iozzo's garden of italy

iozzo's is easily my favorite italian restaurant in indy, and i lived in italy for 2 summers. the food is fantastic and authentic, and i would highly recommend the lasagna, the wedgesalador spinach salad, and the goat cheese marinara appetizer. they also have a very friendly and knowledgable staff, and a large wine selection! one of my favorite restaurants!

really good..... we tried this place out for devour and we really liked it. we went for lunch and my husband ordered off the devour menu and he loved everything he got. he had the italian beef sandwich and it was great. it came with chips and this amazing dip. i'm not sure what it was, but i am always a sucker for dip and chips and this stuff was so addicting. he also had the ceasarsaladand it was yummy. i had the regular housesaladwith the balsamic dressing and it was so good. i also had the lasagna and it is definitely some of the best lasagna i have ever had. there was this sauce that was so perfect. mmmmm. my husband had the cannoli for dessert and he and my two year old pretty much inhaled them. i chose to drink my dessert and ordered a chocolate martini and it was perfect!

inconsistent, but clear potential. there is no doubt this old school place has earned its chops due to its longevity and i liked the overall decor and feel. our server was very attentive and knowledgeable about the menu and wine list.

our appetizers,saladand soup were great and much as described by the waiter. one of my guests loved his scallops and the other loved his fettuccine as their main courses. the wine was solid and to value.

however, my main course (chicken diavalo) was not as described by the waiter. perhaps a weak effort on too much of a standard, but the chicken was flavorless and other than the heat from the tired, heavy red sauce, it was a forgetable meal. this could have easily been a completely different experience.

when trying a new restaurant, i typically like to try the standards as if they can nail these, it's typically indicative of solid fare across the menu.

i would recommend iozzo's with mild reservations.

living the godfather. iozzo's is a must see place even if you are not a big italian eater. the decor and atmosphere are marvelous! and the smell when you walk in is heaven! you want to start eating right a way! they were not terribly busy when we were there - the middle of the afternoon - and we received some extra attention, especially with the telling of the family story.

so much of whether food merits 4 or 5 stars is up to individual tastes and what people were brought up on. but, the food was all served fresh and hot and i highly recommend it! nearly everything, including dressings and sauces, are homemade. so it is a unique taste experience. and you have to order the meatball martini! three meatballs on a nest of spaghetti served in a large martini glass for $5. a person could have that with asaladfor a meal!

we went for lunch, which i prefer for the lower prices. but if you are looking for a good time in the evening this seems to be a good place to go.

the meal was so incredible i also wanted to scream it from the rooftops......everything i ate was seasoned perfectly and cooked to perfection.the meal was such a great culinary experience i just have to share it with all of you. this place is called iozza's garden of italy, not sure i would have ventured there on my own if i was not going to meet the chef....culinary master artist, chef kathy jones. this place has some history, the building itself is from the 1930's era. the ambiance is elegant, simple, yet quaint, the service was fantastic.....but wait, the meal was simply beyond delish. we ordered the baby spinach salad, with the bacon vinaigrette dressing. we added grilled chicken to thesaladwhich was cooked to such perfection, it's tenderness seemed to

iozzo's: good ideas, not so good execution. i've gone to iozzos three times now; while overall i would give them a cautious 'thumbs up' the new owner(s) have much to tend to. first, presentation: ravioli with any kind of sauce should not be drowning in it. being italian growing up in chicago's old little italy, ravioli should not be 'submerged' under a sea of sauce: any trip to an italian trattoria in rome or florence or anywhere else will attest to that: sauces dress pastas lightly, not 'drowning' the pasta. iozzo's serves their ravioli 'buried' under too much sauce. while i do like their "family" [marinara] sauce and give them good marks for that, they've got some 'presentation" techniques to improve. example: they'll bring you a little dessert-plate size of some italian tomato salad; it's excellent but what comes out on a dessert-size plate is a teeny-tiny portion of tomatosaladdressed very deliciously obviously with a good extra virgin olive oil, s & p and i think some basil or oregano, but the presentation and portion is underwhelming. my steak done in an italian style was superbly cooked medium rare the way i like it, but the chef was way too heavy-handed with the seasoning: i was taken aback by the amount of some kind of salt in it. cut back! iozzo's is in a century-old brick building and has a problem with air-conditioning in horrid hot weather as indy has had this past summer. one evening, we had to walk out before beginning our meal, it was wretchedly hot in there; while they apologized, they said they had installed the maximum number of a/c condensors the building could handle. well, something's wrong. i grew up with a family-run italian restaurant in an 1880 all brick row house in chicago near downtown. we installed oversize condensors with city approval and on the hottest summer days, the intimate victorian-era italian dining room was blessedly cool as everyone who dined there would attest. so i don't get it. there has to be a solution to iozzo's a/c problem. i'll go back there but i'm going to be more selective in what i order. and i'll go back when it's cooler! steve (indianapolis)

