Vino E Pasta

Nice little restaurant with a very upscale vibe on Gandy. The food is delicious, the ambience is "cozy" or "romantic", the service is excellent. I have only been there for lunch. Parking is tight

They don't seem to have figured out how takeout orders work. One one occasion we had to wait an extra 45 minutes, and most recently, we arrived after the estimated pickup time to find that the order was never placed. This isn't even a top 5 Italian restaurant in South Tampa based on food quality, so considering the service, it's a hard pass imo.

The ambiance here is cozy, with a welcoming vibe, but the food doesn't quite live up to the charm of the setting. The pasta, while cooked well, lacked the richness and depth I expect from a good Italian dish. The marinara sauce was fine--tangy, but a bit thin and missing the layers of flavor that make it truly memorable. Overall, a meal that satisfies but doesn't wow. It's good for a casual bite, but not the kind of place I'd return to for a standout Italian experience.

Welcome to VINO E PASTA. It is literally a small place from the outside, but when you open the door and step in you will find that you have gone to a place you did not expect. It looks as if you have taken a step back into Italy and entered a small and friendly place that will get you through the evening. And, as you spend the time there you realize it is good you have the reservation beforehand. Otherwise you will be standing outside and hope that a spot becomes available for you.A WAY TO MEET AND GREET.If you are there for a gathering of friends or family, it is important that you first get to the table and sit down to start talking. The team comes around and hands out the menu to start. Naturally the first thing to do is to consider a cocktail, a beverage, or being Italian, maybe a bottle of wine. They will hand you the wine menu to consider. There is a good variety to choose from. Including a selection of wines from Italy. And that is ideal when you are in an Italian restaurant. Here are wines to review and consider and to discuss with those who might enjoy a glass during the conversations. Taking our time we agreed on having a Ruffino Chianti Classico, 2019. The waiter took the order and we waited. In the meantime we could talk and look at the menu for dinner. Naturally, being Italian, we had to start with appetizers. That is only natural.Appetizers are next. We had placed that order first before selecting what we would have for dinner. First selected was the Fried Calamari and Zucchini. This was warm and slightly breaded as expected. We all tried it. With the first bite we could tell it was fresh. The calamari was caught that day and tasted as it should. Fresh, flavorful and tender. Not over cooked or hard. It was ideal to try. As for the zucchini, which is an interesting combination, that too was fresh and tender. The flavor was not over seasoned. It was as to be expected as if it was the flower of a zucchini. And that is rare to have in many places. Next up was the Eggplant Rollatini. As an appetizer this was not something you expect. You receive several "rolls" which we then sliced so we could all have a try. The sauce was fresh on top. The eggplant was tender and just right. It was stuffed with some meat and seasoning as required. Once the appetizers had arrived we did place our main order. Once more, being from an Italian family we ordered the same way we ate. You just keep eating and talking.First out was the Melanzana Parmigiana ali Hugotine. This was freshly sliced eggplant with melted mozzarella. The top was mixed with fresh spinach which was an interesting touch. This was all marinated in a light marinara sauce. Next came the Lasagnas. These were large slices of a favorite. The freshly made pasta was layers of meat and cheese and sauce and more. Naturally this was topped with a heavy sauce that was richer than a marinara sauce. It too seemed to have a mixture of cheese blended into it. It was not expected to be like this. Fettuccine Carbonara came next. This is not a typical dish in many establishments. But here it was available, and we knew we had to try. This dish is made by cooking bacon, shallots, onion, and garlic, then tossing it with fettuccine pasta and a creamy sauce.The bacon was thick and cut into cube slices. The garlic was light but tasty. The sauce was thick and creamy. You could almost use a spoon to pick up the sauce itself. The we had the fish starting with Snapper Champagne. It was a fresh filet of snapper just caught. It was sauteed in a light and creamy champagne sauce. This was with clam juice and white wine. It was then topped with crabmeat granita. We also had homemade Seafood Raviolis that were filled with shrimp and lobster, then topped with a creamy lobster style seafood sauce. It was arranged with shrimps and muscles. The heavy sauce made you take your time to enjoy each one and you tried each piece of seafood individually. It was different.Dessert was typical. Tiramisu, and on the opposite, we had Oreo Cake. Total piece of chocolate for all who might like chocolate. Finally a Limoncello Cake. It is made with fluffy sponge cake layers, brushed with a limoncello syrup, filled with a thin layer of lemon curd and frosted with a decadent mascarpone and cream cheese frosting. It was also topped with a bit of pecan for an extra touch of taste.The food selection is good and has a good choice to select from. It is not over abundant. The selection is fine and diverse. The prices are reasonable (and sometimes higher than expected, including the wine selection). The dish is plentiful. The sauce is good although, this too, is a bit heavier than expected in other locations or even when in Rome. You can use a spoon to finish it off, or maybe a loaf of bread will help. It is your choice after all. The flavor is good, the right amount of spice and taste. It is all fresh and warm.Ciao / Chow.

