I am from a state where Italian food is spectacular. Â I was hesitant to visit an Italian restaurant outside of where I know them to be good. Â Gilardi's was FANTASTIC. Â
The smell of garlic wafted to our noses as soon as we entered. Â I was already enjoying it. Â I had the tossed salad --- veggies all very and crispy. Â Followed by the ricotta pasta with local sausage and veggies with a light tomato sauce. Â It was completely and totally delicious. Â The pasta was light and fluffy. Â Our waiter commented that it was among the favorite dishes of the house. Â
My dining companions had the tuna special and the ravioli special -- each seemed equally happy with their selections. Â We enjoyed a bottle of wine recommended by our waiter that was fantastic -- I don't remember the label, but it was a pinot noir. Â
We did not have dessert as the salads and the entrees were more than enough. Â
Be aware that the restaurant is tucked behind a house -- you have to go around the backside of the house to find it. Â Or you can knock on the door of the wrong place. Â :) Â
I don't know when I'll be in Springfield again, but I would happily eat here again.
This was the best dinner I had while working in Springfield. The restaurant is in a residential area, tucked behind a house off the main street. It's an intimate restaurant with maybe 10-12 tables. Our server wasn't very attentive and quite awkward. That was the worst of our experience here. I had the house cab (liberty creek) and it was delicious. I've been looking for it in Seattle, but no luck thus far. I also had the escargot appetizer, it was in a pesto sauce that was really good. The escargot was okay, it was more chewy than I'm used to. I had one of the specials of the day, portabello ravioli with truffle oil. It was delicious! The pasta tasted very fresh, I think they make it in house. I always recommend this restaurant to any of my co-workers visiting Springfield.
Review Source:Authentic (as in Italy, Chicago, NYC). Â So good! Â way cool ambiance. Â Best caesar salad I've every had, anywhere. Â Pasta/sauce perfection! Â Tomato fans (wife) will love caprese salad: fresh mozz and some crazy quality tomato slices. Â Fine for date night or for families, dress up or down, you'll fit in.
Review Source:Ok. I'm sorry, but this place was NOT GOOD. We got the mushroom app that everyone seems to be obsessed with, and some sort of pasta. The pasta was clearly made there- A for effort.. But it was made like crap. I guess if you don't know better it would be okay, but there was WAYTOOMUCH flour! And the sauce tasted kind of like hamburger helper. I might be spoiled, I lived with my extremely Italian grandparents for a few years... But regardless it's sad that people think that THIS is good Italian food. Go to Carmines in NYC... then come back here and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Review Source:I will never be able to write a review that this place deserves!
Best Italian food in Springfield and the surrounding states! Â I can say the food is better than my Sicilian Grandmothers because she is dead and I am no longer in danger of her stabbing me for saying that.
I am Italian and so is everything in this place, EPIC! Gilardi is a fantastic Chef and I'm so happy he is here in Springfield teaching others what real Italian food is. May God bless him and may he and his staff live to be a thousand!
Just went to Gilardi's with my girlfriend. I'm in town from Rochester, Michigan for a wedding and found the restaurant through Yelp. It was fantastic, called and made a reservation on our drive into Springfield. Craig answered the phone and ended up being our waiter. We order a bottle of Chianti for 33$ that was great for a 2009 vintage. The bread was served with a compound butter that had garlic and balsamic vinaigrette in it. The salad was light and refreshing with not to much salad dressing and the perfect size to split. For entrees we had the filet with a green peppercorn cream sauce and the stuffed tortolini with a ham and sweet pea porcini cream sauce. Both were cooked to perfection! Rare filet that was temped perfectly and the sauces complimented the dish's amazingly. It's hard to find a good restaurant with perfect food and service in a city you don't know and This is it!
Review Source:Delicious! Â Pricey but a great variety of tasty dishes and bar items. A must for a birthday or anniversary! The dishes are very authentic and nothing I've had there hasn't stood up to the price or hype! Â The jumbo shrimp cocktail is so worth it and everything I've had there has left me wanting to take just one more bite! Â The owner is usually around and chatting with regulars. Â The waiters are great and attentive! Â A great hideaway worth finding!
Review Source:Wonderful and delicious! Â A friend coworker and I chose this restaurant because of the reviews here on yelp. Â The service was very professional and classy. Â The food was amazing. Â Tender cheese filled pasta. Â Warm bread with delicious flavored whipped butter spread. Â Very cozy atmosphere. Â Warm lighting. Â Wonderful place ran by very gracious hosts. Â I would not have wanted to miss this experience now that I know how wonderful it was.
Review Source:My folks love this place and it has long been our go-to place when I visit. Â The food, service, and space are all wonderful, and I highly recommend Gilardi's. Â It's not necessarily "fancy," in that you don't necessarily need to dress up and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg, but it's a lovely spot for a nice birthday or special dinner. Â Easily one of the best in the city and definitely compares to some of the great Italian restaurants I've been to in Chicago and elsewhere.
Review Source:The CRAB CAKES. The CRAB CAKES. You CAN NOT leave without trying the CRAB CAKES. Maryland Blue crab sent fresh... whatever that gentle seasoning and the green sauce trickled over it is, it MUST contain illegal and addictive drugs. I crave them years, YEARS after last going in 2004... which was the last time I could afford em (couldn't, but my mama was in town, and you know what kinds of stuff you do for the one that is why you're here!)... I mean, seriously... the crab cakes alone are worth going for, and um... you aren't gonna wanna share. We sure didn't want to... so we got extra. We knew... they were the both of us had EVER had (still are)... and we're lifelong crab cake eating girls from the east coast with blue crab at our disposal year round from Garland's fulch... or whole ones from the Chesapeake bay where we get our oysters...
