly and very competent. This location is on College Blvd. in the small shopping center on the north side of the street, just east of the Doubletree Hotel. Easy to find.
(3)Katie M.
Visited Garozzo's over lunch with two coworkers during restaurant week last week. I hadn't eaten there in years, but it was close to the office, and the RW menu looked tasty, so we decided to give it a try. What a waste of time and calories! Our waiter was absolutely horrible. Not only was his service terrible, he proceeded to tell us how bad he was at doing routine server things throughout the meal. Upon taking our order, "I better write this down... because I always forget. Haha!" Upon bringing out our soup, he brought us two bread plates and then awkwardly carried a messy bowl to us. "I have trouble with spilling the soup. Haha!" Two of us wanted boxes for our food: "I better wrap these up separately... because I always mix these up. Haha!" He was the only one laughing. Two of us had the soup and one had the salad. My soup was extremely salty and my coworker's colorless iceberg salad was drenched in dressing. My entree was quite tasty, chicken in a yummy dijon cream sauce. Another coworker order the seafood ravioli, which she enjoyed, but I thought it was a little too fishy. All of us ordered the cannoli for dessert, which came out rock hard and full of slivered almonds, which, while typical of most cannoli, came as quite a surprise to my friend who CLEARLY MENTIONED HER NUT ALLERGY BEFORE ORDERING DESSERT and was assured by the waiter that this was a safe option. Are you serious? Come on, that's just dangerous! Needless to say, we left our desserts on the table. I highly doubt this waiter will be employed with Garozzo's for much longer, but the food was poor to mediocre at best, so I will not be returning anytime soon.
(1)John I.
Forget it!. Last night's dinner was awful. My wife had eggplant which looked like it was taken out of the freezer cooked in oil and smothered with sauce and cheese. She ate one piece and decided that was it. She did like her salad, but anyone can make a salad. I chose Lasagna. It came to the table right out of the micro-wave. Smothered again in sauce. It turned into lasagna soup. I needed a spoon to eat the stuff. I also ate half and said enough. I did have a salad with wilting lettuce. Not good. My wife both agreed the Calamari was very good. For $60 I will go elsewhere. Casone's has never let us down nor has Caraberas. The highlight was our waiter Eric. He is to good to work at this place
(1)Melissa H.
Horrible! From just walking in & being sat, the server mumbled to herself, "god, is this me?" (meaning, does she have to stay). Thank goodness it wasnt her, just the angry bartender that was pissed he had to take another table. We proceeded to order, an appetizer, a salad,and two entrees. As well as a couple drinks. The food and drinks came out in proper order, and things were timely, but the attitude of the server/bartender was " I hate you, and I cant wait till you finish so I can go." My bf and I are seriously industry, and quite forgiving. We truly felt like we were being punished for walking in the door an hour before closing. Not to mention the food was sub par, way below anything we have ever had there. We tipped the norm, 20%, because tip karma is a bitch, but really just wanted to leave our food uneaten and not pay for any of it. We have leftovers to doctor up at home to make them edible ( it was $90 all said and done) & will NEVER be back. (so freakin bland, seriously)
(1)Galen M.
Ate at Garozzo's tonight, and while waiting for a table, decided to read some reviews. I'm from out of town, so while I had heard good things about the place, I had never been there. One of the other reviews almost threw a wrench in my plan to eat there. Apparently, the red sauce (and potentially other sauces) has animal-derived stock in it, and I don't eat meat. I almost immediately left, but knowing yelp is not always the most reliable, I decided to ask about it. I got confirmation that the red sauce does have beef stock in it, but that the cream sauce does not. The manager then offered to make me some red sauce without the beef stock in it, and pointed out a number of vegetarian dishes on the menu. I eventually took the manager up on the offer of beef-less red sauce and had the eggplant parmesan. It was quite good, if not a bit different than your average eggplant parmesan. So, while the food wasn't outstanding, the customer service was pretty great, and they were willing to help out a vegetarian when asked--something that they really didn't have to do. But to be fair to the person who complained before: beef stock in the red sauce? Why?
(4)Thai L.
Great place to go for your birthday! You get a free dinner entree of their house specialty, Chicken Spiedini (but only on your actual birthday). I love getting the Spicy Georgio Spiedini - it is epic!
(5)Monica K.
Garozzo's is amazing! I love the Alfredo sauce. The tortellini Gina is my favorite. My sister usually gets the spiedini and hasn't found one that she doesn't like. I highly recommend this restaurant
(5)Ben M.
We recently ate here and for the price it was excellent. The calimari was perfectly crispy and had a great taste and the wedding soup was also quite good with fresh wilted spinach in it. The house specialty is the Spiedini di Pollo and this appears to be what most people on here recommend. The waiter offered a combination special with this and the Bistecca Modiga (which he stated was his favorite dish) so I tried it. While the chicken was definitely good the steak was spectacular. It was extremely tender and smothered with cheese and a garlicy white wine sauce. I strongly recommend going to this restaurant if only to try the Bistecca Modiga. Also, the prices were quite reasonable and the service was very good. It is also walking distance from the Doubletree so it is a perfect place to eat if staying there.
(4)C L.
Garozzo's earned its fourth star from an excellent server we had on a busy night. It was their 20th anniversary dinner, so entrees were sold at 1989 prices, and that had drawn quite a crowd. Ours was a party of 11 (I think), which included 3 kids. I'd only been to the Olathe location on two different occasions, and had not been overly impressed with the food. That impression slightly improved with my visit in OP. Appetizers: The stuffed artichoke fell short of its description. Though good, it lacked artichoke and was hard to eat/share. The fried calamari was wisps of breading with little meat. Better, however, was the calamari marinara. Sauteed, and swimming in a pool of spiced tomato sauce, it was much "meatier" than its fried brother. Salad: I felt sorry for my friends who'd ordered the cesar salad over the house salad. I didn't try theirs, but it looked quite lackluster compared to my exciting mix of lettuce, pimentos, artichokes, parmigiano cheese, and oil/vinegar dressing. Loved it! Entree: Linguine alla Frutti di Mare - clams, shrimp, and scallops in a creamy sauce: Yum! I liked that they weren't afraid to let seafood be seafood. They let the fishy essence pervade the sauce and create a marvelously fragrant flavor. It wasn't so strong that it was foul, but it was definitely a seafood lover's delight. The entree was so large that I got my fill and had enough to take home to my 13-year old's bottomless stomach. Best of all, was our accommodating server. We sat near an emergency exit, which was all glass. It was dusk, so the sun was shining in at eye-level. Without being prompted, he remedied the situation by placing a translucent black cloth above the door, which cascaded down to match the length of the door. He was also very patient with our odd arrival/departure times and our requests for boxes and extra appetizers. He also jested with the kids and did not annoy easily with their constant reminders of their orders. Though Garrozo's isn't my idea of KC's best food, I enjoyed my experience and would have no problem going back.
(4)Matt C.
UPDATE to my post after checking my bank statement, on top of having poor service, our server over charged my card! I paid using a Garozzos gift card, a visa gift card, and then the rest on my debit. (I know a lot of cards but still pretty easy to take care of). She ran my cards correctly according to what I signed for BUT then decided to close my debit card for an extra $35 more at the end of the night! Spoke with the manager once I saw this on my account who informed me it was a "mistake" made by the server and she forgot to close out the Visa gift card and put it all on my debit on accident. Oh and she also held onto the visa gift card since there was nothing else on it. So you are telling me she ran everything correctly the first time, BUT at the end of the night apparently "forgot" to close out that visa card, and then just close mine out for that extra $35?? Which would have had to be added into the tip column?? Absolute BS to me!! No matter what the food tasted like, this has left a completely bad taste in my mouth on Garozzos, will not be back!! Food was great, service was poor. Went to this location during restaurant week and booked a reservation online on Open Tables. Once we arrived we were seating immediately (which was great considering the wait others had). First complaint has to be the main dining room which is not a very intimate experience at all. It is a very crowded room, where if you are not in a both, you will be backed up chair against chair with someone else pretty much. We constantly had different servers bringing different items all of which maybe saying one word each time. Our primary female server just lacked any personality. All of our food came out in a fairly timely manner, it did take awhile to get our drinks, but she just seemed angry and annoyed the whole time. Gave no recommendations, could barely describe the featured wines (which we had to ask her to do), and just overall came across very rude. On a positive note the food was very good. Went with my girlfriend and we both tried to get different items to try many things. We started with the Insalata Casa(House Salad) and Canneloni both to me were average. For entrees we got the Linguini alla Frutti di Mare and the Three Way Spiedini. Both of those were great, very good sauces on both would definitely recommend both, the Spiedini I was told is something they are known for, it came with six pieces of chicken covered in three different sauces. Good size portions if you are hungry. For desert we picked out the Cannoli and Limoncello Torte. The Limoncello was great, very refreshing after a big dinner. Cannoli was good, nothing amazing. Overall I would go back to Garozzos again, but will go to a different location next time.
(1)Sarah W.
Good place to take out of town guests. My folks have been staying with me, and wanted a place to eat that wasn't The Olive Garden. The OP location is kinda blah for ambiance, but the food is consistent although nothing to write home about. My parents, however enjoyed it so that's what counts. Our service was a little slow, but our server was knowledgeable. Half price bottle of wines on Sundays, so that's a plus. This wishy washiness of my review is a perfect reflection of how I felt about dinner. If you want to experience Garozzo's, just go to the downtown location.
(3)Laura C.
I highly recommend the chicken spidini samantha! they know what they are doing with this dish. It never disappoints! I think our waitress might have been newer. She did not know if they had a rosé wine on the menu when I asked if she could suggest one. However, she did come back with a nice pinot noir to sample which I ended up having. She was a very sweet girl, but not the caliber of wait staff typical of this restaurant. She gets high marks for caring about what she was doing. Most younger servers I encounter just dont seem to give a rip. The restaurant itself could use an update and/or a paint job. Our seats by the emergency exit were not the best, but I guess without a reservation that's what happens. Altho we were there at 5:30, before the rush.
(3)Galen M.
Ate at Garozzo's tonight, and while waiting for a table, decided to read some reviews. I'm from out of town, so while I had heard good things about the place, I had never been there. One of the other reviews almost threw a wrench in my plan to eat there. Apparently, the red sauce (and potentially other sauces) has animal-derived stock in it, and I don't eat meat. I almost immediately left, but knowing yelp is not always the most reliable, I decided to ask about it. I got confirmation that the red sauce does have beef stock in it, but that the cream sauce does not. The manager then offered to make me some red sauce without the beef stock in it, and pointed out a number of vegetarian dishes on the menu. I eventually took the manager up on the offer of beef-less red sauce and had the eggplant parmesan. It was quite good, if not a bit different than your average eggplant parmesan. So, while the food wasn't outstanding, the customer service was pretty great, and they were willing to help out a vegetarian when asked--something that they really didn't have to do. But to be fair to the person who complained before: beef stock in the red sauce? Why?
(4)Thai L.
Great place to go for your birthday! You get a free dinner entree of their house specialty, Chicken Spiedini (but only on your actual birthday). I love getting the Spicy Georgio Spiedini - it is epic!
(5)Monica K.
Garozzo's is amazing! I love the Alfredo sauce. The tortellini Gina is my favorite. My sister usually gets the spiedini and hasn't found one that she doesn't like. I highly recommend this restaurant
(5)Ben M.
We recently ate here and for the price it was excellent. The calimari was perfectly crispy and had a great taste and the wedding soup was also quite good with fresh wilted spinach in it. The house specialty is the Spiedini di Pollo and this appears to be what most people on here recommend. The waiter offered a combination special with this and the Bistecca Modiga (which he stated was his favorite dish) so I tried it. While the chicken was definitely good the steak was spectacular. It was extremely tender and smothered with cheese and a garlicy white wine sauce. I strongly recommend going to this restaurant if only to try the Bistecca Modiga. Also, the prices were quite reasonable and the service was very good. It is also walking distance from the Doubletree so it is a perfect place to eat if staying there.
(4)Meghan B.
I go here 3-4 times a year and look forward to it every time. The Chicken Spiedini Garozzo style is a must try and I literally get cravings for the house salad. The wait staff is what really makes this place special. Matt and Hillary are by far the best servers...make sure to request their sections! I am only in a handful of times a year but each make us feel special by remembering us. In fact last time Matt was our server, but Hillary made sure to come over and say hi! Unfortunately about two months ago I was in for a friend's birthday and we had a server who was a young girl home from college for the summer. The experience was just not the same. She was a nice girl, but just did not aid in making my friend''s birthday great. Garozzo's does have an amazing Birthday special. The birthday girl/guy gets a free chicken spiedini dish on their actual birthday with ID. This brings me in every year! Mark was our server about a month ago for my birthday and he did a wonderful job of making our dinner special. A regular customer was sitting a table over and heard it was birthday and sent over a tiramisu...by the why, one of the best in town! Only negatives would be possibility of getting a so-so server if Matt or Hillary are not in and the bread is not the greatest...sometimes it is a little stale, but the food completely makes up for this!