Rene B submitted a review about our dinner Saturday night and was then called a liar by the owner. The review is accurate and Rene is not a liar. The owner said his prices changed because of the pandemic. That's a lie. The pandemic was five years ago and I have been multiple times since then and the menu was not what we were presented on Saturday. The server was asked at the beginning of the meal about separating checks and indicated it wasn't a problem. 5 entrees were served and then the owner is asking everyone exactly what they ordered. Before all plates had been served. Before guests had tasted their food. Despite this inappropriate intrusion, the checks still had to be redone three times at the end of the meal. I ordered a child's pasta. If the server had said that was a problem, I would have paid for the caprese and left. But he didn't. Then was charged for a full size pasta. Seriously!?- $28 for aglio e oglio? No protein. You must be having to pay expensive south tampa rent. A simple pasta dish is not worth that. The owner says to me: "well you ate it and didn't say anything"- #1- how am I supposed to know? #2- that's your mistake, not mine. He did adjust the price and he did remove the illegally charged 22%. But it was such a fight and a very unpleasant overall experience. In spite of the food itself being good.

Food and service were outstanding! Our friends treated me to a meal that was mind blowing.The wine recommended was smooth and smoky. It paired well with all our appetizers and we tried them all. Each had its own unique flavors and textures.I had the sea bass for the entree and was blown away by the flavor was coaxed beautifully.I was too full for dessert. I know that I didn't go into details but I will definitely come back to give the owners a hug and a kiss because I am so happy to be there!

I've been on the hunt for the best Italian food in Tampa Bay....vino e pasta scored pretty high on my list. The food is very good, but the service was impeccable. The service really took this place over the top. I really appreciated the attention to detail, and the whole experience felt special from start to end! I had the special seafood ravioli dish, and my partner had the chicken parm. My only complaint was the portion sizes were small and the chicken parm wasn't breaded, but that might just be my American showing...Anyways, I really recommend this place for a special, intimate Italian experience. I felt like I was transported to a little gem of a spot in Italy.

Had an absolutely stunning experience at Vino E Pasta last night! We started with the Burrata, which was moist and so flavorful. It came with delicious olives and tomatoes. My wedding soup was perfectly balanced and comforting. And oh, the veal parmigiana was heavenly - tender, flavorful, and cooked to perfection.But it wasn't just the food that enchanted us; it was the impeccable service. Our waiter was a gem, attending to our every need with warmth and professionalism. They even had a live violinist, which made it feel like we were dining at a quaint restaurant in Italy. I was even brought a fresh rose upon finishing my meal! I will forever cherish this experience and cannot wait to bring my friends back for a cozy, beautiful dinner experience. From the delectable dishes to the warm ambiance, everything was perfect!

