Leonardo's Italian Food & Wine

Excellent Italian food. Great service. Nice outdoor seating. Bruschetta was really good. We tried 3 different pasta, 2 veggie and 1 with chicken. All 3 were amazing. Quick service so did not have to wait long. Food was rightly spicy but using spices not the red heat. Can handle a couple or large groups. Definitely recommend whether you are traveling or looking for a bite on the town

Exceptional service, high quality food, everything was delicious. Loved the vibes, the music, the atmosphere. Such a neat spot and well worth the money. Food arrived very quickly and all together which was fab. Thank you so much to the cooks and staff for a wonderful night. Will definitely be back 😍

Arun the manager was very welcoming. We came close to closing time but since their kitchen was still open they took our order which was so nice of them. Pizzas were delicious Chips nice and crunchy Garlic bread was dripping with garlic butter- super yummy

Incredible dining experience - service was professional, food came super quick, and it was delicious! My favourite part - I showed the bar tender my empty beer glass (from my table) and he straight away started pouring another beer. Legend bartender, legendary restaurant. 🤝🏾

Calling all gluten-free peeps, run, don’t walk. This pizza and pasta situation was chef’s kiss. The waiter recommended we share two pizzas: the Meat Lovers and the Tuscan Chicken. And honestly? Thank you, sir, for choosing violence in the best way possible. Both were unreal — full of flavour, perfectly cooked, and most importantly… did NOT taste gluten-free (the highest compliment). No cardboard bases. No sadness. Just proper Italian comfort food doing what it’s meant to do. Service was also top-tier, friendly, knowledgeable, and clearly knows the menu inside out.

Staff were super fast and friendly! Food came out quickly was delicious and made with good quality ingredients! We also enjoyed the mocktails!

We had a wonderful dining experience at Leonardo’s Restaurant in Rotorua. As Italians, we came with high expectations when it comes to Italian food—and we’re happy to say it did not disappoint at all. The food was delicious, authentic, and beautifully prepared. The service was equally impressive. A special thank you to Shontey, who was incredibly patient, kind, and attentive to our family of 10. She made us feel very welcome and looked after us so well throughout the evening. We would happily return and highly recommend Leonardo’s to anyone looking for great Italian food and warm, genuine service. Thank you again, Shontey!

The trinity hill merlot was so good!! A couple glasses had me feeling so good lol The pizza piccolo was also super delish, we asked for it w extra chicken and they really came through :))

Stopped in here for lunch. There were 11 of us so we had to sit inside. The service was very slow and it took so long for our food to come out to the table. They weren't even that busy. I ordered the margherita pizza and it was not very good at all. Super greasy, I've never seen one with cherry tomatoes on it and there were hardly any. Everyone else felt like the food was just "meh" as well.

The food looks good but it doesn't taste good. The service is kind of horrible because our waiter would say she will go get something for us and then literally forget... she did it with water, forks, plates, tabasco sauce. The environment is alright, but the utensils are pretty dirty and it looks like they don't throughly wash them... like the dirty cups. And there's a lot of flies swapping around the area.

Tough one to rank. Normally a 3 star meaning it was fine and I might eat here again. Pizza sauce was a little sweet. If you are looking for USA pizza, this is not it. Broccolini was excellent. The bruschetta could have used more than a little blob of cheese in the middle, an less onion, but the taste was fine. Staff were nice. Sat outside an even though it was chilly out I was toasty near the overhead heater. Ambiance was fine. No different than any of the other places on the street.

I went and dined in at Leonardo's on a Friday night and I ordered the Pollo pizza. I had dined at an Italian place near by the day prior and the pizza was not very good so I wasn't expecting much. Boy did they prove me wrong. I am not lying when I say the Pollo pizza is the best pizza I've ever had. Not only did I love it, but I made my friends try it and they all agreed that it was the best pizza they've ever tasted. My friends ordered cheese and pepperoni pizzas and they said they were phenomenal as well but nothing matched the Pollo pizza. I would recommend every able bodied person come to Leonardo's in Rotorua and taste the perfection that is the Pollo pizza. They truly do wonderful things here and I made a Yelp account just to make this regirw

This restaurant belongs in a food court. Food served lukewarm, no flavor except SALT. Salad was saturated in dressing and not fresh. Service was horrible. Not worth the $.10 they should have charged.

