On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Loading...
I do not do many 5 star reviews.
There is no other place like this in KC, though... so it warrants the 5-spot.
It was a business function that brought me here... about 40 people in a small loud room. Yet the service and the food were just terrific.
Trust previous reviews here... the chicken spiedini and the artichoke appetizer are noteworthy. And eat the heart of the 'choke... I saw lots of people letting the best part go uneaten!
Their house brand Chianti was quite good if you are a Sangiovese fan.
No complaints... good eats!
So Garozzo's is good. It's not amazing, but it's welcoming and warm and does a really good job of feeling dark and oldschool Italian in Kansas City. The artichoke appetizer is greasily delectable, and quite the beginning to the meal. And the chicken spiedini, which is their signature dish, is good. Not amazing, but good. And worth taking home the other half for lunch the next day. Which you will do. If you order any entree, be prepared to be eating it for the next couple days.
Garozzo's is good. But it also made me miss the Italian food in New York. Hard to admit, because I'm all about bragging on KC's excellent food, but it's just not quite up to par.
And it's expensive. And if you aren't drinking a bottle of wine, the list by the glass is pretty minute and not so great.
But it's fun, and a good atmosphere, and the staff the night I was there was pretty phenomenal.
You know that feeling of pure starvation you get after stepping off a plane? That's how I felt after arriving in KC. I could've eaten anything at that point - Arby's, a piece of cheese, random crackers.
Thankfully, my friend already pinpointed a restaurant he wanted to go to. And, also, thankfully, we only had to wait less than 5 minutes for a table! On a Friday night. Nice!
Couple highlights of the meal:
+The garlicy, olive oil dip they serve up. WIth a piping hot piece of bread, it's simply amazing. Make sure to have some gum handy afterwards, though.
+Portion sizes. You can get HALF ORDERS. Genius.
+My eggplant parmigana! Flavorful, tons of cheese, large portion. Yum.
+Numerous pictures of celebs on the walls. Tony Romo, what?
+We had the most precious waiter EVER. Like, he seemed new to the whole waiting tables game, but he was trying SO HARD to get everything right. Adorable.
+NBA games on the tvs at the bars. Love it.
Wonderful meal, quaint restaurant. Perfect first meal of the trip.
Love this place. It is straight from The Hill in STL. It doesn't pretend to be fancy-schmancy. The food is good and honest. The salads are great. The Sicilian style stuffed artichoke is to die for...shrimp, garlic, bread crumbs, provel cheese ...stuffed between fresh artichoke leaves and baked. YUM! The spedini, pasta and salad...DONE!
Good red sauce. Pasta cooked al dente.
LOVE THIS PLACE! I'm not a big Italian fan, but found dishes here that I thoroughly enjoyed. I got some pasta and meatball dish (meatballs are huge) and several drinks from the bar (while waiting for a table). The salad was good as well.
The staff was very friendly and came over often. The place was packed and very busy. I rarely see lines at any restaurants in KC, so I KNEW it HAD to be GOOD!
Warning: Portions are HUGE, so be prepared to bring them home to ENJOY. Street parking is a bit tough to find as well.
It's been about 20 years since I was at Garozzo's, but there was a period when I was going to Kansas City weekly and visited the place quite often.
I couldn't remember the name of the place for the life of me before my past few visits to KC but it's so great to be able to do a Yelp search on "Kansas City" "Italian Restaurant" and easily find the place I am trying to remember. I sort of remembered the location - very unusual part of town, near City Market, and definitely the ambiance. If I had added "Sinatra" to my search, Garozzo's would have come up at the top of my search results - they are still playing Sinatra here after all these years and when we walked in last Friday night, it was the sounds emanating from the place that I remembered the most.
I ordered the chicken spiedini. My partner - the tortellini. Both - magnificent. The spiedini were tasty, garlicky, spicy, not subtle. The tortellini were creamy, yummy. Both in very generous portions, and together with the salads we had before dinner and the lovely soft bread, we were too stuffed to try dessert.
I love eating out in Kansas City and Garozzo's is one of the reason's why.
I feel like I am in a Godfather movie when I eat here. Love the ambiance, music and the food is good. Not a healthy meal though...They love the olive oil here.
Just went here for my wife's birthday after a long time away, and I'm happy to say that it's still excellent!
The original location is THE one to go to. Even after the fire and remodeling, its still got that old-world charm. The servers are excellent, and the manager always comes by to say hello, which is a very nice touch. The Chicken Spedini is, as always, top-notch, and the Gnocchi was some of the best I've ever had. Great for a date, or an occasion. Still awesome Italian!
Go to the original downtown location. Might be the best total Italian eating experience in the Midwest. Excellent, intimate, casual atmosphere. The chicken spedini is over the top good. Ask for a bowl of olive oil and basil to soak your bread in. Good wine choices on the list and don't forget to top it off with a hot cup of Cafe Garozzo - a closely guarded coffee drink recipe.
By far, by far BY FAR
BEST Italian in Kansas City.
I'm so tired of Italian. I can never get up for it. But this place, I can always get up for. The ambiance is absolutely gangster. (Literally). when you eat here your mind often wanders and makes you think either Frank Sinatra is going to rise from the dead to sing live, or Tony Soprano's going to walk in smoking a Cuban. Very rustic and reminds me of many of the Italian joints out in the Bronx. The Chicken Spiedini is one of the most to die for dishes out there.
The service here is always great. Staff is very educated on the menu and can help you narrow down your choice. The menu is large and diverse as opposed to other Italian places that offer the same typical boring Italian items.
I swear by this place and my wife absolutely loves it. Great place to go with a group of friends or if you want to romance your wifey.
