Zarletti

Great location downtown. The restaurant was able to accommodate our party reservation of nine. The interior is intimate but not tight or crowded. Our party, and all the other guests around us had plenty of room. The food was delicious. Everyone raved about their selections. I ordered one of the specials for the evening, Ravioli di Bufala (homemade pasta stuffed with ground bison with arrabbiata spicy red sauce - Amazing! The pasta was tender, al dente, and the arrabbiata sauce was the best I’ve ever had (however, I would never say that to my Italian great-grandfather, Nonno!) Our waitress was phenomenal and very nice. I would definitely recommend.

my wife and I had an amazing dinner last night at Zarletti‘s downtown. We chose to sit at the bar our server Brian the bartender was absolutely amazing. The food, the environment the service. Everything was top-notch highly recommend.

Top notch service and food. Good restaurant venue for formal business dinner. The crab cake and the hand made pasta is really good.

A delicious option for a fancy dinner. It is expensive, but it is definitely worth it. I highly recommend the mushroom pasta option, and I got it with sautéed shrimp. The pera cocktail was very good. The rib eye was also the favorite entrée of the group. The bruschetta was a great appetizer as well.

Went there for a birthday dinner and had an absolutely amazing experience! Excellent service from Bryan and the food and wine could not be beat. Had a unique opportunity to have a bottle of Sardinian wine and we were blown away. The bolognese and ravioli were absolutely delicious, and the burrata appetizer with prosciutto was amazing as well. Panna cotta dessert was to die for. The hostess was extremely friendly and the overall atmosphere was perfect. Definitely planning to be back soon!

We stayed in Milwaukee 4 nights and 2 of them we ate here because of the incredible flavors of real authentic Italian food! We live in NYC and this restaurant would be packed too in NYC. The atmosphere was fun with engaging customers and fantastic bartenders! Don't wait, make a reservation today - promise you'll love ❤️ it too!!!

This was the best pasta I’ve had in the United States and I’ve been to good Italian restaurants in Chicago, New York and Vegas. We had a group of 7 and everyone raved about their entrees. It’s a tad pricey, but totally worth it. The service and atmosphere were also top notch.

The wife and I reserved a table on a Saturday evening. The bread and drink were amazing. The main course was good and so was the dessert. I really enjoyed our waiter. He knew his stuff and had a personality. Thank you for making it a very nice evening for my wife’s birthday

This restaurant is incredible! A few things to note - we had a celebratory ladies dinner and called an hour before our dining to try to find a table. The restaurants host was kind, attentive, and polite. She was able to find us a table last minute that would fit, and asked if outside was okay. I shared it was, as I thought the temperature would stay warm, and we really wanted a nice dinner that was close to our hotel (The Pfister). We arrived at our reservation start and the outdoor patio was beautiful, however we quickly realized how chilly it was once the sun set. The host greeted us right away and helped start drinks and appetizers. Our server arrived and he was perfect, efficient yet friendly. We had a situation with one of our ladies who needed to leave the dinner, so our group shrunk to 7 due to an unexpected situation. Due to the weather and size adjustment, we asked if there was room for us inside. They helped us move our whole table into the bar (which was perfect for our group) and ended up finishing our meal inside (THANK YOU FOR HELPING US MOVE INSIDE!). Finally, our bartender (new gentleman) was so attentive and polite, while creating some fun banter with our group. The food was UNBELIEVABLE, and the drinks were perfect. We had the absolute best time given the circumstances and would absolutely come back. Thank you to Aileen (host), John (server), Dan (bartender), Karen (manager) for making our night so special. - the ladies who caused a ruckus!

Very very good homemade ravioli. I have never had a ravioli so large and packed full! Highly recommend the ravioli. The carbonara was unique. There was something off about it but couldn't put my finger on it. Nonetheless it was cute, accommodating, and has very knowledgeable staff. The cocktails are outstanding as well