(4)John G.
I ate there tonight (Aug 16, 2012) while traveling to K-State. I stayed across the street in the Doubletree. I'm not sure why there are so many mixed reviews. I went with a party of 6. We all enjoyed our meals. Our waitress was very polite and attentive (perhaps they've fixed previous problems?). I ordered their Chicken Speidini. It was excellent. My wife ordered the Diablo version. Also excellent. I thought everything was fine and I would definitely go here again.
(4)Angel N.
My husband and I love the food here. We went to Little Italy this summer in NY and nothing came close. We always have Matt wait on us he is a great server.
(5)Krystal P.
I don't understand where the positive reviews come from. I am a huge fan, and known critic of Italian food. It's not as easy as throwing a heartless ladle of sauce over an overcooked and soggy bowl of store bought pasta. The entire meal at Garozzo's was just below average. A greasy appetizer of fried ravioli and garlic oil - the oil was served in a bowl, with the favorless ingredients pooled on the bottom of the bowl where you ended up with 95% oil soaked break with a speck of oregano left to flavor. This should be served on a plate. The ravioli's were obviously frozen. I tried the chicken spiedini - not only because it was the only thing on the menu, which lacked any excitement and your traditional Italian homeruns (Osso Bucco, Bolognese, veal piccata). It is also supposed to be the house specialty. I was presented a dried out piece of rolled up chicken again covered in a sauce of garlic, lemon and herbs you would expect to explode with flavor rather than frown on your plate. My husband's veal parmigiana was just as disappointing. There red sauce is such a far cry from an Italian red sauce that I just pushed my pasta aside. May be a harsh review, but after the bold positive reviews I have recieved from friends who apparently don't know better - I had to set the story straight.
(1)Sean B.
We went for my Mother in laws birthday dinner and I expected a lot more. The Caesar salad was good, service was attentive, but my wife and I ordered to share a shrimp dish in a lemon garlic sauce, maybe we misread the menu but I swear it said it had Angel hair pasta with it. When we ordered, the server asked if we wanted pasta with red sauce or green beans as the side, my wife said green beans because why would you order a pasta dish with a side of pasta? Any way it arrived, each of us had 3 shrimp on our plate in a sauce with a couple of mushrooms and broccoli. And a small side of anemic looking, over cooked, bland green beans. This was one of the most expensive entrées at $27.00. With a $3.00 split charge, I think our server should have been wearing a ski mask to better match the robbery that was going on. There are a lot of other places to spend our money eating out, and we will not be returning here.
(2)Lawson K.
I hadn't been to the O.Park Garozzo's in approximately 2 years, so decided to visit tonight. The service was very prompt and attentive. Sadly, the food didn't match. I ordered the Manicotti and it arrived - 3 tubes on a plate, covered with a sauce. To be fair, the sauce was good, but 3 room-temperature 1" inch diameter tubes for $14.00 & no salad !! Bland and chilled would best describe my dining experience. Maybe I should have looked for the word "baked" on the menu, which would have indicated the pasta had at least seen the inside of an oven. Won't reccomend this location.
(2)Samantha B.
The Chicken Spiedini Samantha was really delicious!! Absolutely the best dish we had. We came in on my birthday, so we also got it for free. The other dish we ordered was the Capelli D'Angelo, which was tasty but nothing special. They have a full bar, so you can order pretty much anything you want. We also got a cannoli and spumoni for dessert, which were both excellent. Overall, a pleasant experience and very good Italian food.
(4)Lyn P.
This place was hyped up to me by my co-worker that suggested we eat here for dinner. It was definitely a fancy schmancy place. The atmosphere was nice and we had great service from our waitress. I had the Vitella Saltimbucco. The veal was a bit tougher than I expected (the first reviewer was right that Carraba's, even though it is a chain restaurant, is better.) But they totally redeemed themselves with dessert. The tiramisu is homemade and you could really taste the amaretto. We also had the turtle cheesecake - the caramel was thick and super yummy.
(3)Lea K.
My personal opinion: If you don't eat meat...don't bother. I asked the server about several different meals...EVERYTHING seemed to have some kind of meat broth. I couldn't even have the option of taking out the chicken and having a vegetarian dish. I just have to ask, does the chicken stock really add that much to the stock that they can't use vegetable broth instead. I couldn't even order. I didn't even try any of the food since there wasn't a dinner option for me to try. They should have a few sauces 'white, red etc' that don't have chicken stock. I ordered a dinner salad. The server messed up and brought me a side salad before everyone else got their meals. To her correcting this meant leaving the side salad to wilt while I waited for everyone else to be served and then brining me another side salad while everyone else got their dinner. Then when the bill came she tried charging me for two small salads which was more expensive than the dinner salad. I WANTED the dinner salad. The two small salads were a mistake on their part. I was not happy with the food or the service.
(1)Jessica Y.
I've been to the Olathe Garozzo's several times, but recently visited this location for the first time for a business dinner. The place was totally packed on a Tuesday night at eight so I'm glad we made reservations. I got the Rigatoni Angela because i was looking for some cream but nothing too heaving. This was beef tips and green peppers in a red creamy sauce and it was quite good. The beef tips were cooked perfectly a little pink inside, the mushroom flavor wasn't overpowered by the sauce, I though the green peppers were a little soft-but that is being very picky. It also reheated perfectly the next day. One of my dinning companions had the Spedini alla Samantha-I tasted the Alfredo sauce that came with it. This was a serious Alfredo we are talking so rich and thick you can hear the cows being milked in back. The sauce was delicious, but I doubt my ability to finish a whole meal of because it was just so rich. Like I said it was packed that night, our waitress was obviously very busy, but took care of our entire party of 12 and got everything out in a timely manner. While the service was good, there wasn't that spark from the servers who seem to get into listing the specials or helping you decide that makes it really great, that was a bit disappointing because i am used to that at the other location. Additionally, I felt like the restaurant overall lacked the classiness I am used to at the other location. The decor at the Overland park location was a little more plastic plant versus the sleek, modern design in Olathe (possibly the first time anyone has ever used sleek, modern and Olathe in the same sentence without a negative). Overall, the food was still great, I love their food and wine offerings, but I felt like the service and atmosphere did not live up to my Garozzo's expectations.
(4)L F.
Just enjoyed Father's Day brunch at Garozzo. What can you say other then it was very delicious. The quality of the food makes it one of the best brunch is you can find the Kansas City area. Prime rib, nice Italian specialties the restaurant is known for serving. To finish it off there was great Italian pastries. Overall a very good value for great Italian food.
(5)Bridget R.
This is a family staple of ours. We have been going here for years. It is exactly what you see. Old school Italian flavors. No frills or fuss. We love to get their takeout when a nice meal is wanted but not the cooking. Their spiedini's and their vodka sauce (any dish with it) are both great options.
(4)Jason R.
I have been to Garozzo's before and it is usually consistent. We had their stuffed artichoke for an appetizer and it was great as usual. We both ordered the special which was a petite filet and a chicken spiedini. I had never had their chicken spiedini so was excited to try it. The filet was nothing to write home about. It was sliced thin and smothered in cheese. This is not how a filet should be served, ever! The spiedini was not bad, not quite as flavorful as I expected. Overall the service and atmosphere made up for the lack luster filet. But will probably go to Jasper's next time.
(3)Billie H.
Garozzo's isn't bad, but it isn't stellar. I have been to various locations in the past. They do tend to be consistent throughout the metro. They are known for the spedini and I have to say, these are pretty good. I have tried pastas with red sauces, lasagna, fettucine, spedini, etc. I have never had a bad meal here, but it is very old school Italian. A lot of the dishes are submerged in sauce instead of lightly tossed and complimenting the dish. Service can be hit or miss. On my most recent visit, it was good, but very odd. I wasn't sure if the waiter was new, was thinking about his date from the night before, or what, but he just wasn't all there. We were offered bread at the end of our meal.... If you are really hungry, or have a family of twelve to feed for a week, get the pasta trio. It is seriously like five pounds of pasta! In a town that severely lacks really good Italian, Garozzo's is a decent option.
(3)Bimal K.
The food and service were great! The Spedini Garrozo and garlic bread was really worth it. Halfway during dinner we had an unexpected visitor at our table. The manager apologized for the bug but gave us some comment about how it never happens. Don't know how others feel about this, but to me that's just unacceptable. Hopefully this two star rating gets their attention!
(2)Jeff S.
I'm giving this a 3, because it's a good restaurant. It's by no means great and now that I understand it's a small chain, it stands to reason. Pros: If you are alone, staying the Doubletree, and want to watch the ESPY's with some decent cannelloni and some cheap red wine...you are in luck. Sit in the bar, set the bar low, you'll be fine. Cons: Food is ok, not great. Wait staff clearly work on volume, not quality. Not bad people, just rushed. Now that I know exactly what to expect, I'd come back. But alone, and with lower expectations.
(3)Nikhil R.
Amazing taste. One should definitely try any dish with marinara sauce. Best Marinara sauce I have ever tasted. Also try their martini. They have quite a variety.
(5)Nick V.
Awesome meal for my birthday. The meal for me was free on my birthday. Added bonus. Ashley our server was good. Servings for dinner huge. Wine list large but bottle I ordered of Pinot noir was ok. Kids loved their food. Wedge salad great. Chicken spiedini was fantastic. As good as Carmens. I will be back. We all had leftovers to take home.
(5)Loretta F.
Ordered eggplant Parmesan for Togo .it was so bad...the eggplant was not cooked.the bread was not fresh. Bad experience.
(2)Zarina P.
Perfect for an anniversary! My boyfriend took me here for our 1 year. We had a wonderful time, lovely atmosphere (man singing Frank Sinatra & another playing piano) He spent $105, $75 food the rest tip.We had the artichoke with shrimp as an appetizer, wedge salad, the seafood ravioli mario, and he had the 3 way pasta(took a mountain of pasta home!). I had a mago passion martini had no complaints;) I would recommend garozzo's for a special occasion.
(5)Ali B.
Chicken Spedini three-ways for Restaurant Week was amazing! Their house salad is excellent too. We'll be back again!
(4)Calle H.
Our food was pretty good. The artichoke heart appetizer was delicious! My fettuccine Alfredo was creamy and delicious. However, what ruined my experience is when I asked for a to go box because our waiter took my plate, insisted on boxing it up himself, picked up other people's dirty dishes and put them all on the same tray and carried it into the back....totally ruined my meal.
(4)Eric L.
Had the chicken spiedini diavolo. The portion was very generous and the chicken was tasty enough. Thought the sauce was overly thick but not too bad. Definitely spicy as advertised. Service was good. Thought it was a bit pricy given the $$ on the profile. I think it's more in the $$$ range. Any pasta dish with meat was going to be at least $20. Fish dishes were in the $30 range. Never been to an Italian restaurant, upscale or otherwise that didn't at least have the standard parmigiana dishes. Suspicious about huge pasta plates with a really large meatball. Are they trying to impress or overwhelm me? Personally would prefer smaller meatballs to facilitate sharing and just make the plate more manageable. Not overly impressed with the food or the value with their prices but you'll definitely have a reasonably tasty and filling meal.
(3)Libby J.
My husband and I had a wonderful night at this location. We usually go to the downtown KC location, but this time decided to try the OP location. We are glad we did. The waitress (Rose) was very helpful and the food was wonderful. We will be back and will recommend to our friends!
(5)Numbers D.
Very good Italian food. I went here for a medical education talk so didn't get to see the full menu and my dinner was selected for me but it was all very tasty. Service was excellent and the restaurant was clean.
(4)Kay L.
This Garozzo's is perfectly fitted to the upscale-corporate-JoCo neighborhood in which it's located: where the original Columbus Park location feels like an old-school, family-run, straight-off-the-Hill joint (or maybe something from an episode of the Sopranos,) this restaurant is light, airy, and caters to the lunch crowd. The food is the same, though -- excellent. Chicken Speidini (still the original, and best, in the city) is always a good bet. The stuffed artichoke is my personal favorite. I've only been here a couple times (I usually end up at the Olathe restaurant) but service has been pretty good each time. They can get very busy at lunchtime, so there is sometimes a wait for a table, but once seated I've been able to order quickly & receive my food promptly. The calamari is great!!
(4)Tasha S.
The service at this location was horrible. It took at least 15 minutes to be seated. After we got seated, it took another 15 minutes for anyone to take our order. This was our first visit and will be the last at this location. The food was good, but with the poor service, we won't be back. The server seemed less than interested in being there, as did the rest of the restaurant staff. We noticed two other tables complaining about their service. We went after the lunch rush...and still....
(2)Shawn J.