We went in for pizza and drinks and left very satisfied. We also ordered green mussels and lamb fries ( which are French fries with cheese and pulled lamb over them). The wait staff was attentive to our needs and very friendly. Pizza was small but very tasty- and many options for specialty pizzas. Highly recommend when in Eat Street.

This little spot, smack in the middle of Eat Street serves up some VERY AUTHENTIC ITALIAN food, just about on par with the food we've eaten on our numerous trips to Italy. While the menu isn't huge, it was still quite difficult to choose among the tantalizing options but to make things even harder, they were also offering several nightly specials with even more great dishes. In the end we sTarted with the mixed Italian salad that was so wonderful - every bite bursting with the fresh taste of vegetables with a wonderful light dressing. One of the best salads I've had in a long time and chock full of artichokes, onion, fresh and sun-dried tomatoes and more fresh local organic vegetables. As all of their pastas are house made so we both opted for a tagliatelle-mine with the rich wild boar bolognese and my wife with traditional carbonara. Both were excellent but the wild boar just melted in the mouth. Very very good. We ordered a bottle of Chianti and were surprised to get one of those touristic bottles with the straw coating(come on Leonardo, you know better!)-my only complaint (although the wine was good). For dessert we got the Italian donuts with ice cream and raspberry sauce-not too sweet and a nice finish. Even though we weren't able to make a reservation (no one answered the phone), since we arrived early for dinner they were able to fit us in. A wonderful place to savor the true taste of Italy while in Rotorua. Recommended

Service and atmosphere a 5, food barely a 2. Would not go back. Pasta was not fresh and pizza dough was not good

Well. We didn't listen to the bad reviews cause there were so many great ones. We have regrets . I was got the vegan gnocchi and the sauce was incredibly bland. My husband got some kind of spaghetti with seafood and also food poisoning. Our table was MOBBED with flies the whole time and all I can say is it's that restaurant cause we ate across the street the day before and did not experience that. We ordered wine and the glasses were covered in dust or lint or something so thickly that I felt the need to wipe down the rim of my cup just in case.

We went to Leonardo's for my husband's birthday. We were initially very disappointed with the service - no one came to take our order for 20 minutes! But once the food came in, we forgot everything! Vegetarian bruschetta, pasta in marinara sauce, pasta in mushroom sauce - everything we had was the best version of Italian dishes we've had until now! Highly recommended!

Terrible is an overstatement! It was really bad. Please evr don't make the mistake of going there and ordering Italian. My husband and I got into a duel after ordering pasta and gnocchi. It was terrible. The taste was nowhere close to Italian. I pleaded him to order a pizza since that's what everyone else was doing. They took a lot of time and kept us waiting till 10:30 pm and we were tired and weary. The waiter named Deepak tried consoling us when we wanted to cancel our order offering us free coffee which we politely denied and guess what? The food was pathetic,undercooked and we paid whopping $60. Please make a well informed decision before going to eat streat. There is wild Jasmine and better indian restaurants out there than this! I am giving one star for their starter bruschetta. Even that is way better at Seattle. You guys spoiled our tourist experience and bribed us into providing the worst customer support.

The food was good. I won't say amazing but if you are looking for decent Italian I would say try this place. We had the cabanaro and squid ink spaghetti w/ seafood. The seafood was a bit fishy for my taste. The cabanaro was not overly cheesy and well balanced. This restaurant is on Eat Street so greAt location. The story of the restaurant owners meeting in Australia when they were both from different countries was also sweet. The restaurant was clean and decorated with a cute twist.

This place is amazing! From start to finish. The wait staff were perfect! Appetizers, entrees, an dessert. Thank you so much for making this a great experience!!