This restaurant has a drawback or two but it's a great place to eat. Drawbacks would be space and price. It's a bit cramped, so much so that a waiter accidentally bumped into me and other patrons took a beat to figure out the best path to exit, it's probably a minimum of $50 per person to eat there after tax and tip. For starters I had their old fashioned. It's one of the best I've had. They use amazing bitters. Of note was the periodic emergence of a cinnamon taste throughout the drink. Lovely. For appetizers we had the gamberi (shrimp) and bruschetta. They did not preload the garlic toast with the bruschetta which kept it from being soggy. The tomato basil garlic balsamic had a perfect balance and did not overpower. Only thing they could improve on the gamberi is making it tail off and 100% peeled but it was delicious. We split a house salad and picked the balsamic dressing. It came lightly dressed and not over powering with a very interesting raw cucumber capellini, cherry tomato halves, and croutons. It could have used more cherry tomato but was a good and slightly unique salad. I had the veal al limone for my entree. It came out perfectly. It had a wonderful crispiness. They served it with one of the best reductions I've ever tasted. I tried to make out its contents: lemon, of course, perhaps white wine, at times it seemed like carmelized onion then pecorino Romano. It was an amazing flavor experience, a true workout for the palate. We finished with the bananas dessert and the almond flour chocolate cake. I had expected the cake to be dense but instead it was fairly fluffy and cake like. We preferred the bananas dessert of the two. It had a cookie-like base, a sweet vanilla Carmel cream, and banana slices.

Excellent service, food, cocktails. The banana custard was particularly unique. Shrimp appetizer had great depth of flavor.

I had the Vitello al Limone Strauss and my wife had the Ragu Della Casa. Both were delicious and just the right portion size. To drink, I got the Downtown Old Fashioned, which I also enjoyed. The server was attentive and checked in regularly.

We went to celebrate two birthdays and the staff and server were outstanding in recognizing the event and giving us great service throughout the meal. We started with the baby stuffed calamari and some olives. Appetizers were good. For the main course we had the pistachio crusted grouper and the mushroom ravioli. Both entrees were outstanding and will definitely be what brings us back to this restaurant!

One of our favorite restaurants in Milwaukee. Short walk from the Pfister hotel. The italian food served is always great. Nice wine selection. We prefer to sit inside rather than on the sidewalk and reservations are suggested especially in the Summer months.

Went for a fun girls night. Ordered shareables, pizza was good just wish it was a little more crispy. We enjoyed ordering different drinks and trying them. Would definitely recommend the barrata cheese!!

1. Such a fun restaurant. The menu is incredible. So many wonderful choices. Most of the pastas were homemade and you can tell. The panzanella was wonderful and so fresh. The osso buco was tremendous. 2. Our server was so fun. She made great recommnedations. 3. Just a great spot in downtown Milwaukee. I am ready to go back. Honestly one of the best italian restaurants I have been to...

Food was good here. The service was great as well. Started with meatballs and stuffed calamari appetizers. I thought the stuffing calamari was going to be more tender than it was. The carbonara was good but we prefer without the addition of the little lemon flavor. The short rib ravioli special was very good. The chicken saltimbocca and Ossobucco were good as well. The banana dessert was one of the best desserts I have ever had!

We had a party of 20 that they were able to section the back for us to be semiprivate. We were seated in an L though. However, we had great services and portions were large. The best part was the dessert selection. For our party, we decided to try a flight of different desserts. We were satisfied

I travel to Milwaukee once a year for work and every time I have to get food from this restaurant. Every time I am extremely pleased with the quality of food. I recommend it to all of the people I work with who visit as well. Excellent job!

I ordered what Karen, the bartender recommended, and it was a 10 out of 10. The service is always top-notch. It's pricey to go ($80 all in). However, that includes all courses and drinks. Totally worth every penny.

We went for my boyfriend's birthday. They knew ahead of time. Gave us a great window seat! Food, service and ambiance was wonderful! Will so be back!

One of the best Italian restaurants I've found. I come to Milwaukee once a year for work and never miss a chance to eat here. Food, atmosphere and service are all impeccable. My server John was top notch

We had a great dinner at Zarletti! We had a reservation which I would recommend and we wrapped up what we were doing early and showed up around 20 min minutes early and they were able to accommodate us (our reservation was at 5:45). They had quite a few specials available and both of us really enjoyed our meals! They started us off with bread, oil, and Parmesan before we had our main courses. The service was awesome and the restaurant had a great ambiance to it and it's both indoor and outdoor seating options. I would definitely recommend Zarletti for any dinner, but especially for a special occasion!

What an excellent find. Had dinner here before the Counting Crows show this week. A bit early so we were able to eat at the bar - my favorite place to eat. The bartender was personable and on her game. Provided recommendations on the menu as well as local things to do. She was very helpful, and wish I had gotten her name! The food was outstanding. My Osso Buco was delicious. The texture and flavor of the veal created a mouthfeel that's almost illegal. Lol. The owner comped us limoncello that was made in house. Omg, took me back to my visit to Florence Italy. Very generous. Raviolis were house made and equally delicious. Overall, an excellent dining experience. Highly recommend.