The service here sucks. The Chicken Spiedini sure doesn't. In fact it's the only reason I come here when I return back to KC. I don't even bother with anything else on their menu. Chicken Spiedini travels, and travels well. 4 Stars, yes, just for the Chicken Spiedini.
(4)Dawn C.
I've eaten here for lunch twice now. I have to say I like the place. White linens, lots of windows letting in the sunlight, waiters in aprons... it strikes a nice balance between clean, welcoming and classy. The chicken spiedini has caught my fancy both times, and was so juicy! Seriously, I make some mean chicken at home and pride myself on keeping it juicy, but I've got nothing on these chefs!! The alfredo sauce is very potent. I can be really choosy about alfredo since it is easy to make it pasty, bland and still super fattening. This tasted cheesy and garlicky and though it was very thick (oh my goodness I can't even imagine how much fat was in there) you still wanted to soak it up with a piece of bread once the pasta was gone. Not that I finished my pasta, these are generous portions! The bread that is served table side is nothing fancy. I think there's room for improvement there. I'd also like it to be served with olive oil for dipping, not butter. But that's me. The calamari appetizer is wonderful. Both times I have had it I've found it to be soft and not at all chewy or rubbery. The red sauce it is served with has a little kick, which I enjoy, especially since I douse the calamari with fresh squeezed lemons. My lunchmate didn't think the lasagna was anything spectacular. Neither did our other companion think the spaghetti with giant meatball was the best she had tried. It's impressive in size but tasted more like meatloaf, or so I was told. I'd say stick with the spiedini, it's their specialty and you won't miss the mark.
(4)Meghan B.
I go here 3-4 times a year and look forward to it every time. The Chicken Spiedini Garozzo style is a must try and I literally get cravings for the house salad. The wait staff is what really makes this place special. Matt and Hillary are by far the best servers...make sure to request their sections! I am only in a handful of times a year but each make us feel special by remembering us. In fact last time Matt was our server, but Hillary made sure to come over and say hi! Unfortunately about two months ago I was in for a friend's birthday and we had a server who was a young girl home from college for the summer. The experience was just not the same. She was a nice girl, but just did not aid in making my friend''s birthday great. Garozzo's does have an amazing Birthday special. The birthday girl/guy gets a free chicken spiedini dish on their actual birthday with ID. This brings me in every year! Mark was our server about a month ago for my birthday and he did a wonderful job of making our dinner special. A regular customer was sitting a table over and heard it was birthday and sent over a tiramisu...by the why, one of the best in town! Only negatives would be possibility of getting a so-so server if Matt or Hillary are not in and the bread is not the greatest...sometimes it is a little stale, but the food completely makes up for this!
(4)John G.
I ate there tonight (Aug 16, 2012) while traveling to K-State. I stayed across the street in the Doubletree. I'm not sure why there are so many mixed reviews. I went with a party of 6. We all enjoyed our meals. Our waitress was very polite and attentive (perhaps they've fixed previous problems?). I ordered their Chicken Speidini. It was excellent. My wife ordered the Diablo version. Also excellent. I thought everything was fine and I would definitely go here again.
(4)Krystal P.
I don't understand where the positive reviews come from. I am a huge fan, and known critic of Italian food. It's not as easy as throwing a heartless ladle of sauce over an overcooked and soggy bowl of store bought pasta. The entire meal at Garozzo's was just below average. A greasy appetizer of fried ravioli and garlic oil - the oil was served in a bowl, with the favorless ingredients pooled on the bottom of the bowl where you ended up with 95% oil soaked break with a speck of oregano left to flavor. This should be served on a plate. The ravioli's were obviously frozen. I tried the chicken spiedini - not only because it was the only thing on the menu, which lacked any excitement and your traditional Italian homeruns (Osso Bucco, Bolognese, veal piccata). It is also supposed to be the house specialty. I was presented a dried out piece of rolled up chicken again covered in a sauce of garlic, lemon and herbs you would expect to explode with flavor rather than frown on your plate. My husband's veal parmigiana was just as disappointing. There red sauce is such a far cry from an Italian red sauce that I just pushed my pasta aside. May be a harsh review, but after the bold positive reviews I have recieved from friends who apparently don't know better - I had to set the story straight.
(1)Sean B.
We went for my Mother in laws birthday dinner and I expected a lot more. The Caesar salad was good, service was attentive, but my wife and I ordered to share a shrimp dish in a lemon garlic sauce, maybe we misread the menu but I swear it said it had Angel hair pasta with it. When we ordered, the server asked if we wanted pasta with red sauce or green beans as the side, my wife said green beans because why would you order a pasta dish with a side of pasta? Any way it arrived, each of us had 3 shrimp on our plate in a sauce with a couple of mushrooms and broccoli. And a small side of anemic looking, over cooked, bland green beans. This was one of the most expensive entrées at $27.00. With a $3.00 split charge, I think our server should have been wearing a ski mask to better match the robbery that was going on. There are a lot of other places to spend our money eating out, and we will not be returning here.
(2)Lawson K.
I hadn't been to the O.Park Garozzo's in approximately 2 years, so decided to visit tonight. The service was very prompt and attentive. Sadly, the food didn't match. I ordered the Manicotti and it arrived - 3 tubes on a plate, covered with a sauce. To be fair, the sauce was good, but 3 room-temperature 1" inch diameter tubes for $14.00 & no salad !! Bland and chilled would best describe my dining experience. Maybe I should have looked for the word "baked" on the menu, which would have indicated the pasta had at least seen the inside of an oven. Won't reccomend this location.
(2)Lea K.
My personal opinion: If you don't eat meat...don't bother. I asked the server about several different meals...EVERYTHING seemed to have some kind of meat broth. I couldn't even have the option of taking out the chicken and having a vegetarian dish. I just have to ask, does the chicken stock really add that much to the stock that they can't use vegetable broth instead. I couldn't even order. I didn't even try any of the food since there wasn't a dinner option for me to try. They should have a few sauces 'white, red etc' that don't have chicken stock. I ordered a dinner salad. The server messed up and brought me a side salad before everyone else got their meals. To her correcting this meant leaving the side salad to wilt while I waited for everyone else to be served and then brining me another side salad while everyone else got their dinner. Then when the bill came she tried charging me for two small salads which was more expensive than the dinner salad. I WANTED the dinner salad. The two small salads were a mistake on their part. I was not happy with the food or the service.
(1)Jessica Y.
I've been to the Olathe Garozzo's several times, but recently visited this location for the first time for a business dinner. The place was totally packed on a Tuesday night at eight so I'm glad we made reservations. I got the Rigatoni Angela because i was looking for some cream but nothing too heaving. This was beef tips and green peppers in a red creamy sauce and it was quite good. The beef tips were cooked perfectly a little pink inside, the mushroom flavor wasn't overpowered by the sauce, I though the green peppers were a little soft-but that is being very picky. It also reheated perfectly the next day. One of my dinning companions had the Spedini alla Samantha-I tasted the Alfredo sauce that came with it. This was a serious Alfredo we are talking so rich and thick you can hear the cows being milked in back. The sauce was delicious, but I doubt my ability to finish a whole meal of because it was just so rich. Like I said it was packed that night, our waitress was obviously very busy, but took care of our entire party of 12 and got everything out in a timely manner. While the service was good, there wasn't that spark from the servers who seem to get into listing the specials or helping you decide that makes it really great, that was a bit disappointing because i am used to that at the other location. Additionally, I felt like the restaurant overall lacked the classiness I am used to at the other location. The decor at the Overland park location was a little more plastic plant versus the sleek, modern design in Olathe (possibly the first time anyone has ever used sleek, modern and Olathe in the same sentence without a negative). Overall, the food was still great, I love their food and wine offerings, but I felt like the service and atmosphere did not live up to my Garozzo's expectations.
(4)Bimal K.
The food and service were great! The Spedini Garrozo and garlic bread was really worth it. Halfway during dinner we had an unexpected visitor at our table. The manager apologized for the bug but gave us some comment about how it never happens. Don't know how others feel about this, but to me that's just unacceptable. Hopefully this two star rating gets their attention!
(2)Jeff S.
I'm giving this a 3, because it's a good restaurant. It's by no means great and now that I understand it's a small chain, it stands to reason. Pros: If you are alone, staying the Doubletree, and want to watch the ESPY's with some decent cannelloni and some cheap red wine...you are in luck. Sit in the bar, set the bar low, you'll be fine. Cons: Food is ok, not great. Wait staff clearly work on volume, not quality. Not bad people, just rushed. Now that I know exactly what to expect, I'd come back. But alone, and with lower expectations.
(3)Nikhil R.
Amazing taste. One should definitely try any dish with marinara sauce. Best Marinara sauce I have ever tasted. Also try their martini. They have quite a variety.
(5)L F.
Just enjoyed Father's Day brunch at Garozzo. What can you say other then it was very delicious. The quality of the food makes it one of the best brunch is you can find the Kansas City area. Prime rib, nice Italian specialties the restaurant is known for serving. To finish it off there was great Italian pastries. Overall a very good value for great Italian food.
(5)Billie H.
Garozzo's isn't bad, but it isn't stellar. I have been to various locations in the past. They do tend to be consistent throughout the metro. They are known for the spedini and I have to say, these are pretty good. I have tried pastas with red sauces, lasagna, fettucine, spedini, etc. I have never had a bad meal here, but it is very old school Italian. A lot of the dishes are submerged in sauce instead of lightly tossed and complimenting the dish. Service can be hit or miss. On my most recent visit, it was good, but very odd. I wasn't sure if the waiter was new, was thinking about his date from the night before, or what, but he just wasn't all there. We were offered bread at the end of our meal.... If you are really hungry, or have a family of twelve to feed for a week, get the pasta trio. It is seriously like five pounds of pasta! In a town that severely lacks really good Italian, Garozzo's is a decent option.
(3)Nick V.
Awesome meal for my birthday. The meal for me was free on my birthday. Added bonus. Ashley our server was good. Servings for dinner huge. Wine list large but bottle I ordered of Pinot noir was ok. Kids loved their food. Wedge salad great. Chicken spiedini was fantastic. As good as Carmens. I will be back. We all had leftovers to take home.
(5)Loretta F.
Ordered eggplant Parmesan for Togo .it was so bad...the eggplant was not cooked.the bread was not fresh. Bad experience.
(2)Zarina P.
Perfect for an anniversary! My boyfriend took me here for our 1 year. We had a wonderful time, lovely atmosphere (man singing Frank Sinatra & another playing piano) He spent $105, $75 food the rest tip.We had the artichoke with shrimp as an appetizer, wedge salad, the seafood ravioli mario, and he had the 3 way pasta(took a mountain of pasta home!). I had a mago passion martini had no complaints;) I would recommend garozzo's for a special occasion.
(5)Ali B.
Chicken Spedini three-ways for Restaurant Week was amazing! Their house salad is excellent too. We'll be back again!
(4)Calle H.
Our food was pretty good. The artichoke heart appetizer was delicious! My fettuccine Alfredo was creamy and delicious. However, what ruined my experience is when I asked for a to go box because our waiter took my plate, insisted on boxing it up himself, picked up other people's dirty dishes and put them all on the same tray and carried it into the back....totally ruined my meal.
(4)Eric L.
Had the chicken spiedini diavolo. The portion was very generous and the chicken was tasty enough. Thought the sauce was overly thick but not too bad. Definitely spicy as advertised. Service was good. Thought it was a bit pricy given the $$ on the profile. I think it's more in the $$$ range. Any pasta dish with meat was going to be at least $20. Fish dishes were in the $30 range. Never been to an Italian restaurant, upscale or otherwise that didn't at least have the standard parmigiana dishes. Suspicious about huge pasta plates with a really large meatball. Are they trying to impress or overwhelm me? Personally would prefer smaller meatballs to facilitate sharing and just make the plate more manageable. Not overly impressed with the food or the value with their prices but you'll definitely have a reasonably tasty and filling meal.
(3)Libby J.
My husband and I had a wonderful night at this location. We usually go to the downtown KC location, but this time decided to try the OP location. We are glad we did. The waitress (Rose) was very helpful and the food was wonderful. We will be back and will recommend to our friends!
(5)Numbers D.
Very good Italian food. I went here for a medical education talk so didn't get to see the full menu and my dinner was selected for me but it was all very tasty. Service was excellent and the restaurant was clean.
(4)Cassandra A.
