Location: Cortland
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Top 10 Italian food in Cortland, New York, United States
Find out what Italian restaurants to try in Cortland. Cortland is a city in Cortland County, New York, United States of America. Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 19,204. It is the county seat of Cortland County.
Things to do in Cortland
10. Mangia e Statti Zitto!
Overall Ratings
4 based on 16 reviews
Reviewed By 138alp
The restaurant itself is absolutely beautiful. Kudos to the owners (who also own I believe 6 other restaurants in the Cortland/Homer area) for reviving this restaurant which had previously been Uncle Louie's (complete with OTB) , Rocci's, and Kelly's Reef. I really like that the waterfall window has returned, and a nice flame addition added in front of it. Inside the decor is modern. It is very tightly tabled-so it will be loud on a Saturday night simply due to the closeness of seating.We had tried to come in on a Saturday night in September with a group of 4. We called on the way driving home from the Syracuse game for a 6 PM reservation-and they were not taking reservations until after 8 because they were busy. The Saturday that we visited we made reservations for 5 people very early (5:00) after an event at Cortland Repertory Theater. We actually arrived at 4:30, and were seated with no problem.As we walked in everyone said hi to us, and we felt welcome. Both owners were on property.We were seated in a booth-but asked about moving to a round table and they did that with no problem. Arriving early was certainly in our favor.We asked about substituting pasta for the mashed potatoes with the flounder, and we were told that it would not work, we could order a side order of pasta (for an additional charge). Mashed Potatoes with fish just seemed unusual in an Italian Restaurant. Salad was also an additional $6.50 charge.We had been told by previous guests that everything was a-la-carte, so one of our friends ordered garlic bread for the table...bread was served to the table, so we had LOTS of bread going on. The dipping sauce olive oil did have a strange flavor.Hubby ordered Linguine Pescatore. It was good, but not great. The seafood was not very fresh, and his linguini seemed overcooked. I had the Shrimp and Scallops Scampi. I was thrilled to discover that the tails had been removed from the shrimp. (what a pain to have to do that with the scampi sauce) The scallops were excellent, tender and fresh. The shrimp was not fresh at all, but edible. My Scampi was very salty-but the chef used to own Fabio's in Cortland, and their food was also very salty. As a diner, it is truly easier to salt food than to take salt off. The Villa Pozzi Pinot Grigio was excellent...$7.00 a glass, a fairly standard price at high end restaurants.When it came time for the bill, we had 2 bills, and both were brought in one bill holder. Usually bills would be presented separately in separate bill holders. Although we paid separately, the credit cards were returned together in the same bill holder. That was odd.Overall, our dinner was just OK. We have been to Italy, as well as eaten at many Italian Restaurants-this was not necessarily a place that I would return to. The bar area looked very cute, and we might give it a try for lunch to see how that goes.
9. Red Dragon
Overall Ratings
4 based on 15 reviews
Reviewed By katydid34
Love the Red Dragon. Eat there twice a month on Kiwanis Club night. Butch always serves an awesome meal ant the wait staff is awesome. Donna his cook is always so busy and never becomes frazzled. Makes the absolute best pizza and wings.
8. A Round Pizza
Reviewed By creativecortland
We ordered a house pie with half pepperoni and half spinach. The spinach was my favorite. It wasn't greasy or wet like some spinach pies can be. We also ordered honey bbq wings. They were a little sweet, a little salty, a little spicy and all around delicious.
7. A Pizza & More
Overall Ratings
4 based on 27 reviews
Reviewed By Ted_and_Laura
This is our favorite pizza delivery place in Cortland. They make good, NYC-style pizza (take your pick of thin or regular crust) with fresh, flavorful ingredients. Delivery is friendly and reliable.
6. Pontillo's Pizzeria
Overall Ratings
4 based on 79 reviews
Reviewed By lindasV6057KU
We go to Pontillos a lot! Usually itâs wonderful. However, a group of 6 of us went there Thursday evening, and we were negatively surprised when we ordered dinner salads. One woman asked for extra olives in her salad. I said to the young male waiter âgive her mine, I donât like olivesâ. 2 other people also ordered dinner salads. Well..... she had all of 2 olives in her salad and was charged 50 cents for extra olives. I had 1/2 of an olive. The other 2 people were not given any olives. We tried talking to the waiter about this and his response was âItâs the policyâ. Really???
5. Melodyland Restaurant
Overall Ratings
4 based on 48 reviews
Reviewed By 138alp
Back in the day...when Cortland was an Italian Community, there was Melodyland. And it still remains today. The place is very retro decor.Everyone is friendly...Italian words are flung around as patrons enter and exit. There is a lot of kissing and hugging-so very clear that everyone is "family". General age is over 60...but there was one young couple in their 20's the night we visited. We had ravioli and lasagna on a recent Wednesday night. Both were good, and contain the typical Cortland Southern Italian Sauce. Bread was delicious.Cash only...keep that in mind!!
