Vespaio Reviews

Colleagues and I visited this restaurant for a relaxing business lunch. We tried the meatballs and calamari appetizers, which were fantastic, and I had the trout special for lunch - also excellent. I suggest you save room for a cannoli or tiramisu - totally worth it! Friendly waitstaff and a busy atmosphere with good classic rock tunes. I'll go back!

Ah, venerable Vespaio. Food doesn't get any better in Austin. And, the wine is wonderful, as well. The regular menu is interesting and the classics like carbonara are standouts. But, opt for the daily specials, if you can. You'll be intrigued and delighted.The risotto is always perfect. Knowledgeable staff can help elevate your wine-pairing. It's been so good for so long, it's easy to take it for granted. Don't. Go there tonight.

I am beyond delighted with my visit at Vespaio! And I’m a vegan Italian😂 I dined there for my birthday with two other friends of mine and considering we’re all vegan I called in advance to check if there were items on the menu that are vegan friendly. I was not expecting the chef going above and beyond for us but they did. The pasta was rice based and beautifully al dente with a cashew sauce so good I wanted to cry. We also had a choice of a puttanesca which we also tried and was fire! The second course was a huge assortment of veg and focaccia bread to your hearts content. You guys, they even made a fresh blackberry sorbet to celebrate the occasion🥹 no words, beyond grateful. The kitchen team and FOH team were amazing and the entire experience just made my entire birthday. GRAZIE MILLE Vespaio for this unforgettable experience! See you next bday🩷

We've been dining here since they first opened and we've never been disappointed. The specials are excellent but the Lasagna is always a favorite. The Toscana pizza is a must.

The staff here is wonderful and they know their stuff. We had some great wines and appetizers to start. Everyone ordered something different. I had the clam pasta ( the pasta is homemade) and several folks raves about the lasagna. You will enjoy your meal here.

What to say? Just go... it's fabulous Italian food. The only difficult part is choosing what to eat. Excellent wine list and excellent service. We always love a date at Vespaio.

We have been going to this restaurant for years with friends, recently they sold and after a visit to the restaurant this weekend, it is sure not what it used to be, the service has declined very noticeable, from a almost rude guy at the reception area, to the very slow and inattentive waiter. Food is still good, but not worth the poor service, no longer on our favorite list, too many other options.

So good we ate here three times in a week. Service always top drawer, attentive owner on site and amazing food. Roasted oysters and mussels are first rate. I have never seen anything like the lasagna which is made in huge individual portions not cut out of a pan. Not your usual lasagna. Truly spectacular. Other pastas also outstanding. Did not try the pizzas but fun to watch them tossing the dough in the open kitchen. Nice wine list with excellent selection of well priced wines by the glass. Highest recommendation.

Vespaio is great. However, this review is for Enoteca, the bistro-cafe part of Vespaio. We went around 8:00 and sat outside on their patio overlooking S. Congress Avenue. It was dimly lit and a relaxed cozy atmosphere - perfect for a date night. The food was every bit as good as the main restaurant, Vespaio. We ordered the following: Patate Fritte (basically truffle fries w/ lemon aioli) - these were tremendous and big enough to split with 2-3 people. Quattro Formaggi (a 4 cheese pizza w/o red sauce, fried rosemary, and pesto) - I thought this would be very bland and boring but it was surprisingly flavorful and not boring. Did not need red sauce. Spaghettini con Polpette (spaghetti and meatballs) - I'm Italian and have a VERY difficult time justifying ordering this at a restaurant, usually prefer to make everything from scratch at home on the cheap. However, the meatballs were fantastic and the pasta was handmade that day and tasted very fresh. I would go back for this. (I feel the same way about Vespaio's lasagna - AMAZING.) Tagliatelle con Funghi (closest thing to a alfredo) - this is something they say not to order at a restaurant since it costs so little to make. When the pasta is handmade and tastes this fresh, with hints of lemon and earthy mushrooms, I'll justify it. Both Enoteca and and Vespaio are a must visit and perfect for date nights or family get togethers.

Looking for good pizza and got geat pizza. I usually like thick crust but with this pizza I wasn't picky because it was pretty tasty. The service was outstanding to the point we thought our waiter was the owner. The restaurant is a nice place, and it was pleasant at the time we went during the week about 6:30. We really have nothing negative to say about Vespaio, and will definitely return when we are in Austin next time.

We are visiting from Florida and wanted a nice spot for Valentine’s dinner. Our dinner was incredible and Doug provided friendly, informative service. The best traditional Italian food I’ve had since staying in Rome. Thank you for a memorable evening!

Service was great!! Food was beyond great. How wonderful it was to order traditional Italian dishes which were made with flare and creativity. My wife is a generally light eater (and very picky) but she cleaned her plate! They could use a larger parking lot but, hey, that’s just Austin.

We had a business dinner with a bigger group, despite last minute changes in regards to size of group, table needs, etc. the staff took excellent care of us. The food was very nice, a lot, fresh and tasty, we had great service and a very good location.

This is one of the best restaurants I have been too. I never miss a visit here when I travel to Austin. In my top 5 spots in the US!!

Here's a 27 ZAGAT restaurant that inspires. Excellent flavor profiles, perfectly cooked dishes, excellent service. Great wine list. You will know the difference between a "cook" preparing your dishes and a "CHEF". Pizza as an appetizer a MUST. Definitely going back weekend after next when we will be in Austin again. Impressed!!!!!!!!!

I can not say enough about the wonderful food, the attentive and friendly staff, the magnificent menu nor the family like feel you receive just from walking in.....so I won't. I'll just leave it with, EAT HERE!!!! You will quickly find it to be one of your all time favorites, and you'll be anticipating the next meal you will get on your next visit! Bravo!!