The people I went to this restaurant with would probably give it more stars as several people said it was one of their longtime favorite restaurants. I like this little italian place, but I definitely have other venues I enjoy more for my pasta carb eating experience. Service: First I will start off with saying that I think my waitress was hard of hearing because there were several service encounters that made my experience slightly frustrating. Example: when I was ushered to my seat with my group, my waitress asked me if I wanted a glass of wine. I stated I would like to look at the wine menu and she then removed my wine glass. When other guests arrived later I had to go out of my way to ask for a glass. Later when I she came by to take appetizer plates, I stated I was still working on my salad, but she took my plate away anyway. Appetizers: The artichoke was awesome. The garlic cheese bread was loaded with quit a bit more cheese than I would ever like. Main Course: I ordered the Chicken Spiendini with the house salad. This was a great option. Both were good. Dessert: Our table sampled the Torte Di Ricotta Con Frogole and the Limoncello Cake. Loved the both but preferred the Lemon cake. Overall, the food was good, but the service had something more to be desired, especially considering the cost of the meal. I just honestly felt like my server could give a flip less about what I wanted while I was there. I honestly don't know if she really was hard of hearing, but I just have to assume that she was based on how she responded during my visit. I personally will not make a trip back here unless my group or party insists on it. I have enjoyed great italian with much better service (and price) elsewhere.
(3)Steffon C.
Very good food, the server did a good job but took a little too much time in between visits. My wife ordered the spaghetti with meat sauce very very good lots of meat the sauce was a little sweet but yummy. I had chicken spiedini with the diablo sauce, perfect! I'd come back soon.
(4)Bill K.
Went during KCRW and made reservation thru Open Table. Still had to wait 15 min to be seated in the bar/lounge. This was at 1:30 too??? Service was slow, asked for Olive Oil for bread ? Busboy finally got it when I asked a 2nd time. Tried the so called House Special Spedini 3 ways. If you like sauce and lots of it, this is your place. Seems like they load up on the sauce to cover the lack of food quality. Cannaloni was a plate of sauce. Canoli was worst ever ate. I have ate at better Pizza places in NYC than this place. Great advertising on the radio, but lack of service and food quality. Avoid unless you love sauce.
(1)David H.
Business dinner with colleagues. House salad is excellent. They always make great drinks as well. Morretti beer on draught. I had the Seafood Diablo. It was more like the feast of seafood. Very nicely seasoned and not too spicy, there was a tremendous amount of shrimp, scallops, clams and mainly calamari (squid). So much that I couldn't even touch the pasta. Many people leaving with doggie bags. Be sure to leave room for dessert.
(4)Kay L.
This Garozzo's is perfectly fitted to the upscale-corporate-JoCo neighborhood in which it's located: where the original Columbus Park location feels like an old-school, family-run, straight-off-the-Hill joint (or maybe something from an episode of the Sopranos,) this restaurant is light, airy, and caters to the lunch crowd. The food is the same, though -- excellent. Chicken Speidini (still the original, and best, in the city) is always a good bet. The stuffed artichoke is my personal favorite. I've only been here a couple times (I usually end up at the Olathe restaurant) but service has been pretty good each time. They can get very busy at lunchtime, so there is sometimes a wait for a table, but once seated I've been able to order quickly & receive my food promptly. The calamari is great!!
(4)Tasha S.
The service at this location was horrible. It took at least 15 minutes to be seated. After we got seated, it took another 15 minutes for anyone to take our order. This was our first visit and will be the last at this location. The food was good, but with the poor service, we won't be back. The server seemed less than interested in being there, as did the rest of the restaurant staff. We noticed two other tables complaining about their service. We went after the lunch rush...and still....
(2)Shawn J.
The service here sucks. The Chicken Spiedini sure doesn't. In fact it's the only reason I come here when I return back to KC. I don't even bother with anything else on their menu. Chicken Spiedini travels, and travels well. 4 Stars, yes, just for the Chicken Spiedini.
(4)Dawn C.
I've eaten here for lunch twice now. I have to say I like the place. White linens, lots of windows letting in the sunlight, waiters in aprons... it strikes a nice balance between clean, welcoming and classy. The chicken spiedini has caught my fancy both times, and was so juicy! Seriously, I make some mean chicken at home and pride myself on keeping it juicy, but I've got nothing on these chefs!! The alfredo sauce is very potent. I can be really choosy about alfredo since it is easy to make it pasty, bland and still super fattening. This tasted cheesy and garlicky and though it was very thick (oh my goodness I can't even imagine how much fat was in there) you still wanted to soak it up with a piece of bread once the pasta was gone. Not that I finished my pasta, these are generous portions! The bread that is served table side is nothing fancy. I think there's room for improvement there. I'd also like it to be served with olive oil for dipping, not butter. But that's me. The calamari appetizer is wonderful. Both times I have had it I've found it to be soft and not at all chewy or rubbery. The red sauce it is served with has a little kick, which I enjoy, especially since I douse the calamari with fresh squeezed lemons. My lunchmate didn't think the lasagna was anything spectacular. Neither did our other companion think the spaghetti with giant meatball was the best she had tried. It's impressive in size but tasted more like meatloaf, or so I was told. I'd say stick with the spiedini, it's their specialty and you won't miss the mark.
(4)Cassandra A.
The people I went to this restaurant with would probably give it more stars as several people said it was one of their longtime favorite restaurants. I like this little italian place, but I definitely have other venues I enjoy more for my pasta carb eating experience. Service: First I will start off with saying that I think my waitress was hard of hearing because there were several service encounters that made my experience slightly frustrating. Example: when I was ushered to my seat with my group, my waitress asked me if I wanted a glass of wine. I stated I would like to look at the wine menu and she then removed my wine glass. When other guests arrived later I had to go out of my way to ask for a glass. Later when I she came by to take appetizer plates, I stated I was still working on my salad, but she took my plate away anyway. Appetizers: The artichoke was awesome. The garlic cheese bread was loaded with quit a bit more cheese than I would ever like. Main Course: I ordered the Chicken Spiendini with the house salad. This was a great option. Both were good. Dessert: Our table sampled the Torte Di Ricotta Con Frogole and the Limoncello Cake. Loved the both but preferred the Lemon cake. Overall, the food was good, but the service had something more to be desired, especially considering the cost of the meal. I just honestly felt like my server could give a flip less about what I wanted while I was there. I honestly don't know if she really was hard of hearing, but I just have to assume that she was based on how she responded during my visit. I personally will not make a trip back here unless my group or party insists on it. I have enjoyed great italian with much better service (and price) elsewhere.
(3)Steffon C.
Very good food, the server did a good job but took a little too much time in between visits. My wife ordered the spaghetti with meat sauce very very good lots of meat the sauce was a little sweet but yummy. I had chicken spiedini with the diablo sauce, perfect! I'd come back soon.
(4)Bill K.
Went during KCRW and made reservation thru Open Table. Still had to wait 15 min to be seated in the bar/lounge. This was at 1:30 too??? Service was slow, asked for Olive Oil for bread ? Busboy finally got it when I asked a 2nd time. Tried the so called House Special Spedini 3 ways. If you like sauce and lots of it, this is your place. Seems like they load up on the sauce to cover the lack of food quality. Cannaloni was a plate of sauce. Canoli was worst ever ate. I have ate at better Pizza places in NYC than this place. Great advertising on the radio, but lack of service and food quality. Avoid unless you love sauce.
(1)David H.
Business dinner with colleagues. House salad is excellent. They always make great drinks as well. Morretti beer on draught. I had the Seafood Diablo. It was more like the feast of seafood. Very nicely seasoned and not too spicy, there was a tremendous amount of shrimp, scallops, clams and mainly calamari (squid). So much that I couldn't even touch the pasta. Many people leaving with doggie bags. Be sure to leave room for dessert.
(4)Lyn P.
This place was hyped up to me by my co-worker that suggested we eat here for dinner. It was definitely a fancy schmancy place. The atmosphere was nice and we had great service from our waitress. I had the Vitella Saltimbucco. The veal was a bit tougher than I expected (the first reviewer was right that Carraba's, even though it is a chain restaurant, is better.) But they totally redeemed themselves with dessert. The tiramisu is homemade and you could really taste the amaretto. We also had the turtle cheesecake - the caramel was thick and super yummy.
(3)Troy D.
With my recent visit, I've officially visited every Garozzo's in town (do I get bonus points for that?)... and this one comes in second after the original. It's located in a strip mall next to corporate woods, but doesn't feel strip mally. It doesn't quite have the genteel Italian family atmosphere of the original downtown -- but it ain't bad. (It's certainly better than Olathe and Lee's Summit.) Had the spedini for dinner, and it lived up to the quality of the other locations -- although the specific one I had wasn't totally up to my expectations. I count this more as being a difference in taste than a "bad meal." Service was decent and on time (although there were a couple of slurp moments)... and we were seated pretty quickly on a weeknight (although we did have a reservation, it didn't seem like the wait was too long). It wasn't bad.
(4)Kathy B.
I was disappointed with my visit to Garozzo's. The bread was delicious, but I found the rest of the meal to be average. Not anything I'd send back, but not good enough to make me want to return either. I had the house salad. It comes heavily drenched in dressing, and I felt that it overpowered the rest of the salad. For dinner I tried their signature dish, the Chicken Speidini Garozzo. It was a bit too spicy for my tastes and it must have been a bad night, because it was not very moist. The food wasn't the problem though. Our server was very pushy about selling wine and dessert. After telling her from the start that we were not interested in drinking wine, we were asked more than four times if we wanted wine. Then when dinner was over, she started on the dessert. Over and over. Really. None of us were ambivalent. When it goes beyond two "No thank you's", it becomes irritating.
(2)Stephen H.
Please note: this rating is for this Garozzo's only. I've been to the OG location in Columbus Park and had a great time. Okay, so when I first moved to Overland Park, one of the points of conversation was that I lived in Italy as an undergrad and Garozzo's was a name that would come up more than once. I've not been since the last time I went, which was 3 years ago now (and I would love to be corrected by a staff member) when I received poor service on 2 occasions and returned for a 3rd because of a gift card I had received. I was ravenous that night and would have eaten anything, but just so you know, I generally judge an Italian restaurant by its gnocchi. Now this is an odd taste-idiosyncrasy of mine. Gnocchi is a favorite dish of mine, but you should probably judge an Italian restaurant by its penne or cannoli. That being said, the gnocchi at this Garozzo's was terrible. I was hungry, so I ate half of it, but then I stopped out of just hating it. The waitress: "So, what's wrong." "Your gnocchi is terrible." "Oh, you know, I thought about telling you that it's not our best when you ordered it." (30 Rock swoosh moment: "Okay, you THOUGHT about telling me, but you didn't tell me? Is that like thinking about not cheating on me, and then cheating on me?") "It tasted like it came out of a can. I'm really disappointed." I don't think she charged me for the gnocchi at the end, but that wasn't the point. I didn't get a satisfactory explanation for what happened, or why I wouldn't get the same experience the next time I went, and what if I felt like gnocchi. Haven't been back since. Poof.
(2)V. M.
This review is only for the Overland Park location. The one on Missouri Ave is excellent. Service was really slow and for a while we didn't know if we would get the chance to order dinner. Literally over a half hour passed before our order was taken. Food was average at best. I had the evening special which was a Fillet that was about the size of a fast food hamburger patty (not the quarter pounder either) and a chicken kabob (the chicken was small also). Together they almost made up a happy meal. Not worth the time or money.
(1)Erin W.
Huge portions. Food is good, not anything extra special but good. Fairly pricy so I'd rather go to Olive Garden where quality is similar but cheaper. I'll be back if someone wants to go, but not often
(3)Amanda S.
I know what to expect from this location - average food, slow service and generic "Italian" atmosphere. I was outvoted for a lunch outing with work people. I haven't enjoyed the food here and only order the Inslata Santa Teresa. The salad is good but not as fresh tasting as it is at the original Garozzo's location. My party of four were the first table seated for lunch. We had three salads, an order of fried ravioli, one pasta and one Spiedini. We were there for almost one hour and 45 minutes. To me, that isn't acceptable for lunch service. But, if you have more than an hour for lunch during the work day then this is the place for you. This location doesn't have the warm, family feeling like the original location. It's sterile and the Italian shout out is literally Dean Martin on repeat.
(2)Paul M.
If cheap knock-off Italian food at premiere prices is your thing, then you've found your next favorite restaurant--and here it is!
(1)Zach G.
I have been to two locations of Garozzo's and had more-or-less the same experience. Therefore, I am going to review both but stick to mostly the same review. I do like the feel of the restaurant here in Overland Park. The only negative is that I think it can feel slightly cramped when busy, but not too bad. Luckily, despite that, it doesn't seem to get too loud. Staff here is very friendly, and prices are maybe slightly higher than I would expect, but nothing too painful in my opinion. The wine list is not great, but it gets the job done. The menu is filled with many choices, but none of them are overly inventive...it's all rather mundane. The taste is better than average, but far from outstanding. The pasta's here are fairly basic, but tasty. They are cooked to a good level of done-ness. While the sauces are flavorful, they are nothing spectacular. Many people know Garozzo's for their spiedini, which I have had twice. I really enjoyed my experience with the veal spiedini - it was moist, flavorful, and the perfect size. However the chicken spiedini, which they consider their "signature dish", was only OK...slightly dry with not as much flavor. I'd choose the veal again over the chicken without a doubt. I will probably return, but there are plenty of other Italian restaurants I would like to check out first.