Also take a look at Carmen's Cafe. I heard a rumor that a bunch of former employee's at the "G" quit and made their own restaurant. I plan on trying it soon and proving a review sometime.
Garozzo's is located in a small Italian neighborhood east of River Market where you can find bocce ball in the park. The building that houses the restaurant is mostly nondescript - 2 or 3 story brick with a red, green and white sign with the restaurant's name. When I entered, I didn't know if i was walking into a deli or a bistro. As it turns out, it is neither. The interior is very dark and intimate, with black and white photos on the walls. They play vocal jazz standards lightly in the background. I was impressed with the lavish feel of the place.
We had decided to try Garozzo's after trying their spedini at the Feste Italiana at Zona Rosa. After doing some research on their website, we opted for a happy hour and small plates adventure. When we arrived, we were told that this location does not have those options. I was disappointed, but we decided to stay and have a nice dinner.
Our waiter, Phil, was the a dream. He has this great, deep voice and laid-back air that instantly put me at ease and made the evening a delight. I ordered the spedini Gorozzo style with a side of rigatoni in sugo sauce. My GF tried the chicken gnocchi in the sugo cream sauce. I ended up eating a lot of her meal - the sauce was heaven and the gnocchi was perfectly cooked. I was less happy with my own selection. the rigatoni was pastey, far overcooked, and the sugo was too sweet for my taste. I typically like sweet red sauce, but there was no acid or tang...yuck. My spedini was soggy with the lemon juice it sat in on the plate. This was not the incredible spedini I tried at the festival.
Overall, I was disappointed with Garozzo's. The atmosphere and the wait staff were incredible. I think this is a great place to bring a date or have a romantic meal. But I also think that any Italian restaurant that serves overcooked pasta has some trouble in the kitchen. And for the price, I wouldn't chance it again.
Good stuff. I agree, best traditional Italian restaurant in Kansas City. I like the original location, close to the river market. I get the veal samantha on a bed of fettucini - super delish. I've had the chicken spiedini many times, and it's equally as good. I like to finish the meal with a cafe Garrozzo. Great place for a romantic date night. You can also make reservations on Open Table, which is great - you usually have to wait hours.
This was the first place 'date night' that i had with my grilfriend, and her first experience with night time Kansas City dining (she is from San Diego). I consider Gorozzo's to be Kansas Cities best Italian (depending on your personal flavor). The service is top notch, the food quality is very high with numerous selections (all pasta/Italian based of course) and reasonable prices. Gorozzo's is a perfect atmosphere for a small family dinner, an intimate date night, or a casual dine.
I can't believe I am only the third person to write a review....and no one has mentioned the chicken spiedini!!
Quite a variety of choices of speidini to choose from - Samantha with alfredo sauce is delish, so is the signature Giovanni (with amogio sauce).
Salad and bread are perfect.
On a recent visit, great wine recommendation - Nappazzano (sp? ) Chianti. I'm still looking for a place in town to purchase it.
Feels old and run down. Why is it so dirty?....KC health inspectors have felt the same on occasion.
If you think Olive Garden is good Italian, you will like this place too.
I was a also a first date night restaurant. I did enjoy the atmosphere. Based on that...I was really looking forward to some authentic GOOD Italian food. I took alook at their website before arrival to get an ideal of what I'd like to order. The appetizer was the Calamari. It was sooo completely bland. No taste at all. My entree' was the Seafood Frutti di Mare. The sauce was runny and the pasta wasn't cooked all the way. I was not impressed. I was really bummed out regarding the taste. My expectations were not met. The bartender and the wait staff however was very attentive. No thumbs down in that catergory. Again, this was just my first visit, I will go again to try something different. Hopefully it will be better.
I was kinda surprised to find food this good, Italian food that is, in the Midwest. Straight forward, to the point, old school pasta and veal in a great old neighborhood that almost looked east coast. I'd go again, Sinatra was singing all night!
This place is marvelous! It is rich with history as KC has quite an impressive "italian" history, if you will :) The food is very authentic and I am never disappointed. However, if you're looking for something modern, this is not the place for you - you have to appreciate ambiance and this place has it.
Garozzo's in Independence closed it's doors a while ago and was renamed and reopened a while back. It's supposed to the same place, but the food not of the same quality. Do not be fooled.
I love you Garozzo's. I like the Independence one just as much. Amazingly great salad, I love the artichokes, heavy parmesean cheese and onions. The dressing is superb. Also a great lasagne (sadly I like Cascone's just a tiny bit better). Meatballs, I mean, come on, they are amazing.
hello kansas city yelpers my name is jose from oakland ca i visited an old freind in kansas city in 2004 and he took me to eat here this place is hella good the best italian food i ever had i still remember i had the spaghetti with the big ass meatball i got really full quick had to take half of it home i also had a really good chicken salad if i,m ever in kc mo again i will defenatly come eat here again....
THE best Italian restaurant in Kansas City. For sure. Also the most authentically Italian, far cry from the chain places (yuck). The original location is the best. It feels completely right inside - a true old Italian restaurant in the old Italian part of KC. The atmosphere is perfect. And the food is spectacular! Italian food is my favorite, and there is absolutely no comparison to Garozzo's in Kansas City!
my kids love Garozzo's..... I am very comfortable with this place, its food , its servers and patrons... a great traditional feel to it... my daughter had her graduation dinner there, the family flew in from chicago and loved Garozzo's
Neighborhood: Country Club
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Country Club
Category: Italian
Kansas City, MO
Category: Vegetarian
Kansas City, MO
Category: Italian
Kansas City, MO
Category: American (Traditional)
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
