iaria's italian restaurant

theplaceto go for an authentic italian dining experience!  the staff is accommodating and super-friendly.  the wine and beer list is extensive and contains the perfect matching.  the veal dishes are superb -- as was the antipasto salad.  my eggplant parm was a little too-done, for my liking (the breading)... but the pasta and marinara sauce made up for it.  to finish off the experience, the canolis, especially the amaretto-gelato filled ones, were wonderful.  the prices were a little expensive -- but the quality and experience completely made up for it.

iaria's has been a family favorite for years, and for good reason!  this is about as authentic as italian american can get in the city.  the prices are good for the portion size and the quality of food as well.  weekends can be a nightmare to get a seat, but it's well worth the wait.  the spaghetti (with meatballs) and lasagna are a must for anyone trying the restaurant for the first time.  other favorites: the fresh mozzarella, bruschetta, minestrone soup, tenderloin sandwich (a hoosier favorite), and the chicken parmesan.  honestly, everything about thisplaceis just delicious.  the staff is extremely welcoming and very helpful in choosing dishes.  overall, this family style restaurant never disappoints!

a swing and a miss...by far.. we really wanted to like thisplacebecause it seemed quaint and heritage proud. that expectation was quickly dashed. short story-this restaurant would be an ideal candidate for a kitchen/business restructuring reality tv show. call kitchen nightmares!

the food seemed to be made with cheap, mass produced ingredients -iceberg lettuce, bottled "italian" dressing, seasonless ground beef, the list goes on.

the appitizer of tomato mozerella salad was the only thing they achieved despite its lack of balsamic vinegar (a staple of the dish).

the staff seated themselves on the dining floor amongst patrons as a group eating, rolling silverware, chatting, and the bus boys were even massaging the waitresses. classy.

one dish was removed from our bill, after many extensive explanations as to how it was just plain inedible. the sauces on the dishes at our table were described as either bland, oosing with oil, or you are chewing pepper and spices. after the manager walked away, we were bewildered at his manner and came up with the same question-do you think he was high on drugs?

a true shame and embarrassment to the first generation.

painful review for such an iconic place. thisplacehas been on our wishlist for sometime and more so due to being a locally family owned establishment with a history dating back to it's opening in 1913. upon visiting this place, it looks dated but has authentic character. my wife and i were excited to finally set aside the time to visit thisplaceand sample some true italian fare. our expectations were heighten further due to theplacebeing packed by what appeared to be true loyal patrons. since we weren't aware you could make reservations and there was an hour wait, we still opted to wait (rare for us). once seated our service was pretty decent considering how packed theplacewas. kudos to the wait staff. all that said, i'll get on with the food review in chronological order we received items. (pics included of all items discussed)

"fried ravioli" appetizer - very uneventful. basically the meat in a deep fried pocket was barely noted. the "chunky marinara" dipping sauce was bland. no interesting flavors separately or combined.

"bread basket" - had to request it ?!? wish we hadn't. i sampled one piece and was very dry and lacked any type of flavor. this was complicated by the rock hard butter that i attempted to spread on the slice.

"garden salad" - typical greens. they were fresh looking but didn't really taste as such. mushy texture with no snap and barely enough dressing. no croutons either.

"minestrone soup" - my wife opted for this and said it was decent tasting. i did sample it, but since i'm not a true fan of minestrone, it would be unfair for me to review and just take my wife's word for it. thumbs up on this one so far.

"spaghetti & meatballs" - the spaghetti in of itself was cooked properly. the meatballs were just like the aforementioned ravioli appetizer, uneventful. the sauce even less eventful. there was no notable garlic, oregano, etc. taste to the sauce at all... i really and truly hate to say this but have had better sauce out of a jar.

now down to the most disappointing dish of all - "baked lasagne" - upon arrival, it didn't even look very appetizing, but that doesn't always stop us. this thing was simply packed, no, a better operative word was "caked" with ricotta cheese. very dry texture and yet again, no hint of garlic, oregano, or any other traditional italian flavors. this was my wife's entree, and had to fight her from taking my "spaghetti & meatballs", which we've covered already.

in summary, obviously we didn't have a very good experience. we are the type to revisit due to a bad night, but there is no way this was a bad night with so many disappointing dishes and opportunities. this might of been a greatplacelast month, last year, or 50 years ago. at this point, dare i say, olive garden has thisplacebeat.

if you've read this far into my review, i would suggest aplacelike "vito provolone's" further south and is listed on urbanspoon.

really hated giving this review for such an iconicplacewith this type of history!

delicious italian. we are never disappointed when we dine in here. i think they are reasonably priced for all that you get with your meal: bread, soup and salad, plus your entree! we always have leftovers to take home. my favorite dish is their tortellini. fabulous tomato cream sauce on it. my hubs loves their seafood alfredo with all the clams in it. we really enjoy their garlic cheese bread with thier homemade sauce. it is on the sweet side which i absolutely adore. when i make my own spaghetti sauce mine is sweet too and i think that's why iike iaria's so much. heard of thisplacethrough my mother because my dad and her would go on dates here and then do the duck pin bowling afterwards. have never had bad servers, everyone is really friendly. their bathrooms are super tiny, but i'm sure they'll keep it that way if not only for the nostalgia aspect of it :).

ravioli. a funplacewith good food. the cheese ravioli was delicious and so were the meatballs. indy was busy all over when we was there but the service was very quick and friendly.

niceplacefor italian. we are there on a saturday and were glad we showed up when they opened. very busy! the house salad was nothing special and the fresh tomatoes were mealy. we had a tomatoe and mozzrella appetiser that again had the bad tomatoes. the lasangue was very good along with the chicken picata. the hostess wasn't too friendly, but our waitress did a great job and was friendly. we'd definetely go back.

if you like italian..... thisplaceshould be checked out. i make a habit of trying to find the best lasagna here in town, and bar none, this is the shiznik! relaxed and friendly, a def.placeto have a great meal.

still awful. typical italian amerian food. it is not authentic italian. the last time i went to thisplacehad to of been 15 years ago. it's got a nice atmosphere and great bar, but still has the same horrible red sauce (it has to be ketchup based) on incredibly over priced pasta. i'll go for drinks, but never again for the food.

i haven't been there in a long time but the food was good the last time i was there. the meatballs are very good and the raviloi is good, it's about the onlyplaceleft that has meat ravioli, at least i hope they have meat ravioli. it' basic no frills but good food.

review of iaria's. i love iaria's because i feel like i am stepping on to the set of a movie every time i walk in.

with excellent food (i would give recommendations, but you just cant go wrong on this menu), and a fun, retro atmosphere, this is a wonderfulplacefor a date or a night out with friends.

another reason i love iaria's is because the wine is flowing. the table wines are excellent and very reasonably priced, so you can have a couple glasses of wine with your dinner, and not break the bank.

with its warm and funky atmosphere, long history and the pictures to prove it, iaria's is one of those restaurants that leaves you wondering "if these walls could talk..." :)