Food: I have never tried calamari that wasn't fried so this was a new fun experience. The calamari was chewy but delicious, especially the stuffed crab. All the chewing was worth it! Im not the biggest fan of tomato sauce but this was doable. The best part of Ragú was the hand pulled duck. The noodles were long and satisfying but the sauce lacked. The mushroom pasta was the best meal. Everything in the pasta complimented each other perfectly. Service: We had a trainee waitress and she did great at taking orders. A trained waitress was there to cover anything she missed. While the waitress checked in often, there were big waiting periods in between when all we needed was the check or our leftovers. Towards the end, my group got cold waiting for the waitress to come back. Ambiance: We had a table outside and it was a pretty chilly evening. The tables were set up nicely and had a candle to set the mood. If I go here again, I will definitely get a table inside since the staff will not let you go inside if you're cold.

Came here with a large group and had an excellent time. Service was great, friendly...we tried a number of apprizers (arancini - 4 stars; polpette - 4 stars; calamari - 2 stars (chewy and sauce not great); burrata - 4 stars). My wife also got a half Italian chopped salad and that was excellent (5-stars). For the main entree, I had the cavatappi salsiccia Marsala and it was excellent (5-stars), had some spice to it, was creamy, flavorful, every part of the dish cooked perfectly. My wife enjoyed the wild mushroom ravioli as well.

Enjoyed a delicious birthday dinner at Zarlettis. My husband and i both had had the salmon with vegetables. I had a house salad and my husband had a cup of minestrone soup. The staff were pleasant and knowledgeable. We sat at a corner table in the back, an ideal location. For dessert we ordered the chocolate cake and banana custard. The banana dessert was delicious! Better than the chocolate cake. The seasonal vegetables were asparagus. Very tasty! The Salmon was a large serving and delicious.

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Zarletti's. Our server, Nate, wonderfully guided us through our dinner. Zarletti's offered delicious choices that we shared, from antipasto to pasta and entrée. The portions were bigger than I expected. We laughed that the crêpe with Maryland crab was more like a burrito. Dinner was well paced and comfortable, yet allowed us to get to our performance at the Marcus Center with plenty of time. We started with some fun cocktails, a spritz Venezia aperole and Amalfi sunset (Italian margarita). We split a pera e Gorgonzola salad, which was lightly dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette. We immediately noticed the antipasto, crespelle di granchio e funghi. We shared this delicious crêpe with crab and mushroom. Loved the browned sage butter. Our pasta choice was the salsiccia al Marsala. They split the plate and we completely enjoyed it. We ended our meal with an entrée. My wife had the short rib special. I had the Salmone in Padella. Both delicious. Zarletti's offers a fine dining experience with some of the best Italian cuisine in Milwaukee.

Very classy restaurant, high end Italian food. My reservation was for 5pm and I arrived right on time and was seated right away. The server was very attentive and helpful. I ordered the Pappardelle con Funghi and it was wonderful. My food arrived about 5 minutes after ordering. The pasta was homemade, and you could tell. It was cooked perfectly. The wild mushrooms in the dish are the star of the show, so tasty and delicious. The sauce was delicate and not over powering. Overall this is a fantastic place to bring a date, the atmosphere and ambience were perfect for a romantic dinner. I highly recommend Zarletti's..

This place is amazing. Friendly staff, good food and great service. We had a late reservation for 8 people. We arrived early but our table wasn't ready yet so we had to wait outside or across the street at a bar. It was chilly out so we chose to wait in the doorway. But sure enough 845 rolled around and our table was ready. The waitress was really nice and very personable and she got our humor. There was a variety of dishes ordered. And the portions were manageable and not overwhelming as some Italian places. I loved my pasta carbonara with fresh pappardelle pasta, pancetta. It was delicious and I wished I had more. My bf ordered the special of the day veal ossobucco with gnocchi. The veal was outstanding and very tender. The bone marrow melted in my mouth. The place is small and you have to make a reservation to guarantee a table. It is worth it. I will definitely eat here again.

Solid food, good ambiance and service. Definitely recommend. Ate here with three colleagues. Meatball app was good, but not memorable - would try other apps next time. Cream of broccoli soup with Asiago cheese was very tasty. Salmon with Brussels sprouts was very good. Pasta with oil, red pepper flakes and herbs was very tasty, but the portion was on the small side. The pappardelle with mushrooms was very good and it was a generous portion - colleague also ordered spicy sausage with it which was great.

Okay, We love the food and the incredible Italian wine program. But the wine dinners take it to another level. Last night's wine dinner was fantastic in every way. We dine at Zarletti several times a month and we rarely miss a wine dinner.

Great Italian restaurant in Downtown Milwaukee. Food and service were both excellent. Cozy decor as well.

