vinnie's neighborhood italian

ordinary!. wesley is an excellent server and made the visit enjoyable, but the food is ordinary. salad was good and fresh, but my entre of veal piccata was very dry. not enough piccata sauce and it had been reduced too much. it also was done, none traditional and contained red pepper in it, maybe to cater to southern tastes. i don't like red pepper in piccata sauce. i also don't like red sauce on my pasta with piccata sauce and had asked for the veal piccata to be served over my pasta. it came with the pasta in a side bowel conpletely dry and as there was not enough piccata sauces to begin with, i put the pasta on the plate with the veal and tried to get some of the piccata on the pasta to no avail and just asked wesley for extra lemon which i squeezed on the pasta to make it edible. the veal itself was very tender. for less money eddie spaghetti is better, for the same money pomadoro's is better, for a bit more moeny cuccina 24 & vinzenzo's is better.

everything except the food portions was mediocre.

been going to vinnie's since it opened and wow!. my wife and i have been eating at vinnie's neighborhood italian since the first day it opened. what a great place. food is incredible, service is fun, friendly and quick, and eric the owner is truly the ideal host. rene is the gm and does an unbelievable job of getting things done. we have never had a complaint. if you want a combination of great food and a really good time, vinnie's is the place to go in town


-----24 dec, 2010-----

outstanding one of a kind ny italian food finally eats asehville. been here in asheville for (7) seven years and finally a real ny italian restaurant opened in 2010. so thankful eric scheffer had the insight to open a "real ny italian eating place" in asheville.

the food is fabulous and the staff is perfect. you would think eric hired new york servers.

my out of town friends and family come to see me more often thanks to vinnie's. we always go there at least one of the night visitors come up for a weekend. sometimes, we actually go twice during the same weekend.

great going eric. love the place

a don't miss in asheville. my girlfriend and i finally visited vinnie's for the first time a few saturdays ago, after hearing the buzz and regularly seeing the parking lot slammed full. from the smiling owner welcoming us at the door, to the unique yet very comfortable and inviting atmosphere, our experien could not be better. the staff was on top of every person at every table, and the food was authentic and fantastic. don't miss the homemade garlic knots!

we will be back again, this time with friends to share the love!

food ok. drinks good. service.. pretty bad.. stopped by a couple of weeks ago and we were really looking forward to dinner. it was a saturday night and the place was pretty busy. had a drink or two at the bar and we sat down after about 25 minutes. i honestly ended up wishing we had gotten a few more drinks and saved the money we spent on dinner. server greeted us right away but seemed very scattered and not at all knowledgeable about the menu, wine, drinks, etc.. ordered the chicken marsala and linguine with red clam sauce. both were ok... nothing to write home about. perhaps the kitchen staff could take some advice from the bartenders as far as respect for ingredients... will be back for drinks, not for food.

disappointing. i loved the concept and was expecting a great dining experience. my dining companion ordered the eggplant parmesan. i ordered the baked ziti. the bread was cold & olive oil nothing special. the eggplant was okay but the dish was void of any depth. ordered a side dish of spaghetti that cost $6. that was fine except spaghetti was swimming in a watery sauce. my ziti was dry and flavorless as well. for a $40 dinner i do expect to taste my food.....despite our experience the place was full.

delicious!. i've been to vinnie's on several occasions now, including taking my family there for mother's day. my mother is italian, and there for very picky about pasta...but she (and the rest of our party) loved vinnie's for it's authenticity. the atmosphere is cozy and amiable, great for a date or dinner with friends. every host, hostess, waitress and waiter smiles and greets you as you come in, and thanks you as you leave- a great staff! vinnie's is a delicious restaurant and a great addition to merrimon avenue.

very disappointed. could not wait to eat here on our annual cousin weekend, but was very disappointed. we had read all the reviews and they sounded great. we ordered a large lasagna to share and i think it would have been really good if it hadn`t been cold. the bread was wonderful and hot so we decided to give them a second chance, and asked if they would heat it up. we are not some of those people that must have our food scalding hot but it was cold on the edges and only barely better in the middle. we told the waitress and asked if she could get it heated up for us. we waited a very long time for it to be returned and when we got it back it was still cold. we decided to eat what we could and not chance sending it back again. very disappointing.

pizza masterpiece by jeffrey. i went to vinnie's last night, as i frequently do on a saturday night. i ordered a sausage and peppers pizza. now i know that does not sound like a difficult task by asheville restaurant standards, but i was surprised when my pizza arrived. now before you say, "kevin, you go there all the time and you've ordered pizza before" .........
this pizza was a visual masterpiece. customers and other wait staff alike stopped and commented at this piece of art. i didn't know whether i should take a picture or eat it. my wife said, "it's like christmas morning" .
i don't think it was just because of the bright red and green peppers, either. it was magical ..... not only to look at, but to eat! i truely believe this was the best pizza i ever had!!! jeffrey, you are the best!!!
kevin & abby

great service great food! we live close to vinnie's and eat there about once a week, have always had a good experience! calamari is excellent, greek salad very good, have tried several pasta dishes and they were all wonderful. i like that you can order a family sized portion of the pasta entrees, my husband and i like to order an appetizer, salads and then share an entree and this make it the perfect portion. i can't wait to try out the patio seating. vinnie's offer a club that offers discounts and coupons after each time you dine points are added to your account, we get an email with the offer which is usually 15% off entire purchase or a free appetizer!

after hanging out in downtown asheville all day, my friend and i arrived at vinnie’s just a few minutes before they opened so we waited on the front patio with a couple of other early bird patrons. the hostess came out to seat everyone and we chose to eat inside because it was a little warm outside. our server came over and brought us water and took our order for the fried cauliflower appetizer. we also ordered two berry cocktails from the bar. the fresh cauliflower and artichoke appetizer came out quickly and was served with a garlic aioli. the server also brought us out a basket of warm bread with a dipping oil. our drinks soon followed and were served in a gold rimmed glass. for dinner i chose the chicken marsala with a side of fettuccine alfredo and broccoli rabe. sally got the spaghetti and meat balls. everything we had tonight was exceptional. our server offered us dessert, but we were both so full we had to decline. i will definitely add this to the must try again places in asheville.

good, no-frills, honest italian. this is not fine dining, but more like sunday dinner at grandma's. the only down-side, at least for me, is their use of chunky sauce. i prefer a thinner sauce.

great italian restaurant! ate there two nights in a row. fun atmosphere, delicious food, wonderful service. james was a super waiter. your new fans from kentucky.

i went this past saturday night and was disappointed. the service was a little slow, but that was ok for a saturday. the food was just mediocre. i got a calzone and while it looks gorgeous, it was bland. the marina dipping sauce wad also bland. my husband got the sunday gravy and again it was just okay. we probably won't be back.

delicious dinner!! the staff is incredibly friendly and happy to help. the herbed focaccia bread is delicious, and i can't recommend the spaghetti with sunday gravy enough. i don't care for marinara sauce, in general, because i find it too acidic, but this sauce is cooked for hours with meatballs, sausage, and herbs, giving it a much deeper flavor. the pasta fazool is also quite yummy and hearty, i could have eaten a bowl of that with bread and been happy. my husband got the linguine with shrimp, which was a nice, lemony dish. we actually traded plates halfway through to both enjoy our very different food choices. i can't wait to go back!