Another thing? They often had (hopefully still have) tuna steaks... they're usually seared (always go rare with tuna--it's not like beef or veal)... and piled... first, his heavenly mashed potatoes... so much butter but so perfect... then beautifully wilted spinach... then 3 tuna steaks (this you can share easily, and yeah you probably can share the crab cakes, but get a whole one for each person--you can't get 1 order for 3 or more... you'll fight and shed blood, I'm telling you)... then anyway, pretty sure the sauce was a lemon butter cream with capers... but creamier than usual and an excellent (surprising) flavor addition for the potatoes below... they really worked it out before bringing it on.
If you're lucky, you'll get to watch Nicolai and his mum talking ... she's often there at the bar (or was... hope she's still well and happy to eat her son's good cooking).
If it says anything, and if what I was told was true (by lifelong Springfieldians who are in the know about everything, and not in the gossip sense, in the business and we read interviews and newspaper stories sense) ... Nicolai (the owner/chef, obviously?) is brother to a chef... the chef brother... is in Italy still... cooking "local fare." That kinda means that there IS one other possible place like this in the world... it's in Italy. The mom came with Nicolai... that should inspire some confidence considering she left ITALY? FOR SPRINGFIELD? Yep. Follow your stomach, mom... and good choice! Besides, it's way cheaper to shop in Branson than in Napoli!!
Seriously authentic... and great.
The only thing that is honestly not to snuff for ME? The tiramisu... but maybe becuas e I've had (hint hint) Avanzare's... which is heaven... and some other Tuscan restaurants', too... and btw Avanzare=great, awesome alternative to Gilardi's, esp. if you have a special occasion for MANY people and it's winter...
In the late spring and autumn and on cooler summer nights, that deck/back area is awesome... the little twinkling lights are superb.
I miss those crab cakes. I live in Seattle now... think he'd give me the recipe for yelping loud enough? The sauce is really magic. His gnocchi is also a great first intro to it... because it was mine, and having MUCH since... his is authentic, hand made, and excellent, yep. And yes, some celebs (Brad Pitt specifically) do go eat there... but hope you're there on a more sane evening, cause it gets nuts when a celebrity is there...
It will sometimes, though, get nuts, too, on weekends... if people drink enough wine, you know the volume rule :)
BTW, with an appetizer (at least the one I demand, which is obviously, with fresh-easily-perished BLUE crab, which is a pain in the you know what to deal with, as I've done the entire, from catching to cooking, process... BE GRATEFUL. THE ACTUAL MEAT ITSELF, FROM A COASTAL SUPPLIER,Garland,IN A COASTAL STATE TO MY CITY 2 HOURS INLAND... IT'S $25 PER POUND so consider that the meat alone for a LOCAL to blue crab country is $25 a pound... then consider that he gets it brought in just for him (cause nowhere else in Springfield uses any except the junk in cans that isn't blue and that tastes TERRIBLE unless heavily sauced with curry, I can state confidently... anyway... yeah, even in "bulk" which... that small a business won't have much bulk (and you can pasteurize crab meat, but he can't in that lil building store a lot, either!!)... to get bulk blue crab uniquely sent to the heartland... it does cost a ton...my monger back home is fair... that's not a whole foods price... but it is the best meat from the most reliable source... having seen Chicago costs (cheaper shipping because of direct flights, too) on our good old perishables air cargo planes... welllll... if it cost $17 a pound for a restaurant in 2002... inflate that to now, about my NC retail price for crab from the chesapeake bay 2 hours from my locale... $25/lb... in Seattle, a good friend, 20 year sushi chef does buy in bulk... $32/lb average (only in peak times too-the rest=no blue crab cause pasteurizing=fail). SGF... no direct flight pattern? Over $40/lb. He's NOT being greedy.
If you're in Springfield and you're looking for either a fancy meal or great Italian food that isn't Olive Garden, head to Gilardi's. Guys, this place is great for a special occasion with the lady. You're likely going to spend a lot of money, maybe close to $50 or $75 (with wine), but it's worth it.
One of the reasons I love this place is that it feels like the stereoypical Italian restaurant that you would come across in New York: very dimly lit, extensive racks of wine bottles, the friendly owner of the restaurant speaking Italian over the phone near the bar, etc. It didn't even feel like I was in Springfield when I ate here. No offense, Springfield. I still love you.
The excellent food, hospitality, and ambiance are all why I give this place five stars.
If you want fancy and you are in Springfield, this is the place. Â The only place. Â The food is very good, but you pay for it! Â There is a full bar, but few people drink other than wine. Â I had the Lobster Ravioli and it was great. Â The other people I was with enjoyed their food as well. Â You should defiantly go at least once, but if you aren't much for spending a lot of money, you may want to save it for a special occasion.
Random Note: Â I met Missouri Governor Matt Blunt here. Â It seems that it's a common place to run into your local politicos.
SUCH a good authentic Italian restaurant, and so underrated...we love to go here with our friends to celebrate anything special. It's always a warm, quite place where we can relax and enjoy delicious food and good conversation. It's definitely more expensive, but well worth the price. Favorites: Gorgonzola Fillet, Lobster Ravioli, Meatball & polenta appetizer, ANY desert, and their coffee is the best. They also have a great wine list and have perfect cocktails - these go nicely with the evening. We always get great service.
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