(3)Vivian M.
My mother and my son visited Garozzo's this morning for Easter brunch. Big mistake. Cold, dry food, raw shrimp with big poop veins still in them, not even an omelet station, or pastries, just cold bluberry muffins. For $23.99 I expected more than this. Horrible, will never go back, so gross. I almost forgot, my son went to the rest room and he heard loud cursing coming from the kitchen. He said whoever it was used every profanity in the cuss book. Not professional at all and its Easter sunday! This place needs help!
(1)Rob M.
I've had lunch here a few times with my Dad and some of his buddies who have a birthday club that gets together almost every month. I've liked the food at Garozzo's, and their red sauce (available to take home) is not sweet, which I like. Red sauce shouldn't be sugary, in my book! I've had the lasagna here, which was good, and on my latest visit, a few days ago, I had the restaurant's specialty, chicken spiedini -- they have various versions and this time I ordered the house special version. It's numerous chunks of de-skewered chicken breast, very lightly breaded, in a lemon-herb sauce. I thought the sauce was a bit bitter, which surprised me, but it was OK. My Dad had the spaghetti and meatball, which was a large order that he could only eat half of! (It was a really BIG meatball!!!) I had a small Caesar salad as a starter and thought it was good. Garozzo's seems a little bit pricey to me, compared to similar Italian-American places in the area. There is no lunch menu. Lunch and dinner are the same price. Service was friendly and very competent. This location is on College Blvd. in the small shopping center on the north side of the street, just east of the Doubletree Hotel. Easy to find.
(3)Katie M.
Visited Garozzo's over lunch with two coworkers during restaurant week last week. I hadn't eaten there in years, but it was close to the office, and the RW menu looked tasty, so we decided to give it a try. What a waste of time and calories! Our waiter was absolutely horrible. Not only was his service terrible, he proceeded to tell us how bad he was at doing routine server things throughout the meal. Upon taking our order, "I better write this down... because I always forget. Haha!" Upon bringing out our soup, he brought us two bread plates and then awkwardly carried a messy bowl to us. "I have trouble with spilling the soup. Haha!" Two of us wanted boxes for our food: "I better wrap these up separately... because I always mix these up. Haha!" He was the only one laughing. Two of us had the soup and one had the salad. My soup was extremely salty and my coworker's colorless iceberg salad was drenched in dressing. My entree was quite tasty, chicken in a yummy dijon cream sauce. Another coworker order the seafood ravioli, which she enjoyed, but I thought it was a little too fishy. All of us ordered the cannoli for dessert, which came out rock hard and full of slivered almonds, which, while typical of most cannoli, came as quite a surprise to my friend who CLEARLY MENTIONED HER NUT ALLERGY BEFORE ORDERING DESSERT and was assured by the waiter that this was a safe option. Are you serious? Come on, that's just dangerous! Needless to say, we left our desserts on the table. I highly doubt this waiter will be employed with Garozzo's for much longer, but the food was poor to mediocre at best, so I will not be returning anytime soon.
(1)Carrie R.
Very average. We went there on a Wednesday for lunch. It wasn't very busy (even at noon when we were there). From the time we ordered our food, it took over 45 minutes until it was delivered. A "quick bite to eat" turned into an hour and a half lunch. When we said something to the server, he quickly blamed it on the kitchen. Classy. The food was also very average. I ordered the lasagne, which could have very well come from a frozen entree. It didn't taste fresh and was actually quite bland. My husband got the chicken spiedini in Alfredo. That was a good heart-attack on a plate, by far the best item any of us ordered. Probably won't go back, ever.
(2)Matt C.
UPDATE to my post after checking my bank statement, on top of having poor service, our server over charged my card! I paid using a Garozzos gift card, a visa gift card, and then the rest on my debit. (I know a lot of cards but still pretty easy to take care of). She ran my cards correctly according to what I signed for BUT then decided to close my debit card for an extra $35 more at the end of the night! Spoke with the manager once I saw this on my account who informed me it was a "mistake" made by the server and she forgot to close out the Visa gift card and put it all on my debit on accident. Oh and she also held onto the visa gift card since there was nothing else on it. So you are telling me she ran everything correctly the first time, BUT at the end of the night apparently "forgot" to close out that visa card, and then just close mine out for that extra $35?? Which would have had to be added into the tip column?? Absolute BS to me!! No matter what the food tasted like, this has left a completely bad taste in my mouth on Garozzos, will not be back!! Food was great, service was poor. Went to this location during restaurant week and booked a reservation online on Open Tables. Once we arrived we were seating immediately (which was great considering the wait others had). First complaint has to be the main dining room which is not a very intimate experience at all. It is a very crowded room, where if you are not in a both, you will be backed up chair against chair with someone else pretty much. We constantly had different servers bringing different items all of which maybe saying one word each time. Our primary female server just lacked any personality. All of our food came out in a fairly timely manner, it did take awhile to get our drinks, but she just seemed angry and annoyed the whole time. Gave no recommendations, could barely describe the featured wines (which we had to ask her to do), and just overall came across very rude. On a positive note the food was very good. Went with my girlfriend and we both tried to get different items to try many things. We started with the Insalata Casa(House Salad) and Canneloni both to me were average. For entrees we got the Linguini alla Frutti di Mare and the Three Way Spiedini. Both of those were great, very good sauces on both would definitely recommend both, the Spiedini I was told is something they are known for, it came with six pieces of chicken covered in three different sauces. Good size portions if you are hungry. For desert we picked out the Cannoli and Limoncello Torte. The Limoncello was great, very refreshing after a big dinner. Cannoli was good, nothing amazing. Overall I would go back to Garozzos again, but will go to a different location next time.
(1)Stephanie P.
I teetered between three and four stars on this review. I'll go with four just for the original recipe chicken spedini alone. It is what they are known for, and they do it damn jolly good. The hosts and hostesses are usually sour and surly and ask if you have reservations. Well, hmmm, it's in Johnson county folks and you're not really that special. Reservations and attitudes aside, we were shown to a table fairly quickly. Our server was wonderful and prompt. We ordered a bottle of wine and knew that we each wanted the chicken spedini when we sat down. Another favorite thing of mine is that they serve fresh Italian bread with real butter. I think we ate two loaves before our meal came out. The atmosphere is classy and homey at the same time. I was bummed that they have started using those god forsaken led flameless tea lights. Really?! I want some real god damn candlelight while I'm salivating over my bread and butter. All negativity aside, this is a great Italian place that is a favorite of mine.
(4)John I.
Forget it!. Last night's dinner was awful. My wife had eggplant which looked like it was taken out of the freezer cooked in oil and smothered with sauce and cheese. She ate one piece and decided that was it. She did like her salad, but anyone can make a salad. I chose Lasagna. It came to the table right out of the micro-wave. Smothered again in sauce. It turned into lasagna soup. I needed a spoon to eat the stuff. I also ate half and said enough. I did have a salad with wilting lettuce. Not good. My wife both agreed the Calamari was very good. For $60 I will go elsewhere. Casone's has never let us down nor has Caraberas. The highlight was our waiter Eric. He is to good to work at this place
(1)Melissa H.
Horrible! From just walking in & being sat, the server mumbled to herself, "god, is this me?" (meaning, does she have to stay). Thank goodness it wasnt her, just the angry bartender that was pissed he had to take another table. We proceeded to order, an appetizer, a salad,and two entrees. As well as a couple drinks. The food and drinks came out in proper order, and things were timely, but the attitude of the server/bartender was " I hate you, and I cant wait till you finish so I can go." My bf and I are seriously industry, and quite forgiving. We truly felt like we were being punished for walking in the door an hour before closing. Not to mention the food was sub par, way below anything we have ever had there. We tipped the norm, 20%, because tip karma is a bitch, but really just wanted to leave our food uneaten and not pay for any of it. We have leftovers to doctor up at home to make them edible ( it was $90 all said and done) & will NEVER be back. (so freakin bland, seriously)
(1)C L.
Garozzo's earned its fourth star from an excellent server we had on a busy night. It was their 20th anniversary dinner, so entrees were sold at 1989 prices, and that had drawn quite a crowd. Ours was a party of 11 (I think), which included 3 kids. I'd only been to the Olathe location on two different occasions, and had not been overly impressed with the food. That impression slightly improved with my visit in OP. Appetizers: The stuffed artichoke fell short of its description. Though good, it lacked artichoke and was hard to eat/share. The fried calamari was wisps of breading with little meat. Better, however, was the calamari marinara. Sauteed, and swimming in a pool of spiced tomato sauce, it was much "meatier" than its fried brother. Salad: I felt sorry for my friends who'd ordered the cesar salad over the house salad. I didn't try theirs, but it looked quite lackluster compared to my exciting mix of lettuce, pimentos, artichokes, parmigiano cheese, and oil/vinegar dressing. Loved it! Entree: Linguine alla Frutti di Mare - clams, shrimp, and scallops in a creamy sauce: Yum! I liked that they weren't afraid to let seafood be seafood. They let the fishy essence pervade the sauce and create a marvelously fragrant flavor. It wasn't so strong that it was foul, but it was definitely a seafood lover's delight. The entree was so large that I got my fill and had enough to take home to my 13-year old's bottomless stomach. Best of all, was our accommodating server. We sat near an emergency exit, which was all glass. It was dusk, so the sun was shining in at eye-level. Without being prompted, he remedied the situation by placing a translucent black cloth above the door, which cascaded down to match the length of the door. He was also very patient with our odd arrival/departure times and our requests for boxes and extra appetizers. He also jested with the kids and did not annoy easily with their constant reminders of their orders. Though Garrozo's isn't my idea of KC's best food, I enjoyed my experience and would have no problem going back.
(4)Samantha B.
The Chicken Spiedini Samantha was really delicious!! Absolutely the best dish we had. We came in on my birthday, so we also got it for free. The other dish we ordered was the Capelli D'Angelo, which was tasty but nothing special. They have a full bar, so you can order pretty much anything you want. We also got a cannoli and spumoni for dessert, which were both excellent. Overall, a pleasant experience and very good Italian food.
(4)Angel N.
My husband and I love the food here. We went to Little Italy this summer in NY and nothing came close. We always have Matt wait on us he is a great server.
(5)Joe H.
I've been here once. It was aight. Since chicken spedini began here, I got the one in diablo sauce or something to that effect. It was good, nothing special. I didn't consider it a special dining experience. There are a number of other Italian restaurants I would hit up before going here again. My brother did come to this location with his wife and another couple. They sat down, one of them reached for the basket of bread to take a piece and a live cockroach came running out of it. Awesome right? What was awesomer was that the restaurant offered to do nothing after it happened. The excuse was that they buy the bread prepared from another vendor, like that makes it better. They did bring them out another basket of bread though, which my sister-in-law actually took a piece of and ate. Classic. Garozzo's, where cockroach bread began!!!
(2)B K.
what can i say about a small little italian place that is steps from the hotel I stayed at? Well, maybe you should drive elsewhere. Granted, the place is nice. The wait staff was friendly if not dependable. Was there for a business dinner and was told it was an awesome little find. I disagree slightly. Food was good but nothing to write home about. I was burping garlic all night long in my hotel room. had the house specialty which is a chicken breast cooked on a skewer and lightly breaded served over four types of noodles and sauces. Mine was the spicy version. while it delivered on the spicy there just wasn't enough sauce to go around. We had the toasted ravioli app and it was OK but nothing great. the cheese inside was quite dry actually now that I think about it. and the wine list left something to be desired. not very many selections by the glass. I think one Chianti was all they offered. oh well, at least it was close to the hotel.
(2)Grant H.
Love the vodka cream sauce, but doesn't have as much nostalgia as the downtown location.
(3)Julie W.
Maybe I'm just really picky. Maybe each time I've tried Garozzo's, I've just had bad luck. But this place is gross and makes me think that people that like it don't know what real Italian food tastes like.
(1)Meredith S.