Took my parents for their anniversary and we were very excited based on the reviews. Cute place, but it got very loud. Needs some acoustic tiles or something on the ceiling. Parking is terrible. The food was decent overall, but I will say the Fried Calamari and Zucchini app was excellent, as was the Tiramisu. The bread was lacking, which is a huge disappointment for an Italian restaurant to me, and I had to ask for it, and they literally gave 5 thin slices for 5 people. Did not ask if we wanted more bread. For the price, I'd like a bit more food, even if just pasta. Average price per person was $45, if you don't count the kids meal (which was $15), for one bowl of pasta fagioli, a fried calamari and zucchini app, a veal Parm, chicken Parm, chicken piccata (which had like 4 capers total), and linguine with white clam sauce (they did give a good amount of clams at least), plus 1 tiramisu to go and a coke. No alcohol or other drinks. I don't mind paying a premium for great food, but I was literally hungry by the time I got home again (and I ate most of my son's meal!). The kids meal was a small bit of breaded chicken, and he got veggies. No sauce was included, or offered. It was okay, but it needed something else. Service was a bit disjointed, like one person didn't know what the other was doing. And while I understand they have a very small kitchen, the plates coming out staggered was a bit annoying. My wife's plate was on the table probably 10 minutes before the last plate was down, and she politely waited to eat because that's what you do. We were offered Parmesan cheese when there were only two plates down, and then they never came back with it. Based on the previous reviews and how long they've been open (I remember when it first opened!) we were so excited to finally get to try it, and I don't think we'd go back. I am not angry we went, as the food tasted decent enough, but I am very disappointed because we had such high hopes. If I'm paying a premium, I'd rather go to Caffe Italia in Riverview (the former chef/owner of The Laughing Cat in Ybor), because while up there in price, they give a tremendous meal in both portion size and taste. Or Piccola on MLK, which has amazing food too!

Original ReviewYou got to keep the owner away from the customers. I took a group of eight there for dinner. He made us wait outside for twenty minutes. After sitting down he offended one of my guests so that she decided to leave. He constantly interfered with the waiters doing their job. He ruined the dinner by intrusively reevaluating the checks the minute the main course was served. I paid full tip to not punish the wait staff, but the owner deserves zero tip and zero stars.Owners response:"Mr. Rene, you are a big liar. You arrived at 7:43 PM and your reservation was at 8:00 PM. I told you that we were organizing the table for you and it took us 5 minutes to do it. It is all recorded on our cameras. You lived with a bad attitude demanding prices from 10 years ago. I can prove with our cameras how was the service from me towards you and your rude behavior towards us. Please do not deal with my restaurant ever again"Clarification - while he clearly is talking about another customer I felt the need to counter his offensive name calling to me:"Eugenio, Luigi, or Luis - whichever name you go by for Yelp - I shouldn't be surprised that this happens to you often enough to mistake my group with a group you had an hour later at 8PM. While it clearly is your personal style to call a guest you mistook a liar, it is really poor customer service. You clearly did not listen when our group pointed out that you were messing up the work of your service staff. They had already taken notes of who had ordered what and kept track of what needed to go on which check. Interrupting our dining experience seconds after the entrees were set on the table with your need to reexamine what needed to go on which check was also a poor dining experience. I'm pretty sure Florida is a two-way-consent state for the recording of conversations. You recording the conversations of your 8 PM guests as well as presumably the conversation we and you had at our table would be illegal. I'll have that checked out for you. Your "tapes" would probably help you avoid making the same mistakes in the future - interrupting guests when they try to tell you what you mixed up, etc. Our experience was not that different from the one you describe with the 8 PM guests.Wouldn't it have easier to say "give me five minutes to ready your table" rather than the abrasive "your reservation isn't till 7"? I highly recommend watching a Seinfeld episode shown on 11/2/1995 about "A soup stand owner obsesses about his customers' ordering procedure". It is a humorous analogy to highlight what goes wrong in your communication with customers as well.I'm sorry we were not the only guest that caught your business practice on pricing; entrees being a third more expensive for in restaurant consumption than for pickup/delivery. Being price transparent would have spared my retired teacher friend the embarrassment having to leave as she isn't able to afford your Sat night in restaurant prices :-(For transparency sake I'd also advise you to let guests know upfront (on the menu, on the website) that you intend to charge a mandatory 22 pct service charge instead of your recommended tip ranges of 35 pct, 30 pct, 25 pct, and the disallowed 20 pct. Obviously none of my guests was rude."