4. Rex's Hot Pasta & Italian To Go
Overall Ratings
4 based on 45 reviews
Reviewed By SavesSpiders
I went there for dinner while visiting my favorite Cortland student and I was not disappointed. The service was really great - the servers genuinely cared about your experience. The food was really yummy and there were a lot of choices (I'm already thinking about what I'll order next time). The portions are enormous, so come hungry, order the half meal, or be prepared to go home with a lot of leftovers. The atmosphere is fun - totally unexpected given its location... so don't let the "hidden" part of the "hidden gem" stop you from having a great meal!
3. Hollywood Restaurant
Overall Ratings
4 based on 137 reviews
Reviewed By 94741233
The best part of this restaurant is the Hollywood decor--the entire place is filled with movie posters and photos, and there's a life-size statue of Marilyn Monroe, in the classic airdraft-lifting-her-dress pose, in the center of the dining room. The food, however, is just okay.I had the veal parm, and was disappointed. This wasn't a veal cutlet, it was breaded, pressed chopped veal meat that was soft enough to easily break off bite size pieces with a fork, no knife necessary. The tomato sauce on the veal, and on my side of capellini, was very ordinary and might have come from a can. My side of mixed vegetables was better than the rest of the meal, as it consisted of yellow beans, green beans, and carrots and appeared to have been roasted. Overall, this was a meal of average diner quality, and truthfully, I've had much better meals in diners.That's not to say that it was bad. The prices here are moderate and if you are looking for a budget meal and don't have high expectations, the Hollywood will suit your needs fine. Service was friendly but our server made no effort to refresh our beverages. There is off street parking available.
2. Green Arch Restaurant
Overall Ratings
4 based on 64 reviews
Family Style Italian Restaurant. Open Since 1933
Reviewed By James W
Cortland doesn't have the greatest restaurant scene, so our choices for dinner were somewhat limited if we didn't want to drive a lot. But the Green Arch looked like a solid choice, and we were not disappointed. As we drove up, we could tell the place was popular, with lots of cars parked along the road on both sides of the street (the restaurant does not have a dedicated parking lot, but parking on the street was very easy). The choice in appetizers was a little sparse, so we skipped them (which was probably just as well, since the entree servings were large). Also, all our entrees came with small salads, which was nice: between that and the bread, we had enough to munch on until our entrees arrived. I ordered the ravioli which was quite nice, and seemed freshly made, and I liked that I could "customize" it with meatballs and mushrooms. We also tried the primavera, and the pork chops, both good. We were quite full after that (had to bring some home), but still decided to try one dessert, which we split among us (a piece of the almond cake). Between the cake and cappuccinos, it was a nice finish to the meal. Our waitress was friendly and attentive, overall prices were reasonable and the food was good. I'm sure we'll be back in the future.James. Thank you for taking the time to write a review of our restaurant. I am very pleased that you had a delightful experience. Yes parking is tough. We do own the lot on the corner as well, but it too fills up fast. I hope to see you again sometime soon. All the best!
What to do and see in Cortland, United States: The Best Places and Tips
1. Green Arch Restaurant
Overall Ratings
4 based on 64 reviews
Family Style Italian Restaurant. Open Since 1933
Reviewed By James W
Cortland doesn't have the greatest restaurant scene, so our choices for dinner were somewhat limited if we didn't want to drive a lot. But the Green Arch looked like a solid choice, and we were not disappointed. As we drove up, we could tell the place was popular, with lots of cars parked along the road on both sides of the street (the restaurant does not have a dedicated parking lot, but parking on the street was very easy). The choice in appetizers was a little sparse, so we skipped them (which was probably just as well, since the entree servings were large). Also, all our entrees came with small salads, which was nice: between that and the bread, we had enough to munch on until our entrees arrived. I ordered the ravioli which was quite nice, and seemed freshly made, and I liked that I could "customize" it with meatballs and mushrooms. We also tried the primavera, and the pork chops, both good. We were quite full after that (had to bring some home), but still decided to try one dessert, which we split among us (a piece of the almond cake). Between the cake and cappuccinos, it was a nice finish to the meal. Our waitress was friendly and attentive, overall prices were reasonable and the food was good. I'm sure we'll be back in the future.James. Thank you for taking the time to write a review of our restaurant. I am very pleased that you had a delightful experience. Yes parking is tough. We do own the lot on the corner as well, but it too fills up fast. I hope to see you again sometime soon. All the best!
Cortland Food Guide: 10 Must-Eat Restaurants & Street Food Stalls in Cortland