I'm combining my experiences here. I've eaten at this OP location several times, enough to know it's just not on my list of favorite places. Service seems to to hit or miss. One time my sister and I had such awful service we left a tip accordingly. The waiter...it was winter time...literally ran outside to our cars and told us we had failed to pay the correct amount and owed another $10.00. We were shocked as we KNEW we had paid the bill in full and left him a small tip of a few dollars but we didn't get the type of service that warrants 15-20% so we didn't leave that amount. He was insistant that we had short-changed him. We had both counted the money and looked at the bill. Anyway, we each handed him another $5.00! I called the restaurant when I got home because we were both steaming over what he'd done. HE answered the phone. It took forever for the manager to come to the phone and he flatly denied his waiter could have done such a thing. I waited a LONG time before I went back after that one. A friend suggested we go there for my birthday this year because if you go on your birthday and show your ID they give you a comp meal. That does not include the salad...just the meal. You must take another person with you who orders a dinner and you have to go after 4pm. We took a group of four. We were seated at one of the tables in the center of the room with a light and a fan over it. Every time the fan blades passed the lights it gave the effect of a mirrored ball from the old disco days over our table. Trying to read the menu with that happened caused us to get headaches and a couple of us felt nauseated. The waitress said she'd have to check about turning the fan off because all the fans operate together. That seems really dumb to me but finally somebody came to turn off the fans. They arrived just before we were getting ready to get up and leave. I love their house salad and the manicotti. It's nothing special but I like it. The bread is good as well and I believe it's purchased from a bakery not fresh-baked. I will probably go back again because it's convenient to where I live but I'm seriously looking for another place to satisfy by Italian food hankerings. This location has never been as good as the one downtown and the old one that was in Independence. They are too far out for a casual dinner. Maybe I'll save up and just go once in awhile to Lydia's?
(2)Monica B.
I went here for a rehearsal dinner, and although the room was very small it was a lovely place! There was a 4 course meal served and every course was delicious!! After the dinner several of us stayed out on the patio until after midnight and they were very accommodating. The waiter, at one point, had been taking forever with our drinks and I went and told the manager and we got the round for free!! So all is forgiven. I would return although it won't be the first spot I hit when back in OP.
(4)Kristen B.
PS. Tomorrow is my Birthday and someone told me that you can get a free chicken spidini at Garozzos on your Bday! I think that is the bees knees!
(4)Jeff H.
I'm a little biased towards this little piece of heaven because it is where I took my wife on our first real date. The wine list is great. The pasta dishes are fabulous. The chicken spiedini must be eaten. It's the best dish in KC.
(5)Sarah W.
Good place to take out of town guests. My folks have been staying with me, and wanted a place to eat that wasn't The Olive Garden. The OP location is kinda blah for ambiance, but the food is consistent although nothing to write home about. My parents, however enjoyed it so that's what counts. Our service was a little slow, but our server was knowledgeable. Half price bottle of wines on Sundays, so that's a plus. This wishy washiness of my review is a perfect reflection of how I felt about dinner. If you want to experience Garozzo's, just go to the downtown location.
(3)Aww W.
We were travelling through and staying at the Double Tree hotel across from the restaurant. We decided to eat there because we love Italian food. We were greeted by the host who did not seemed welcoming. However, we were hungry after travelling the whole day. We were seated and was served by a rude waiter whopaid very little attention to us and was hurrying us to finish our meals. At one point, the waiter was clearing off the plates when my husband was still eating. Coming from an unbaised non-local, we were not impressed by the quality of the food. The food was bland and overpriced for the quality and quantity. The bread was served with only pats of butter. Other restaurant that we frequented in other cities had much better flavor and the fine dining restuarant would serve their bread with flavored olive oil. I will not recommend this restaurant to anyone who is travelling through nor any locals who truly appreciate Italian food.
(1)Michelle G.
update 5/12/08, upgrade to four starts tonight, i did try Garozzos again and i'd like to amend my review i still wouldnt order the trio its not baked ravioli or mostocholi and i really thought it was bland, tonight but i tried the lasanga toasted ravioli and cannoli and it all was VERY good. i'll return for that meal. my old review: i was also here once, it was allright. nice place people were friendly, nothing against them like the other reviewer said there is a whole host of italian places i'd go to before i'd hit here again, i really didnt want the spedini i'm not a fan of lemon anything when its a main course. i tried the trio, wasnt thrilled with anything so much i'd go back for it and i didnt even reheat my leftovers, I've had lasanga everywhere from a little Place in Sherman Oaks California that served the first pizza to the Valley to Omaha and all over town here. i've been meaning to give Garozzos another chance but the other places i like Riccos Johnny Cascones Johnny Carinos Carrabas on Metcalf and 105th, evenOlive Garden Macaroni Grill Zios and Figlios are better meals. and the price is WOW are they a bit pricey! Lunch i'd like to try sometime since they are near my house.. now to find them OPEN.
(4)Janine d.
on a scale of one to five, this restuarant gets fifty stars in my book. this is just about my favorite food on earth! my ex-girlfriend brought me garozzos tortellini gina once when she came to visit me, and even after being flown cross country, it still rocked so hard it converted my primary partner to garozzos worship. the original restuarant in the river market area burned, but there's a new one there now, plus locations in just about every suburb of kansas city. so, if you're ever anywhere near one, go! eat tortellini gina! eat cavatelli catagna! eat zitti con broccoli! eat! and think of me . . .
(5)Laura C.
I highly recommend the chicken spidini samantha! they know what they are doing with this dish. It never disappoints! I think our waitress might have been newer. She did not know if they had a rosé wine on the menu when I asked if she could suggest one. However, she did come back with a nice pinot noir to sample which I ended up having. She was a very sweet girl, but not the caliber of wait staff typical of this restaurant. She gets high marks for caring about what she was doing. Most younger servers I encounter just dont seem to give a rip. The restaurant itself could use an update and/or a paint job. Our seats by the emergency exit were not the best, but I guess without a reservation that's what happens. Altho we were there at 5:30, before the rush.
(3)Troy D.
With my recent visit, I've officially visited every Garozzo's in town (do I get bonus points for that?)... and this one comes in second after the original. It's located in a strip mall next to corporate woods, but doesn't feel strip mally. It doesn't quite have the genteel Italian family atmosphere of the original downtown -- but it ain't bad. (It's certainly better than Olathe and Lee's Summit.) Had the spedini for dinner, and it lived up to the quality of the other locations -- although the specific one I had wasn't totally up to my expectations. I count this more as being a difference in taste than a "bad meal." Service was decent and on time (although there were a couple of slurp moments)... and we were seated pretty quickly on a weeknight (although we did have a reservation, it didn't seem like the wait was too long). It wasn't bad.
(4)Kathy B.
I was disappointed with my visit to Garozzo's. The bread was delicious, but I found the rest of the meal to be average. Not anything I'd send back, but not good enough to make me want to return either. I had the house salad. It comes heavily drenched in dressing, and I felt that it overpowered the rest of the salad. For dinner I tried their signature dish, the Chicken Speidini Garozzo. It was a bit too spicy for my tastes and it must have been a bad night, because it was not very moist. The food wasn't the problem though. Our server was very pushy about selling wine and dessert. After telling her from the start that we were not interested in drinking wine, we were asked more than four times if we wanted wine. Then when dinner was over, she started on the dessert. Over and over. Really. None of us were ambivalent. When it goes beyond two "No thank you's", it becomes irritating.
(2)Stephen H.
Please note: this rating is for this Garozzo's only. I've been to the OG location in Columbus Park and had a great time. Okay, so when I first moved to Overland Park, one of the points of conversation was that I lived in Italy as an undergrad and Garozzo's was a name that would come up more than once. I've not been since the last time I went, which was 3 years ago now (and I would love to be corrected by a staff member) when I received poor service on 2 occasions and returned for a 3rd because of a gift card I had received. I was ravenous that night and would have eaten anything, but just so you know, I generally judge an Italian restaurant by its gnocchi. Now this is an odd taste-idiosyncrasy of mine. Gnocchi is a favorite dish of mine, but you should probably judge an Italian restaurant by its penne or cannoli. That being said, the gnocchi at this Garozzo's was terrible. I was hungry, so I ate half of it, but then I stopped out of just hating it. The waitress: "So, what's wrong." "Your gnocchi is terrible." "Oh, you know, I thought about telling you that it's not our best when you ordered it." (30 Rock swoosh moment: "Okay, you THOUGHT about telling me, but you didn't tell me? Is that like thinking about not cheating on me, and then cheating on me?") "It tasted like it came out of a can. I'm really disappointed." I don't think she charged me for the gnocchi at the end, but that wasn't the point. I didn't get a satisfactory explanation for what happened, or why I wouldn't get the same experience the next time I went, and what if I felt like gnocchi. Haven't been back since. Poof.
(2)V. M.
This review is only for the Overland Park location. The one on Missouri Ave is excellent. Service was really slow and for a while we didn't know if we would get the chance to order dinner. Literally over a half hour passed before our order was taken. Food was average at best. I had the evening special which was a Fillet that was about the size of a fast food hamburger patty (not the quarter pounder either) and a chicken kabob (the chicken was small also). Together they almost made up a happy meal. Not worth the time or money.
(1)Erin W.
Huge portions. Food is good, not anything extra special but good. Fairly pricy so I'd rather go to Olive Garden where quality is similar but cheaper. I'll be back if someone wants to go, but not often
(3)Amanda S.
I know what to expect from this location - average food, slow service and generic "Italian" atmosphere. I was outvoted for a lunch outing with work people. I haven't enjoyed the food here and only order the Inslata Santa Teresa. The salad is good but not as fresh tasting as it is at the original Garozzo's location. My party of four were the first table seated for lunch. We had three salads, an order of fried ravioli, one pasta and one Spiedini. We were there for almost one hour and 45 minutes. To me, that isn't acceptable for lunch service. But, if you have more than an hour for lunch during the work day then this is the place for you. This location doesn't have the warm, family feeling like the original location. It's sterile and the Italian shout out is literally Dean Martin on repeat.
(2)Paul M.
If cheap knock-off Italian food at premiere prices is your thing, then you've found your next favorite restaurant--and here it is!
(1)Zach G.
I have been to two locations of Garozzo's and had more-or-less the same experience. Therefore, I am going to review both but stick to mostly the same review. I do like the feel of the restaurant here in Overland Park. The only negative is that I think it can feel slightly cramped when busy, but not too bad. Luckily, despite that, it doesn't seem to get too loud. Staff here is very friendly, and prices are maybe slightly higher than I would expect, but nothing too painful in my opinion. The wine list is not great, but it gets the job done. The menu is filled with many choices, but none of them are overly inventive...it's all rather mundane. The taste is better than average, but far from outstanding. The pasta's here are fairly basic, but tasty. They are cooked to a good level of done-ness. While the sauces are flavorful, they are nothing spectacular. Many people know Garozzo's for their spiedini, which I have had twice. I really enjoyed my experience with the veal spiedini - it was moist, flavorful, and the perfect size. However the chicken spiedini, which they consider their "signature dish", was only OK...slightly dry with not as much flavor. I'd choose the veal again over the chicken without a doubt. I will probably return, but there are plenty of other Italian restaurants I would like to check out first.
(3)Vivian M.
My mother and my son visited Garozzo's this morning for Easter brunch. Big mistake. Cold, dry food, raw shrimp with big poop veins still in them, not even an omelet station, or pastries, just cold bluberry muffins. For $23.99 I expected more than this. Horrible, will never go back, so gross. I almost forgot, my son went to the rest room and he heard loud cursing coming from the kitchen. He said whoever it was used every profanity in the cuss book. Not professional at all and its Easter sunday! This place needs help!
(1)Rob M.
I've had lunch here a few times with my Dad and some of his buddies who have a birthday club that gets together almost every month. I've liked the food at Garozzo's, and their red sauce (available to take home) is not sweet, which I like. Red sauce shouldn't be sugary, in my book! I've had the lasagna here, which was good, and on my latest visit, a few days ago, I had the restaurant's specialty, chicken spiedini -- they have various versions and this time I ordered the house special version. It's numerous chunks of de-skewered chicken breast, very lightly breaded, in a lemon-herb sauce. I thought the sauce was a bit bitter, which surprised me, but it was OK. My Dad had the spaghetti and meatball, which was a large order that he could only eat half of! (It was a really BIG meatball!!!) I had a small Caesar salad as a starter and thought it was good. Garozzo's seems a little bit pricey to me, compared to similar Italian-American places in the area. There is no lunch menu. Lunch and dinner are the same price. Service was friendly and very competent. This location is on College Blvd. in the small shopping center on the north side of the street, just east of the Doubletree Hotel. Easy to find.
(3)Katie M.
Visited Garozzo's over lunch with two coworkers during restaurant week last week. I hadn't eaten there in years, but it was close to the office, and the RW menu looked tasty, so we decided to give it a try. What a waste of time and calories! Our waiter was absolutely horrible. Not only was his service terrible, he proceeded to tell us how bad he was at doing routine server things throughout the meal. Upon taking our order, "I better write this down... because I always forget. Haha!" Upon bringing out our soup, he brought us two bread plates and then awkwardly carried a messy bowl to us. "I have trouble with spilling the soup. Haha!" Two of us wanted boxes for our food: "I better wrap these up separately... because I always mix these up. Haha!" He was the only one laughing. Two of us had the soup and one had the salad. My soup was extremely salty and my coworker's colorless iceberg salad was drenched in dressing. My entree was quite tasty, chicken in a yummy dijon cream sauce. Another coworker order the seafood ravioli, which she enjoyed, but I thought it was a little too fishy. All of us ordered the cannoli for dessert, which came out rock hard and full of slivered almonds, which, while typical of most cannoli, came as quite a surprise to my friend who CLEARLY MENTIONED HER NUT ALLERGY BEFORE ORDERING DESSERT and was assured by the waiter that this was a safe option. Are you serious? Come on, that's just dangerous! Needless to say, we left our desserts on the table. I highly doubt this waiter will be employed with Garozzo's for much longer, but the food was poor to mediocre at best, so I will not be returning anytime soon.
