Angelina's Italian Gourmet

10/09/06

Dont waste your time or money!

by flagirl510 at Citysearch

Tired this place a few years ago and it was a terrible experience!! Everything I tried to order was "not available". Anyway I heard it was under new mangement so thought I would give it another try......wish I hadnt!! The menus needed to be wiped down, which is completely disgusting. I ordered a pizza....it was very bland and soggy. My husband ordered a "fresh" seafood dish........the fresh "blue crab" ended up being imatation crab. He was so disgusted...the dish was 23.00. My husband asked the waitress to ask the Chef if it was "real" crab, and he stated it was. There may have have been a few real pieces but the majority was NOT!!! My husband was so disgusted......he is a chef so the lie just upset him even more.......after this the waitress hardly came back and there was no discount on the bill. My 9in pizza was 15.00. I was blown away......a waste of perfectly good calories, time and money. The olive garden would have been better or even the can of Chef boyrdee in my cabinet.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Dont wast your time. money or calories!!

07/17/09

LOVE this place

by foodcritics2009 at Citysearch

I love this place. We dine here frequently and by chance did I stumble upon this website. Anyone who doesn't like the food here is crazy. Being Italian I know food and this is delicious!!!! From the wonderful bread to the seafood and sauces. Everyone has a bad day and some of you who say you were treated rudely, probably deserved it! Question - do you write reviews on the places you like too? or just complain about the ones you don't? One out of 100 actually write this stuff soooooo many others would have to disagree. They have been around for years - as long as I have been in Brandon. soo - they can't be that bad! I have always had great service and the owner just takes some getting to knowing. He makes dishes for us that aren't even on the menu!! Can't get that from Olive Garden.

• Pros: wonderful food

06/17/09

Incredible Italian Cuisine

by nylopez at Citysearch

The Veal Marsala melted in my mouth and I was impressed with how reasonable the prices were too. I'm originally from NYC and have had the opportunity to dine at many different Italian restaurants there. I am convinced that Angelina's is as good, if not better than most Italian restaurants in little Italy

• Pros: Veal/Grouper etc.
• Cons: None

03/09/09

Terrible Owner worst food ever

by CSMobileUser4 at Citysearch

I saw this place from the road decided to eat there what a mistake , waited 20 min for a menu , to find out food was not only awful but overpriced. Owner tries to be like tony soprano very unprofessial , olive garden is better then this place. I am 100 percent siclian this place , is not homemade gravy, or pasta probably chef boyarde. don't eat there

01/21/09

All around disappointment

by ArtSCC at Citysearch

Although our first visit to Angelina's was good enough to cause us to return for a second try, the second effort was extremely disappointing. The ravioli was drowned in red sauce and the chicken parm was a bit tough but the real kicker was the shoe-leather like veal -- totally unacceptable for any restaurant. To make matters worse, the owner/manager didn't even have the courtesy to stop by to express his condolences. The waitress -- who promised to convey our concern to the manager -- didn't bother to tell us what the manager set . No adjustment, no apologies. Just a suggestion from the waitress that we could have a box to take the leftover veal home with us. No thanks. Angelina's is off our list.

• Pros: Lot's of TV screens to distract you
• Cons: Difficult street access to parking; uncaring manager; slow service

01/03/09

Great food, bad professionalism by owner

by bigpapi09 at Citysearch

My wife and I go to this restaurant quite frequently, we absolutely love the food. We did stop going for a while, however, because the big fat owner was extremely rude to us and yelled at our waitress (that was by far the best waitress in the place) because I was letting my wife try a bite of my food and she didn't want to charge us a sharing fee of ($7) which is ridiculous anyways. The rest of the meal was awkward and we felt bad that our waitress got embarrassed so bad because she was such a nice person. Needless to say we still go back after about 6 months of boycotting because my pregnant wife was craving it, but not as much as we used to. The fat guy needs to wake up and realize he is not living in NYC and is not the leader of the mafioso, maybe he needs to stop eating so much of his own garlic bread and look in the mirror. Food is excellent, but stay away from the fat guy with the cannoli in his front pocket.

• Pros: Food is excellent
• Cons: Owner is rude

12/12/08

Food quality isn't too great. Def. not NY style pizza.

by dc16a2 at Citysearch

I registered on this site just to write this review.

I'm down in Tampa for business. Our firm is based in NYC, and I've lived in NY for over 20 years... anyways, the place was quite dead when my colleague and I went down to grab a Margherita. Management/staff consisted of a friendly but slow waiter, and a big guy with poor fashion sense. Of course, this is secondary to the food, which felt amateurishly made. The pizza still has a long way to go if they claim to be "NY Style." The tomatoes did not match the sauce, the basil was burnt, and the crust tasted like pre-made flour. All this for more $ than I pay for at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn, which is NY's #1 pizza place for 8 years running.

• Pros: Small parking lot.
• Cons: Mediocre food, slow service, over priced.

10/25/08

Best Italian in Tampa area

by Joeheel at Citysearch

Anyone that has a problem with the food at this place must have mutant taste buds! It is the closest thing to New York quality Italian you will find in the Tampa area (and I've lived here over 20 years). The service can sometimes be slow, but the food makes up for it. They are also great with special orders, or orders off the menu.

I would recommend this restaurant to anyone and my family and I eat there often.

07/02/08

prepare to feel creepy

by beerholebill at Citysearch

Sooo.. My wife and I decide to drop by on a Saturday night to see what this joint was like. We just moved to the area and thought it looked kinda authentic? Anyways, we walk up the side walk and the owner?.. a big fruity guy dressed like a Christmas ornament, drinking a tall boy of bud light, admiring his escalade parked nearest the entrance was at the door. He avoided us. The place was practically empty but we thought it was maybe early and that we were in luck. Our waitress was new, and very nice. She tried really hard to provide a good dinner experience but it was out of her control. The sangria my wife ordered was like fruit juice and maple syrup mixed with wine. Not good. While we waited for our food, the Christmas ornament cruised around the restaurant not making any effort to do anything. Just wandering around. After about 20 minutes of waiting, our food still wasnt there but we got to watch the ornament entertain a good looking young woman in a secret conversation. Looked suspicious. If you were there, you would know. Anyways, the food came and I think that their microwave was working overtime that night. Is there a word that says mediocre better than mediocre? Over priced.... not so great food.. lots of potential.. A creepy weird big guy that floats around in the strangest shoes I have ever seen.. Never go back.

11/09/07

Great Atmosphere

by bobuckeye at Citysearch

My wife and I stumbled across this restaurant a couple of months after moving to Tampa, and now we go about 3 times a month. The atmosphere is great now that they have renovated the interior as well as added a patio in the rear. They even have live music on Friday nights, which makes it great for a romantic evening. The portions are huge and you will definately want to take them home with you. A trick that we learned is to split an entree. Unlike most places that with a split charge only gets you a salad, the split charge here gets the second person a wohle other helping for a little over half of the price. Everything on the menu has been great.

• Pros: Large servings, amazing atmosphere
• Cons: Wait staff sometimes slow

10/24/07

best spinach ravioli

by caroledegore at Citysearch

this is a favorite destination. new owner new servers and fabulous food. don't miss this...worth the $$