perfect date night. my wife and i have been here three times now, the last of which was on valentine's day. iozzo's had a valentine's special that was very affordable. $100 for two. it came with an appatizer,saladfor each, an entre for each and two desserts as well. the best part was having a glass of wine paired with each course of the meal, and it was all included in the price. i highly recommend iozzo's.

finally, indy has real italian!. i visted iozzo's (which has a facinating history) yesterday and it was a real treat. the service was outstanding (ask for marie). i had the garlic bread with basil, which in and of itself is not outstanding, (and a little pricey at $6.95 for what you get) but the marinara it is served with is fantastic. the sloppy, soppy tomato that they use for dipping was very good and the bread yummy.

i had the italian wedding soup and have never tasted anything so good. the meat, orzo, parmasean and spinach were so tasty together and the broth so rich and flavorful. i had a special- red and golden beetsaladwith chived riccotta in a chianti sauce. i didn't taste the chianti much, but the beets were so good. the riccotta for me didn't add much to the dish, but my husband tasted it and said it did. so maybe that is just me.

i had plain, ol' spaghetti with iozzo's family sauce. the pasta was al dente and delicious. the sauce was good- very similar to the marinara but flavored with meat. in retrospect, i would have just wanted more of the marinara sauce. the meatballs were the first i have ever had that tasted good. for me, i had to get paste the light brown color and the soft texture (they were not heavy) but the taste was heavenly.

finally, my husband and i shared a wonderful fluted tiramisu. if it hadn't been mushed into the glass (with a great edible flower), the cake part would have been too mushy for me. but as it was served, it was great.

this food really tasted like the italian food i remember from europe. make reservations, go for a nice night out and enjoy!

very promising italian. we were looking for an italian restaurant and were almost going to agios (i have been there before but wasn't too impressed), so urbanspoon led us to iozzo's!

we were surprised that at 4:30 pm we only got a table in the large bar area - but we soon found out why. it is a very new place, and very popular. so many votes for a restaurant open just 10 weeks!

first thing that hit me was the wonderful smell walking in - i realized it was the smell of the brick oven pizza...yummy.

as i wanted to try that, and some pasta i decided to have a lot of leftovers and order both. iozzo standard pizza and chicken penne pasta. my wife had spaghetti with meatballs.

the pizza was amazing - if you like thin crust which i love. the pasta was perfect, but i didn't like the chicken at all and told the waitress (marie, she is amazing, ask for her, sometimes she works the bar area, sometimes out at the normal tables) she brought the manager who tried to make good - i didn't want to say it, but it tasted almost like the chicken was a bit stale - he said it was marinated in beer and spices etc...but i didn't get that. it was white and dark chicken, so maybe it was that.

housesaladwas great and the beetsaladmy wife had was nice too. italian wedding soup was amazing as well, we wanted a quart to go ;-)

we had an order of garlic cheese bread with some basil - it was a bit disappointing, great taste, but just basically 1 slice of bread with marinara sauce (very yummy) for 6.95? too expensive.

all it all the value of the pizza and pasta dishes are great. be careful with the appetizers.

will be back and might have to upgrade it to a favorite then :)

outstanding!. i had the spaghetti with bolognese sauce and meatballs. it came with soup orsaladand i chose the italian wedding soup. the soup was delicious; perfectly salted with lots of yummy spinich and orzo. the spaghetti was cooked perfectly al dente, the sauce was perfectly flavored (not to sweet or sour or too much garlic) and the meatballs were to die for! the entree portion was so generous, i took a lot home. i saved room for dessert and chose the chocolate mousse pyramid. i want another one right now! it was just outstanding. the service was great and the atmosphere and art glass was gorgeous. this is not fast-food italian, folks, so plan on being there awhile. it is well worth the wait!