(1)Carrie R.
Very average. We went there on a Wednesday for lunch. It wasn't very busy (even at noon when we were there). From the time we ordered our food, it took over 45 minutes until it was delivered. A "quick bite to eat" turned into an hour and a half lunch. When we said something to the server, he quickly blamed it on the kitchen. Classy. The food was also very average. I ordered the lasagne, which could have very well come from a frozen entree. It didn't taste fresh and was actually quite bland. My husband got the chicken spiedini in Alfredo. That was a good heart-attack on a plate, by far the best item any of us ordered. Probably won't go back, ever.
(2)Matt C.
UPDATE to my post after checking my bank statement, on top of having poor service, our server over charged my card! I paid using a Garozzos gift card, a visa gift card, and then the rest on my debit. (I know a lot of cards but still pretty easy to take care of). She ran my cards correctly according to what I signed for BUT then decided to close my debit card for an extra $35 more at the end of the night! Spoke with the manager once I saw this on my account who informed me it was a "mistake" made by the server and she forgot to close out the Visa gift card and put it all on my debit on accident. Oh and she also held onto the visa gift card since there was nothing else on it. So you are telling me she ran everything correctly the first time, BUT at the end of the night apparently "forgot" to close out that visa card, and then just close mine out for that extra $35?? Which would have had to be added into the tip column?? Absolute BS to me!! No matter what the food tasted like, this has left a completely bad taste in my mouth on Garozzos, will not be back!! Food was great, service was poor. Went to this location during restaurant week and booked a reservation online on Open Tables. Once we arrived we were seating immediately (which was great considering the wait others had). First complaint has to be the main dining room which is not a very intimate experience at all. It is a very crowded room, where if you are not in a both, you will be backed up chair against chair with someone else pretty much. We constantly had different servers bringing different items all of which maybe saying one word each time. Our primary female server just lacked any personality. All of our food came out in a fairly timely manner, it did take awhile to get our drinks, but she just seemed angry and annoyed the whole time. Gave no recommendations, could barely describe the featured wines (which we had to ask her to do), and just overall came across very rude. On a positive note the food was very good. Went with my girlfriend and we both tried to get different items to try many things. We started with the Insalata Casa(House Salad) and Canneloni both to me were average. For entrees we got the Linguini alla Frutti di Mare and the Three Way Spiedini. Both of those were great, very good sauces on both would definitely recommend both, the Spiedini I was told is something they are known for, it came with six pieces of chicken covered in three different sauces. Good size portions if you are hungry. For desert we picked out the Cannoli and Limoncello Torte. The Limoncello was great, very refreshing after a big dinner. Cannoli was good, nothing amazing. Overall I would go back to Garozzos again, but will go to a different location next time.
(1)Stephanie P.
I teetered between three and four stars on this review. I'll go with four just for the original recipe chicken spedini alone. It is what they are known for, and they do it damn jolly good. The hosts and hostesses are usually sour and surly and ask if you have reservations. Well, hmmm, it's in Johnson county folks and you're not really that special. Reservations and attitudes aside, we were shown to a table fairly quickly. Our server was wonderful and prompt. We ordered a bottle of wine and knew that we each wanted the chicken spedini when we sat down. Another favorite thing of mine is that they serve fresh Italian bread with real butter. I think we ate two loaves before our meal came out. The atmosphere is classy and homey at the same time. I was bummed that they have started using those god forsaken led flameless tea lights. Really?! I want some real god damn candlelight while I'm salivating over my bread and butter. All negativity aside, this is a great Italian place that is a favorite of mine.
(4)John I.
Forget it!. Last night's dinner was awful. My wife had eggplant which looked like it was taken out of the freezer cooked in oil and smothered with sauce and cheese. She ate one piece and decided that was it. She did like her salad, but anyone can make a salad. I chose Lasagna. It came to the table right out of the micro-wave. Smothered again in sauce. It turned into lasagna soup. I needed a spoon to eat the stuff. I also ate half and said enough. I did have a salad with wilting lettuce. Not good. My wife both agreed the Calamari was very good. For $60 I will go elsewhere. Casone's has never let us down nor has Caraberas. The highlight was our waiter Eric. He is to good to work at this place
(1)Melissa H.
Horrible! From just walking in & being sat, the server mumbled to herself, "god, is this me?" (meaning, does she have to stay). Thank goodness it wasnt her, just the angry bartender that was pissed he had to take another table. We proceeded to order, an appetizer, a salad,and two entrees. As well as a couple drinks. The food and drinks came out in proper order, and things were timely, but the attitude of the server/bartender was " I hate you, and I cant wait till you finish so I can go." My bf and I are seriously industry, and quite forgiving. We truly felt like we were being punished for walking in the door an hour before closing. Not to mention the food was sub par, way below anything we have ever had there. We tipped the norm, 20%, because tip karma is a bitch, but really just wanted to leave our food uneaten and not pay for any of it. We have leftovers to doctor up at home to make them edible ( it was $90 all said and done) & will NEVER be back. (so freakin bland, seriously)
(1)C L.
Garozzo's earned its fourth star from an excellent server we had on a busy night. It was their 20th anniversary dinner, so entrees were sold at 1989 prices, and that had drawn quite a crowd. Ours was a party of 11 (I think), which included 3 kids. I'd only been to the Olathe location on two different occasions, and had not been overly impressed with the food. That impression slightly improved with my visit in OP. Appetizers: The stuffed artichoke fell short of its description. Though good, it lacked artichoke and was hard to eat/share. The fried calamari was wisps of breading with little meat. Better, however, was the calamari marinara. Sauteed, and swimming in a pool of spiced tomato sauce, it was much "meatier" than its fried brother. Salad: I felt sorry for my friends who'd ordered the cesar salad over the house salad. I didn't try theirs, but it looked quite lackluster compared to my exciting mix of lettuce, pimentos, artichokes, parmigiano cheese, and oil/vinegar dressing. Loved it! Entree: Linguine alla Frutti di Mare - clams, shrimp, and scallops in a creamy sauce: Yum! I liked that they weren't afraid to let seafood be seafood. They let the fishy essence pervade the sauce and create a marvelously fragrant flavor. It wasn't so strong that it was foul, but it was definitely a seafood lover's delight. The entree was so large that I got my fill and had enough to take home to my 13-year old's bottomless stomach. Best of all, was our accommodating server. We sat near an emergency exit, which was all glass. It was dusk, so the sun was shining in at eye-level. Without being prompted, he remedied the situation by placing a translucent black cloth above the door, which cascaded down to match the length of the door. He was also very patient with our odd arrival/departure times and our requests for boxes and extra appetizers. He also jested with the kids and did not annoy easily with their constant reminders of their orders. Though Garrozo's isn't my idea of KC's best food, I enjoyed my experience and would have no problem going back.
(4)Bridget R.
This is a family staple of ours. We have been going here for years. It is exactly what you see. Old school Italian flavors. No frills or fuss. We love to get their takeout when a nice meal is wanted but not the cooking. Their spiedini's and their vodka sauce (any dish with it) are both great options.
(4)Jason R.
I have been to Garozzo's before and it is usually consistent. We had their stuffed artichoke for an appetizer and it was great as usual. We both ordered the special which was a petite filet and a chicken spiedini. I had never had their chicken spiedini so was excited to try it. The filet was nothing to write home about. It was sliced thin and smothered in cheese. This is not how a filet should be served, ever! The spiedini was not bad, not quite as flavorful as I expected. Overall the service and atmosphere made up for the lack luster filet. But will probably go to Jasper's next time.
(3)Stephanie P.
I teetered between three and four stars on this review. I'll go with four just for the original recipe chicken spedini alone. It is what they are known for, and they do it damn jolly good. The hosts and hostesses are usually sour and surly and ask if you have reservations. Well, hmmm, it's in Johnson county folks and you're not really that special. Reservations and attitudes aside, we were shown to a table fairly quickly. Our server was wonderful and prompt. We ordered a bottle of wine and knew that we each wanted the chicken spedini when we sat down. Another favorite thing of mine is that they serve fresh Italian bread with real butter. I think we ate two loaves before our meal came out. The atmosphere is classy and homey at the same time. I was bummed that they have started using those god forsaken led flameless tea lights. Really?! I want some real god damn candlelight while I'm salivating over my bread and butter. All negativity aside, this is a great Italian place that is a favorite of mine.
(4)Laura C.
I highly recommend the chicken spidini samantha! they know what they are doing with this dish. It never disappoints! I think our waitress might have been newer. She did not know if they had a rosé wine on the menu when I asked if she could suggest one. However, she did come back with a nice pinot noir to sample which I ended up having. She was a very sweet girl, but not the caliber of wait staff typical of this restaurant. She gets high marks for caring about what she was doing. Most younger servers I encounter just dont seem to give a rip. The restaurant itself could use an update and/or a paint job. Our seats by the emergency exit were not the best, but I guess without a reservation that's what happens. Altho we were there at 5:30, before the rush.
(3)Galen M.
Ate at Garozzo's tonight, and while waiting for a table, decided to read some reviews. I'm from out of town, so while I had heard good things about the place, I had never been there. One of the other reviews almost threw a wrench in my plan to eat there. Apparently, the red sauce (and potentially other sauces) has animal-derived stock in it, and I don't eat meat. I almost immediately left, but knowing yelp is not always the most reliable, I decided to ask about it. I got confirmation that the red sauce does have beef stock in it, but that the cream sauce does not. The manager then offered to make me some red sauce without the beef stock in it, and pointed out a number of vegetarian dishes on the menu. I eventually took the manager up on the offer of beef-less red sauce and had the eggplant parmesan. It was quite good, if not a bit different than your average eggplant parmesan. So, while the food wasn't outstanding, the customer service was pretty great, and they were willing to help out a vegetarian when asked--something that they really didn't have to do. But to be fair to the person who complained before: beef stock in the red sauce? Why?
(4)Thai L.
Great place to go for your birthday! You get a free dinner entree of their house specialty, Chicken Spiedini (but only on your actual birthday). I love getting the Spicy Georgio Spiedini - it is epic!
(5)Monica K.
Garozzo's is amazing! I love the Alfredo sauce. The tortellini Gina is my favorite. My sister usually gets the spiedini and hasn't found one that she doesn't like. I highly recommend this restaurant
(5)Ben M.
We recently ate here and for the price it was excellent. The calimari was perfectly crispy and had a great taste and the wedding soup was also quite good with fresh wilted spinach in it. The house specialty is the Spiedini di Pollo and this appears to be what most people on here recommend. The waiter offered a combination special with this and the Bistecca Modiga (which he stated was his favorite dish) so I tried it. While the chicken was definitely good the steak was spectacular. It was extremely tender and smothered with cheese and a garlicy white wine sauce. I strongly recommend going to this restaurant if only to try the Bistecca Modiga. Also, the prices were quite reasonable and the service was very good. It is also walking distance from the Doubletree so it is a perfect place to eat if staying there.
(4)Meghan B.
I go here 3-4 times a year and look forward to it every time. The Chicken Spiedini Garozzo style is a must try and I literally get cravings for the house salad. The wait staff is what really makes this place special. Matt and Hillary are by far the best servers...make sure to request their sections! I am only in a handful of times a year but each make us feel special by remembering us. In fact last time Matt was our server, but Hillary made sure to come over and say hi! Unfortunately about two months ago I was in for a friend's birthday and we had a server who was a young girl home from college for the summer. The experience was just not the same. She was a nice girl, but just did not aid in making my friend''s birthday great. Garozzo's does have an amazing Birthday special. The birthday girl/guy gets a free chicken spiedini dish on their actual birthday with ID. This brings me in every year! Mark was our server about a month ago for my birthday and he did a wonderful job of making our dinner special. A regular customer was sitting a table over and heard it was birthday and sent over a tiramisu...by the why, one of the best in town! Only negatives would be possibility of getting a so-so server if Matt or Hillary are not in and the bread is not the greatest...sometimes it is a little stale, but the food completely makes up for this!
(4)John G.
I ate there tonight (Aug 16, 2012) while traveling to K-State. I stayed across the street in the Doubletree. I'm not sure why there are so many mixed reviews. I went with a party of 6. We all enjoyed our meals. Our waitress was very polite and attentive (perhaps they've fixed previous problems?). I ordered their Chicken Speidini. It was excellent. My wife ordered the Diablo version. Also excellent. I thought everything was fine and I would definitely go here again.