We were seated immediately, and taken care of within 30 seconds of being seated. The service was excellent, and the food was even better. We tried the bruschetta, pastas, and a couple drinks. I'll definitely be back!

I've heard nothing but good things about Zarletti! To ring in my 25th revolution around the Sun, I decided to come here for dinner. I sat at the bar with my friend who also shares the same birthday. We had a good time. Bryan (sorry if I spelled it wrong) was our server. He was super knowledgeable of the menu and made us feel welcomed. My friend is Muslim so he helped her order a mocktail to suit her tastes. She really loved it. I ordered the: -Ravioli do Pollo -Calamari Ripieni The food was great. For lactose folks like myself, beware of the creaminess of the pasta sauces. You'll feel it later. But, the taste was so good that it was worth it.

We visited this place last Saturday for the first time and wow....this is a great little Italian restaurant! I would definitely recommend making a reservation (which we had). We really liked the ambiance of the place (for us at least). Our server, John, was outstanding throughout the whole meal. The homemade pasta was delicious, as was the dessert. Definitely recommend this place!

Top notch service coupled with amazing food and relaxing ambiance consistently year after year. This is a must visit restaurant.

Great service and food. The staff especially Karen and Brian are simply outstanding. Gotta try this place if you've never been. Incredible!

Food and service are amazing! They even allow a level of customization for vegetarians. Have celebrated events here and the ambiance, food, and service were always top notch.

The food was good, flavorful. Had the salmon and the lobster ravioli. The salmon was an 8and the lobster ravioli a 6. Lobster ravioli was a bit bland but the crème sauce was good. The bruschetta was ok, it was a little like toasted white bread with the tomatoe mixture which had a nice balsamic vinegar taste- but not overpowering. The old fashioned was watered down and the Riesling was on point. Ambience was warm and upscale, rating the food and drinks a 6.

My husband and I booked a reservation for my birthday at Zarletti and had a very good experience. We were both blown away by how delicious the food was. It really exceeded our expectations! I had a truffle oil and mushroom pappardelle and my husband had the bolognese, both were exceptional. My favorite dessert of all time is tiramisu, which a lot of places get wrong, but not Zarletti! Their tiramisu is an old family recipe and it is obvious in the taste. A really satisfying tiramisu with lady fingers well-soaked with coffee. My only critique is that the staff should be more knowledgeable about the wine list than they were. Our server did not seem to know much about wine and struggled to recommend a wine to my liking. I was not pleased with the recommendation as it really wasn't aligned with what I said I was looking for. I was much happier with the wine I selected for my 2nd glass. It's a small thing really. Overall we were very happy with our experience.

Great restaurant in Milwaukee. Small intimate, quiet, food is spectacular. Polpette appetizer very good. Osso Bucco a must for veal lovers.

Stopped by for dinner with a group of friends. The ambiance was relaxing and dimly lit, and the service was kind and friendly. Since it seemed like a fancier place, we dressed up, but some people were wearing casual clothing (jeans). Our dinner started off with some complimentary bread with olive oil and parmesan. If you order a pasta dish, they'll offer to make you homemade pasta for an upcharge - I didn't choose to do this, and I still thought my pasta was fantastic. Overall, it was a lovely experience, and I could see this being a cute date night spot!

I just had a splendid birthday dinner at Zarletti. It couldn't have been much better. The waiter, Luke, was very professional, informed and courteous while servicing multiple tables. A+.

Again, I wish Yelp had half stars, because I would give Zarletti a solid 3.5*. Service felt rushed. Wine selection was good. I did start to worry when I saw the option of adding shrimp/sausage/chicken to your pasta-never a good sign if you want an authentic experience. Stuffed calamari dish was tasty but uninspired. Sage/brown butter ragu ravioli dish was pretty good in terms of sauce but pasta itself was way too thick. I only liked rabbit ragu because I am a fan of rabbit meat, hubby thought it was nothing special. House Tiramisu was the winner of the night and complimentary home made limoncello was a pleasant and delectable surprise.

Consistent, delicious, and always a friendly, knowledgeable, and professional staff. I would highly recommend Zarletti - upscale for business yet laid back for a casual dinner with friends and family.

Food was off the hook! Truly a memorable experience - was here for my daughter's birthday. The owner had time to visit with us and made us feel welcome. We will definitely be going back!

We had dinner reservations and we're about 10 mins late but they held the table for us. Our waiter, Dan, was super nice and helpful. The distance between our table and bar chairs were very close. Felt crowed at times especially when our waiter was there. Food was 4.5/5. Wasn't a huge fan of the bruschetta but the rest of the dishes were delicious. Loved the dim lights ambiance.