I would give this place a -5 if one was available. The staff and the waitstaff don't know anything about Italian food. The cook probably does not how to cook the food. The Pizza even got made nasty. How could someone don't know how to make one. Domino's is a better Pizza than this pathetic place. My wife order a soup and the soup was thick as a dish. I am sorry but stay away from this restaurant. The people running this Italian place needs a crash course on how Italian food taste and how it's made. I am sorry to write this review. But I am from USA and these people are making fool of all the people who eat there.

Great food, great service - what else could you want!? We ordered a few of the chef's specials of the night, including a white bean soup & a creative and delicious ravioli dish. Super tasty! We were looking for some good Italian to get a small taste of Home (New York) and we found it here!

We ended up here after a tiring day in Rotorua! We went ziplining and it was a blast!!! I liked this cute little restaurant. Ambience was great. It is located near the ocean and it is right next to multiple restaurants. We ordered bruschetta and alfredo pasta and they were both really delicious. Service was great as well. Portion size is pretty huge. If you haven't already noticed, people in NZ don't use yelp as much. They leave their reviews on google. So, if you are looking for more reviews I would check there :)

GET THE LASAGNA. I don't know how this lasagna is not celebrated more. It's unique, I've never had a lasagna like it before, and it was sooo good. It's baked with 3 different visible parts to it (bolognese, ricotta, basil pesto) and it's not too heavy, flavorful, and just... Heavenly. There's a little balsamic glaze to it that was a perfect touch. This was by far one of the best lasagnas I've had and one of the best meals I've had in NZ. I also tried their wild boar papardelle which was great!!! Tender meat, though I wish there was more noodle for the sauce! Perfect with a bit of red pepper. Friend and I went back again because the food was so good, and we had the gnocchi (tasted fresh, but I'd go for the lasagna here), which I liked because it came with huge chunks of garlic cloves and very fresh pesto. The gnocchi itself I wish was a little more salted. Friend had the tagliatelle with pancetta which was okay. Again, get the lasagna. Very friendly waitstaff. : )

Classic Italian food...a little pricey for the portion size. Food was decent, wished they would have removed the veins from my prawns, however. My daughter loved the kids spaghetti. We tried the bread sampler bt wished we tried the bruschetta sampler. Menu was confusing but food was tasty.

It's pretty hard to find good vegan food when you're traveling, but this place delivered with a few different options. The vegan gnocchi was delicious and had the creamiest tofu I've ever had. The margherita pizza (without cheese) was really crispy, the sauce was a bit acidic for me but it really did the job. Cruelty free

This place was awful!! Horrible service, nasty waiters. Went on a Sunday night and waiters were apparently short handed. When asked about timing of meal, waiters were very short and unprofessional. Menu items were not available upon ordering. No specials - or at least the wait staff were not familiar with them. Don't go to this place!

Soooo happy we found this place! It isn't in the location given on yelp, it is further down Eat Street at the end near Novotel. The ambience was clean, warm and unpretentious. Service was warm efficient and friendly. Now the good part - the food! Every dish was unbelievably good. We started with the grilled prawns, meaty spicy and delicious. Ask for more bread to soak up the spicy oil. Entrees were the roast lamb and pork belly. Roast lamb was cooked perfectly, seasoned well and filling. Pork belly was delish, a bit too hard as I really had to work hard to cut through the crackle but it was worth it. Wasn't fussy on the scalloped potatoes, it was more onions than anything but it did not take away from the meal. We finished up with the limoncello tart, perfection! Fantastic last meal for this leg of our trip!

Freshly made pasta everyday. We had a minestrone soup, Italian Salad and today's special raviolini. All foods were extremely tasty. Love this casual Italian ambiance place with excellent food and its service. Would recommend to try if you love Italian.

We enjoyed dinner here a few nights ago. Great atmosphere, great staff (Monique was awesome), and good food. My wife had the risotto special which was excellent. I had the "Bird Nest" pasta which was good, not great - too heavy on the bell peppers. The Selezione di Pane - Bread Selection appetizer was quite enjoyable also https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g255111-d4368038-r535979749-Leonardo_s_Pure_Italian-Rotorua_Rotorua_District_Bay_of_Plenty_Region_North_Isla.html#

Came across this incredible gem on Eat Street in Rotorua. Authentic,fresh, mouth watering Italian food! I have eaten Italian food in Italy and all over the USA as well as raised by an Italian mother who was a FABULOUS cook. Leonardo himself spoke with us and you could see and feel his passion for his food. It was nothing short of FANTASTIC! The Tiramisu topped it all off! They also made the BEST Long Island Ice Tea we have ever had! We are planning a return dinner before we leave NewZealand!