(4)Krystal P.
I don't understand where the positive reviews come from. I am a huge fan, and known critic of Italian food. It's not as easy as throwing a heartless ladle of sauce over an overcooked and soggy bowl of store bought pasta. The entire meal at Garozzo's was just below average. A greasy appetizer of fried ravioli and garlic oil - the oil was served in a bowl, with the favorless ingredients pooled on the bottom of the bowl where you ended up with 95% oil soaked break with a speck of oregano left to flavor. This should be served on a plate. The ravioli's were obviously frozen. I tried the chicken spiedini - not only because it was the only thing on the menu, which lacked any excitement and your traditional Italian homeruns (Osso Bucco, Bolognese, veal piccata). It is also supposed to be the house specialty. I was presented a dried out piece of rolled up chicken again covered in a sauce of garlic, lemon and herbs you would expect to explode with flavor rather than frown on your plate. My husband's veal parmigiana was just as disappointing. There red sauce is such a far cry from an Italian red sauce that I just pushed my pasta aside. May be a harsh review, but after the bold positive reviews I have recieved from friends who apparently don't know better - I had to set the story straight.
(1)Sean B.
We went for my Mother in laws birthday dinner and I expected a lot more. The Caesar salad was good, service was attentive, but my wife and I ordered to share a shrimp dish in a lemon garlic sauce, maybe we misread the menu but I swear it said it had Angel hair pasta with it. When we ordered, the server asked if we wanted pasta with red sauce or green beans as the side, my wife said green beans because why would you order a pasta dish with a side of pasta? Any way it arrived, each of us had 3 shrimp on our plate in a sauce with a couple of mushrooms and broccoli. And a small side of anemic looking, over cooked, bland green beans. This was one of the most expensive entrées at $27.00. With a $3.00 split charge, I think our server should have been wearing a ski mask to better match the robbery that was going on. There are a lot of other places to spend our money eating out, and we will not be returning here.
(2)Lawson K.
I hadn't been to the O.Park Garozzo's in approximately 2 years, so decided to visit tonight. The service was very prompt and attentive. Sadly, the food didn't match. I ordered the Manicotti and it arrived - 3 tubes on a plate, covered with a sauce. To be fair, the sauce was good, but 3 room-temperature 1" inch diameter tubes for $14.00 & no salad !! Bland and chilled would best describe my dining experience. Maybe I should have looked for the word "baked" on the menu, which would have indicated the pasta had at least seen the inside of an oven. Won't reccomend this location.
(2)Samantha B.
The Chicken Spiedini Samantha was really delicious!! Absolutely the best dish we had. We came in on my birthday, so we also got it for free. The other dish we ordered was the Capelli D'Angelo, which was tasty but nothing special. They have a full bar, so you can order pretty much anything you want. We also got a cannoli and spumoni for dessert, which were both excellent. Overall, a pleasant experience and very good Italian food.
(4)Angel N.
My husband and I love the food here. We went to Little Italy this summer in NY and nothing came close. We always have Matt wait on us he is a great server.
(5)Lyn P.
This place was hyped up to me by my co-worker that suggested we eat here for dinner. It was definitely a fancy schmancy place. The atmosphere was nice and we had great service from our waitress. I had the Vitella Saltimbucco. The veal was a bit tougher than I expected (the first reviewer was right that Carraba's, even though it is a chain restaurant, is better.) But they totally redeemed themselves with dessert. The tiramisu is homemade and you could really taste the amaretto. We also had the turtle cheesecake - the caramel was thick and super yummy.
(3)Lea K.
My personal opinion: If you don't eat meat...don't bother. I asked the server about several different meals...EVERYTHING seemed to have some kind of meat broth. I couldn't even have the option of taking out the chicken and having a vegetarian dish. I just have to ask, does the chicken stock really add that much to the stock that they can't use vegetable broth instead. I couldn't even order. I didn't even try any of the food since there wasn't a dinner option for me to try. They should have a few sauces 'white, red etc' that don't have chicken stock. I ordered a dinner salad. The server messed up and brought me a side salad before everyone else got their meals. To her correcting this meant leaving the side salad to wilt while I waited for everyone else to be served and then brining me another side salad while everyone else got their dinner. Then when the bill came she tried charging me for two small salads which was more expensive than the dinner salad. I WANTED the dinner salad. The two small salads were a mistake on their part. I was not happy with the food or the service.
(1)Jessica Y.
I've been to the Olathe Garozzo's several times, but recently visited this location for the first time for a business dinner. The place was totally packed on a Tuesday night at eight so I'm glad we made reservations. I got the Rigatoni Angela because i was looking for some cream but nothing too heaving. This was beef tips and green peppers in a red creamy sauce and it was quite good. The beef tips were cooked perfectly a little pink inside, the mushroom flavor wasn't overpowered by the sauce, I though the green peppers were a little soft-but that is being very picky. It also reheated perfectly the next day. One of my dinning companions had the Spedini alla Samantha-I tasted the Alfredo sauce that came with it. This was a serious Alfredo we are talking so rich and thick you can hear the cows being milked in back. The sauce was delicious, but I doubt my ability to finish a whole meal of because it was just so rich. Like I said it was packed that night, our waitress was obviously very busy, but took care of our entire party of 12 and got everything out in a timely manner. While the service was good, there wasn't that spark from the servers who seem to get into listing the specials or helping you decide that makes it really great, that was a bit disappointing because i am used to that at the other location. Additionally, I felt like the restaurant overall lacked the classiness I am used to at the other location. The decor at the Overland park location was a little more plastic plant versus the sleek, modern design in Olathe (possibly the first time anyone has ever used sleek, modern and Olathe in the same sentence without a negative). Overall, the food was still great, I love their food and wine offerings, but I felt like the service and atmosphere did not live up to my Garozzo's expectations.
(4)Joe H.
I've been here once. It was aight. Since chicken spedini began here, I got the one in diablo sauce or something to that effect. It was good, nothing special. I didn't consider it a special dining experience. There are a number of other Italian restaurants I would hit up before going here again. My brother did come to this location with his wife and another couple. They sat down, one of them reached for the basket of bread to take a piece and a live cockroach came running out of it. Awesome right? What was awesomer was that the restaurant offered to do nothing after it happened. The excuse was that they buy the bread prepared from another vendor, like that makes it better. They did bring them out another basket of bread though, which my sister-in-law actually took a piece of and ate. Classic. Garozzo's, where cockroach bread began!!!
(2)B K.
what can i say about a small little italian place that is steps from the hotel I stayed at? Well, maybe you should drive elsewhere. Granted, the place is nice. The wait staff was friendly if not dependable. Was there for a business dinner and was told it was an awesome little find. I disagree slightly. Food was good but nothing to write home about. I was burping garlic all night long in my hotel room. had the house specialty which is a chicken breast cooked on a skewer and lightly breaded served over four types of noodles and sauces. Mine was the spicy version. while it delivered on the spicy there just wasn't enough sauce to go around. We had the toasted ravioli app and it was OK but nothing great. the cheese inside was quite dry actually now that I think about it. and the wine list left something to be desired. not very many selections by the glass. I think one Chianti was all they offered. oh well, at least it was close to the hotel.
(2)Grant H.
Love the vodka cream sauce, but doesn't have as much nostalgia as the downtown location.
(3)Julie W.
Maybe I'm just really picky. Maybe each time I've tried Garozzo's, I've just had bad luck. But this place is gross and makes me think that people that like it don't know what real Italian food tastes like.
(1)Meredith S.
I'm combining my experiences here. I've eaten at this OP location several times, enough to know it's just not on my list of favorite places. Service seems to to hit or miss. One time my sister and I had such awful service we left a tip accordingly. The waiter...it was winter time...literally ran outside to our cars and told us we had failed to pay the correct amount and owed another $10.00. We were shocked as we KNEW we had paid the bill in full and left him a small tip of a few dollars but we didn't get the type of service that warrants 15-20% so we didn't leave that amount. He was insistant that we had short-changed him. We had both counted the money and looked at the bill. Anyway, we each handed him another $5.00! I called the restaurant when I got home because we were both steaming over what he'd done. HE answered the phone. It took forever for the manager to come to the phone and he flatly denied his waiter could have done such a thing. I waited a LONG time before I went back after that one. A friend suggested we go there for my birthday this year because if you go on your birthday and show your ID they give you a comp meal. That does not include the salad...just the meal. You must take another person with you who orders a dinner and you have to go after 4pm. We took a group of four. We were seated at one of the tables in the center of the room with a light and a fan over it. Every time the fan blades passed the lights it gave the effect of a mirrored ball from the old disco days over our table. Trying to read the menu with that happened caused us to get headaches and a couple of us felt nauseated. The waitress said she'd have to check about turning the fan off because all the fans operate together. That seems really dumb to me but finally somebody came to turn off the fans. They arrived just before we were getting ready to get up and leave. I love their house salad and the manicotti. It's nothing special but I like it. The bread is good as well and I believe it's purchased from a bakery not fresh-baked. I will probably go back again because it's convenient to where I live but I'm seriously looking for another place to satisfy by Italian food hankerings. This location has never been as good as the one downtown and the old one that was in Independence. They are too far out for a casual dinner. Maybe I'll save up and just go once in awhile to Lydia's?
(2)Monica B.
I went here for a rehearsal dinner, and although the room was very small it was a lovely place! There was a 4 course meal served and every course was delicious!! After the dinner several of us stayed out on the patio until after midnight and they were very accommodating. The waiter, at one point, had been taking forever with our drinks and I went and told the manager and we got the round for free!! So all is forgiven. I would return although it won't be the first spot I hit when back in OP.
(4)Kristen B.
PS. Tomorrow is my Birthday and someone told me that you can get a free chicken spidini at Garozzos on your Bday! I think that is the bees knees!
(4)Jeff H.
I'm a little biased towards this little piece of heaven because it is where I took my wife on our first real date. The wine list is great. The pasta dishes are fabulous. The chicken spiedini must be eaten. It's the best dish in KC.
(5)Aww W.
We were travelling through and staying at the Double Tree hotel across from the restaurant. We decided to eat there because we love Italian food. We were greeted by the host who did not seemed welcoming. However, we were hungry after travelling the whole day. We were seated and was served by a rude waiter whopaid very little attention to us and was hurrying us to finish our meals. At one point, the waiter was clearing off the plates when my husband was still eating. Coming from an unbaised non-local, we were not impressed by the quality of the food. The food was bland and overpriced for the quality and quantity. The bread was served with only pats of butter. Other restaurant that we frequented in other cities had much better flavor and the fine dining restuarant would serve their bread with flavored olive oil. I will not recommend this restaurant to anyone who is travelling through nor any locals who truly appreciate Italian food.
(1)Michelle G.
update 5/12/08, upgrade to four starts tonight, i did try Garozzos again and i'd like to amend my review i still wouldnt order the trio its not baked ravioli or mostocholi and i really thought it was bland, tonight but i tried the lasanga toasted ravioli and cannoli and it all was VERY good. i'll return for that meal. my old review: i was also here once, it was allright. nice place people were friendly, nothing against them like the other reviewer said there is a whole host of italian places i'd go to before i'd hit here again, i really didnt want the spedini i'm not a fan of lemon anything when its a main course. i tried the trio, wasnt thrilled with anything so much i'd go back for it and i didnt even reheat my leftovers, I've had lasanga everywhere from a little Place in Sherman Oaks California that served the first pizza to the Valley to Omaha and all over town here. i've been meaning to give Garozzos another chance but the other places i like Riccos Johnny Cascones Johnny Carinos Carrabas on Metcalf and 105th, evenOlive Garden Macaroni Grill Zios and Figlios are better meals. and the price is WOW are they a bit pricey! Lunch i'd like to try sometime since they are near my house.. now to find them OPEN.
(4)Janine d.
on a scale of one to five, this restuarant gets fifty stars in my book. this is just about my favorite food on earth! my ex-girlfriend brought me garozzos tortellini gina once when she came to visit me, and even after being flown cross country, it still rocked so hard it converted my primary partner to garozzos worship. the original restuarant in the river market area burned, but there's a new one there now, plus locations in just about every suburb of kansas city. so, if you're ever anywhere near one, go! eat tortellini gina! eat cavatelli catagna! eat zitti con broccoli! eat! and think of me . . .
(5)Sarah W.
Good place to take out of town guests. My folks have been staying with me, and wanted a place to eat that wasn't The Olive Garden. The OP location is kinda blah for ambiance, but the food is consistent although nothing to write home about. My parents, however enjoyed it so that's what counts. Our service was a little slow, but our server was knowledgeable. Half price bottle of wines on Sundays, so that's a plus. This wishy washiness of my review is a perfect reflection of how I felt about dinner. If you want to experience Garozzo's, just go to the downtown location.
(3)