My fiancé and I went to zarletti for date night and the experience was just fine. We made a reservation for bar seating but when we got there all the bar seats were taken. Luckily they found us an actual table but I think we got forgotten about because we did not even get water for about 10 minutes after being seated. Once the waiter was able to make it over to us we ordered the steak skewers and the olive oil tasting. I'd save your money on the olive oil tasting. The steak skewers would good, the horseradish sauce was delicious but the steak was a bit tough. For entrees, I ordered the carbonara and my fiancé got the ravioli that was a special that night. Mine came out on the colder side but it was good. The ravioli came out hot and my fiancée really enjoyed it. Overall, food was just okay, the ambiance was nice and perfect for a date night. I'm not sure if I'd go back but I'm glad we tried it.

We were able to get in without a reservation on a Thursday night. Sat at the bar which I highly recommend. Brian (the bartender that night) was very nice and provided great wine and food recommendations. We had the special Sardinian baked zucchini dish which was really delicious with a delicate oregano flavor. Husband had the osso bucco was tender and served with marrow bone spoon. Gnocchi were perfect balance to the rich red wine sauce. I had the fish pasta special of the day with a creamy saffron sauce. Scalllop, shrimp and mussels were all cooked just right. Pasta Al center. Wished I could have finished the dish it was so good - definitely recommend. Space is small enough to be cozy and elegant but not cramped. Drinks Negroni & special old fashioned were very good too!

This is our favorite place in Milwaukee. We celebrated my birthday there recently, and Brian did a wonderful job of making it a special event. The food is always outstanding, as is the wine list.

Beautiful little spot downtown with tall glass windows and comfortable furniture. Did I mention the food presentation, taste, and quality was impeccable? I'd eat here indefinitely! My partner and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary, and everything was delightful. The moment we walked in we were greeted and seated. Our server had a friendly personality and gave great feedback to our questions. She even recommended the banana semi freddo dessert -- it was incredible! Oh! And they have an NA drink menu for us sober folks -- we love the NA Rosé. Check was under $100 and we ate good. So what's not to love?

Spent a night in Milwaukee along our journey through Wisconsin celebrating a 50th birthday weekend. Am I so glad we stopped into Zarletti's! We started at the bar with a boulevardier and a Downtown Old Fashioned - Perfectly constructed drinks! We started with a stuffed calamari appetizer. Wow! The calamari was poached in this amazing sauce and then served with perfectly grilled crusty bread. I normally seek out dishes that I will never get around to cooking myself, so Ossobuco is one that I frequently land on. I have probably had it well over a dozen times at Italian restaurants all over the country. I have finally found the best one! The shanks were perfectly cooked and. the sauce was rich and heavenly. The Parmesan gnocchi was delicate and a perfect blend. If you are an ossobuco fan, stop looking at the menu options and get this dish. You are welcome. The misses had the bolognese pasta with pappardelle instead of the normal pasta. We would strongly recommend this substitute. The pasta and the sauce are amazing together. We finished our meal by sharing a delicate and rich piece of tiramisu. All-in-all, a really fantastic night out in Milwaukee!

Went out for a dinner here and really expected more, we started with drinks which were fine. A bit strong for my liking but I'm not upset by that. We went that hungry and started with their meatballs as an appetizer. Unfortunately they were some of the worst meatballs I've had, they reminded me of the meatballs in Spaghettios, but worse. I had the Pappardelle and it was ok. However some of the pasta was a bit crunchy. My wife had a steak, which she liked, wasn't my thing tho. The steak was sweet which threw me off. The wait staff was great tho, they made sure to go over the menu with us and were timely. All and all tho, the food just wasn't that good. Feels like they tried to hard to be trendy instead of focusing on their food. Personally, I wouldn't go back, but you should try it for yourself. If you like Italian food then you probably won't like this place too much.

Me and boyfriend haven't gone out in a long time and we were really excited for a nice dinner out. This restaurant ruined our night, worst food we have EVER HAD. EVER!! We are still in awe about how flavorless our pasta was and was not AT ALL fresh. We only ate about half the food till we couldn't anymore and sent the rest back. WORST FOOD EVER DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY HERE. If you like your food without seasoning like salt and pepper I highly recommend this place. waiter was very sweet and took care of us well, but wish he was honest about how DISGUSTING the food was. It was our anniversary dinner and completely ruined, left the restaurant so sad. I'm telling EVERYONE I KNOW to never eat here!!!!!!!

Simply the most consistent restaurant in the greater Milwaukee area service and food outstanding