Looking for recommendations on Italian restaurants in town, please help me out folks. Checked out citysearch and there are way too many to dig through to decide.

dolce vita

haven't ventured out of the italian chains much but damions was pretty good iirc

I've been to the Valentino is LA, but not the one here....however that was the best food I've ever had.

Original Carabbas on Kirby is good and inexpensive. DaMarco is supposed to be the shiznit but my wallet won't support me eating there.

Villa Itallia in Conroe

Check it out if you havent.

Nick's near Sugarland is really good. The owner is a pretty loud, old-school, Italian guy so do what he asks and all will be well.

Very good food at a very reasonable price.

Da Marco is the best italian restaurant in town hands down. It may be the best restaurant in town period. You pay for it though. Stella Sola in the heights is supposed to be awesome as well, but I haven't had a chance to go yet.

Damians is very good. Dolce Vita is very good and more family style/ casual, as is the new place on mandell and Westheimer (forget the name right now).

michelangelos on westheimer.

Railroad Cafe in Humble.

This is a fairly subjective question.

What kind of Italian are you looking for? Southern or Northern? There are some very expensive and highly rated "Italian" restaurants that I wouldn't patronize unless I had to.

What kind of ambiance? Third-date romantic, or office lunch?

If you just want spaghetti and meatballs maybe with a link of sausage, the Thursday Sacred Heart lunch on Whitney Oaks is about the best plate in town, but it likely won't get you laid.

azzarelli's

I'm certainly no expert on Italian eateries in town. That said, I'm never disappointed at Fred's Italian Corner.

La Trattoria and Valentino's are both very very good.

Valentino's is the only place that the Italians at work recognize as serving Italian food.

Antica Osteria or Dolce Vita. Da Marco is the best but its $$$$ and he owns Dolce Vita so its similar.

Vinoteca Poscol is pretty tasty - just a little more authentic. Also Da Marco family.

+1

dolce vita

RIP - Pino's

Damian's is really good. Dolce Vita IMO sucks. A couple of my friends love it and a couple of them hate it, so I don't think there is much middle ground there.

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Dolce Vita IMO sucks. A couple of my friends love it and a couple of them hate it, so I don't think there is much middle ground there.

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I'm actually one that is in between. My gf absolutely loves that place so we go there pretty often. Some things are good, some aren't. Excellent service though (especially if you get the little Asian lady who usually works on the patio) and I can't really complain about the price.

Brio is pretty solid

Dolce Vita is the balls! I agree with the Da Marco references as well. That place is one of the finest restaurants in town. I would also recommend Prego in the Rice Village area, and Patranella's on Jackson Hill off of Washington Ave.

poppakep- I feel your pain. One of my favs as a kid.

Carmello's on Memorial

depending on the occassion, the following 3 are our go-to's. Dolce Vita, Antica Osteria, and Fred's. gotta love some Fred's.

Not sure if anyone else has been yet, but I'm a big fan of Raia's Italian Market on Washington. It has a bit of a causual feel, but the food is very good. The Blue Crab Ravioli and the Penne Pesto w/ Shrimp are outstanding. They have a rack of wine that you can pick your own bottle from, nothing fancy but some decent bottles for $25-$35. The gellato for dessert is pretty nice too.

What about the best $15 and under italian? I like collinas in the heights cuz the $1 cork fee and i get druuunk

Damian's.

Also, a very good, yet overlooked place, is Crappito's on Mid. I go there a lot, especially when it's nice to sit on the patio.

i actually just picked up a voucher for crappito's from groupon. me and the wife will be checkig it out soon; it looked good.

i'll also second the original carrabba's. pretty darn good stuff.

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What about the best $15 and under italian? I like collinas in the heights cuz the $1 cork fee and i get druuunk

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I love Collina's too.

Vincents/Ninos/Grappino Di Nino on Dallas and Waugh is pretty awesome IMHO. Very cool place for a drink and tappas outside if you are at Grappinos, but Ninos and Vincents are about the same. The rotisserie chicken is great as well as most other things on the menu.

[This message has been edited by fat rooster (edited 4/13/2010 3:42p).]

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Villa Itallia in Conroe

Check it out if you havent.

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LOL, OK, sure. Do you have any recommendations in Temple or Abilene for me while you’re at it?

Raia's chicken gave me food poisoning.

Whats going on with Patranellas. Used to be great, lost the cook, but still was ok. Went back last year and was not great.

Barry

What do Temple and Abilene have to do with Conroe/Houston?

Conroe is 35 minutes from downtown houston.

Or are you just trying to be a jacka$$?

Here's a review of the place (shocking, its a guy from Houston..lol)

Norma, who owns the restaurant, is from Sicily and has the most amazingly delicious Italian recipes we had ever tasted. It is right on the courthouse square in Conroe. We were a little confused because the restaurant sign says "Coronelli's" and the listing is for Villa Italia, which has a great rating, but no reviews. I guess it's because the location of the restaurant isnt in the popular strip centers (Thank, goodness!) We had veal with italian cream sauce and chicken with brandy, tomato, and mushroom sauce, followed by bananas foster and cappuccino. The ingredients were fresh. The flavor was amazing. It was a really nice change from the chain restaurants in The Woodlands. They had a great selection of red and white wines. We had a nice chianti. All in all our dinner was really great. We highly recommend this restaurant.

Richard-Houston

[This message has been edited by HERKIMER80 (edited 4/13/2010 7:54p).]

I was trying to be a jackass.

But come on... Conroe? GTF outta here!

Also I note that the guy's selling point was that it was better than most of the places in The Woodlands.