Raven B.
Yelp
I want to give Iozzo's Garden of Italy the biggest thank you for making my boyfriend and I's anniversary so great on Sunday. To be completely honest, I had never been there, and I only booked a reservation there because the Italian place closer to us was closed on Sundays. But, I believe in fate, and our reservation at Iozzo's was fate!
When we arrived, we weren't sure where to park, but a quick phone call helped us figure it out (you can park in the lot next to the building!). They sat us immediately even though we were early to our reservation, and they let us change to an outside table. It was quite chilly inside, and the outdoor patio looked so beautiful. The waiter greeted us with menus and recommended some drinks. He came back with glasses of champagne to help us celebrate our anniversary. I ended up also ordering a limoncello spritz and my boyfriend ordered a strawberry limoncello martini. Mine was a unique blend of limoncello and Aperol that I have never seen somewhere else. Both were refreshing and excellent. Strong enough (but not too strong!), and they were delicious sipping cocktails.
For our appetizer, we ordered the meatball martini. This was perfect because I feel the need to sample meatballs at every Italian restaurant, but I don't necessarily want it as a meal. We each got one and a half meatballs with a small sample of spaghetti. The meatballs were perfectly tender and moist, and they had a delicious flavor. I appreciate that they were not crispy on the edges which happens at places that don't stir the pot of meatballs enough. Both our meals also came with a market greens salad topped with a lemon vinaigrette and toasted bread crumbs. I personally loved this salad. It was light and refreshing. I only didn't finish because I wanted to save room for the main course. With the salad, they brought out fresh bread with olive oil that seemed to contain sun-dried tomato. Truly delicious, but also so filling!!
The best part was certainly the main courses. My boyfriend ordered the lasagna, and I ordered the rigatoni vodka. The rigatoni vodka was perfectly coated in sauce, and the Italian sausage was evenly mixed in with the pasta. I loved that the pieces of sausage were small and moist. The noodles were cooked perfectly. I love when pasta is cooked, but still has a 'bite' to it. You can't even get me started on the fresh parmesan that was sprinkled on top. It added so much to the dish, and I was so obsessed. It was enough food to take half of it home for lunch the next day. My boyfriend let me try a bite of his lasagna which was phenomenal. I was happier with my dinner, but his was delicious too. He told me his favorite part was the cheese melted on and into the pasta. He had leftovers as well, but I wouldn't say it was enough for a whole meal the next day.
For dessert, we went with the tiramisu cheesecake. Super creamy and chocolatey, but it had the perfect bitterness from the coffee flavor. I noticed the dessert menu recommended an espresso martini which sounded really good. I may have to try that next time!
The overall environment at Iozzo's was amazing. I am so happy we sat outside. The garden section was so pretty, and the weather was perfect for outdoor dining. I recommend this place for any special occasion such as an anniversary, birthday, or graduation. I noticed that we were quite overdressed in comparison to the people next to us wearing jeans. Personally, I think business casual or a not-too-fancy dress would be best. Our server was great. For the entire meal. It was the day of the Indy 500, and it was not busy when we went, but I imagine once the race ended they got a lot of out-of-town folks dining there. Thank you again, Iozzo's, for making our anniversary so special!