Two Adults & two children we had the BESt Anti-Pasta without exception. A great variety of flavors and textures plus a new addition of Octopus Salad. We shared amongst the four of us and delicious. We all ordered steaks, husband Ribeye on the bone and the rest of us eye fillet. Stunning. Cooked to perfection. Service was helpful and they accommodated all requests. Great Restaurant

It's a small place, hole in the wall that seats probably 40 max. I felt the choices were limited but the food was excellent and service was good and friendly! I would give them 4.5 stars if I could.

We sat down at another Italian place down the way and kept coming back to how great Leonardo's menu looked. We got up and came to Leonardo's and had an absolutely fantastic meal. We had the gnocchi and the napoleons sausage and polenta which were both fantastic

This has to be the best kept secret in Rotorua if not the whole New Zealand. Very authentic Italian food with friendly and efficient staff. While they don't look under-staffed we saw the owners Leonardo and Yuka there always greeting customers and helping out on things. We had a pleasant dinner and will definitely go there again.

Went here following the raves on Yelp. Well turns out they were all right! We had an excellent meal here with very fresh products. Fresh pasta was amazing. We dined in a group of 6 and everyone was stoked with the great food. Tiramisu finished this off very nicely. One of the most authentic Italian meals I have ever found in New Zealand!

The pizza is very small and has a very bad quality. I'm half Italian and i was disappointed by the high prize for a very bad taste. Definately not a good place to eat.

Great food! We are from NYC and been to Italy - the pasta is fantastic. Home made - good service. Ate there both nights our our visit and not disappointed at all. Try the bruschetta - all pasta are great- poem belly is amazing and chicken park with polenta is good too. 5 of us and we ordered 6 entree and bruschetta. Nothing left at the end.

Amazing! Fresh, authentic Italian. Service a little hit and miss (dessert menus never delivered and had to chase for a drink order) but overall a fab find in Rotorua! Would definitely go back

This is the most Italian place I've experienced outside of Italy. The food was amazing, and it was a real treat being able to speak Italian with the owner.

I loved this place. The food was better than what I remember I had in Italy. I will be going back to Leonardo's next time I am in Rotorua.

Came here at lunch- we were the only people for about 20 min. Service was not good, for example we sat and waited just to get water for more than 20 min. Throughout the meal the waitress came by very few times which considering that we were there for almost 2 hours due to waiting for food was not very often. Mostly the two waitresses loitered inside by the counter. We ordered a vegetarian focaccia something (can't remember the name) after a long long time the waitress told us that it actually has salami on it and wasn't vegetarian as she thought. She said it was already made and out of the stove at that point. We rolled with it and just said, we will pick it off (due to not wanting to wait another 60 min). We got the food 20 plus minutes later and it was stone cold. After inquiring if it was supposed to be cold we were told, yes. Upon further inspection it appeared to have been pre-made however long before (hence they couldn't take off the salami) and was sorta reheated. One end was refrigerated temperature and the other end was room temp. I ate a share of it out of necessity of low blood sugar for waiting for so long, but then had indigestion afterwards so that was a mixed bag. The salad that came with it was actually nice, I will say. Our group also ordered pasta with a white cream sauce (average), gnocchi (average at best), onion soup (less than average). The reviews I read were good but upon further review now I see there has been an ownership change recently. In conclusion- It's expensive, the wait was too long , the service bad, and poor quality food.

The best food we have had in all of New Zealand. We tried the breads and dips and were amazed with the fresh diversity in every bite. The portions sizes were huge. I also tried the ravioli with sun dried tomatoes. It was amazing. Service was great and atmosphere was lovely. Definitely coming back!