There are two partner restaurants here and the food is great at both. We have eaten at both with Vespaio being the upmarket restaurant with the cafe little sister next door serving the same quality food. We initially went here planning to be next door and hadn't brought enough cash for the restaurant but the waitress was great and told us we could move and not to worry as happens all the time! After all that and our return I would say that other than the wine being expensive and the embarrassment of the over complicated name-sharing marketing, it's a great place with fantastic range, taste and style. We will be back, or maybe back next door...

8 yrs on, this is still our favorite restaurant in Austin. Period. Many of my fellow Austinites will tout their favorite Italian places or complain that there isn't really any authentic Italian in Austin, and blah blah blah. Fine, please continue to hate, since the more folks that find out about Vespaio, the longer the wait list gets. We have basically become part the Vespaio family over all these years since we have been coming before TripAdvisor existed in Austin and have seen barkeeps, wait-staff and management come and go. We have found our favorite menu items and also discovered new dishes along the way. Suzie almost always gets the lasagna which is such a wonderful meal, there really isn't much more to say, apart from the left overs the next day seem to be almost better. Other than that she will go with the Hanger Steak, which seems to be perfectly cooked every dang time. Myself, I tend to bounce around the menu, however I usually grab the risotto of the day. Always a winner. I enjoy their cipollini and their pasta's as well. We love the smell of the restaurant every time we enter their walls. 98% of the time we post up to the bar to eat, meet the neighbors to our left and right, converse with whomever may be behind the bar at the time and eat glorious food and imbibe on wine, prosecco and the ubiquitous coffee martini or as Vespaio coins them, the South Austin Speedball. Often copied, but never replicated. It is always the perfect ending to a wonderful meal and a must have. I would be remiss to not mention the service. it would be somewhat unfair to single anyone in particular out since we know so many of the folks who tend the bar, I wouldn't want to offend anyone who may read the review. I can just simply say, they all are personal, caring, professional and excellent at their craft. We have been in when they are slammed at the bar and everyone of them will go about their job, making sure everyone is taken care of, answer any questions and maintain their cool without coping an attitude or even seem rushed. They work together like a well tuned orchestra. We have had the same experience when we dine in the main dining room for our special occasions or when I bring clients in.

We have eaten at many 5 star restaurants all over the world including Italy. We had the best buffalo mozzarella ever at this restaurant. And the rest of the meal was equally superb. I was surprised that we found one of the best Italian restaurants ever in Texas. Try it. You will love it if you have any sense of quality food.

I cannot visit Austin without eating at the bar of Vespaio. The service is so friendly and professional and simple dishes like Boquerones become a real treat. Good wines, fair prices and a perfect ambiance make your diner a welcome experience. Real food for real people. Bravo !

Food was good, but pricey for quality and service. Place was quite loud. We had good time, but I do not think I will go there again because there are so many other reasonably priced chooses around.

Our experience in Vespaio was ok. The service is amazing and the place nice. But too noisy. I felt like on a sports bar. The food was good but too expensive.

This was a great time, we walked over to SOCO district from downtown during SXSW conference. Long walk, but worth it, a really fun place. We enjoyed lunch at Vespaio, wonderful environment and great good. I really enjoyed my pasta with cream sauce. I ordered that special, it wasn't on the menu and the wait staff were happy to make it for me and it was YUMMI. So delicious. My daughter had a ceasar salad and loved it, ate it all up, though the crutons were too hard for her. Pricing was pretty good, and we were happily on our shopping way through the rest of SOCO.

We couldn't make it to Rome this year for our anniversary so we visited Vespaio in hopes of having a similar experience. We were NOT disappointed. Although they do not take reservations on the weekends, we were able to be seated right away. We had a cozy table in the corner that was perfect for conversation and stealing a kiss. We told our waitress it was our anniversary and she enthusiastically congratulated us. Almost immediately, the manager came over with complimentary glasses of prosecco and thanked us for sharing our special day with them. We ordered the burrata off of the daily specials menu and it was melt in your mouth delicious. Freshly made in house, it was slightly warm and spread beautifully on the crusty bread. We shared a ceasar salad that was simple and beautiful and crisp with amazing parmesan. My husband had cacio e pepe that was reminiscent of what we had in the Jewish ghetto in Rome. I ordered the scampi and the prawns were huge and perfectly cooked with garlic and butter served with linguine in a lemon/butter sauce. Both dishes were beyond expectation and we couldn't have enjoyed them more. We shared the afogato for dessert (also complimentary). It was an absolutely lovely meal including excellent service and wonderful energy in the restaurant. We look forward to our next visit.

This place transports me to a place in Paris. Great atmosphere, wonderful food and service every time. Simply amazing!

It was memorable experience eating at this restaurant in the heart of downtown Austin, Texas. Walked around the city until got hungry and found this resto. The ambience inside is nice, I felt like I'm in Italy. The food was delicious and friendly staff. I recommend this place.

Wanted to go someplace nice but didn't want to go overboard meeting my son's girlfriend for the first time, this turned out to be the perfect place - classy, nice, excellent food and service while not overly pretentious. Thank you, Vespaio!

The service was great, but the food was average and expensive for what you get. We ordered the mozzarella appetizer. It looked pretty, the mozzarella was braided, but it wasn’t anything extraordinary. I expected it to be soft and creamy. We also ordered a lasagna, pasta pomodoro, salad, and corn fritters. The corn fritters were good, everything else was average. For dessert we had the hazelnut torte and that was just ok. I was expecting something with more hazelnut flavor.

We had two dinners here on a recent trip to Austin. The service is top notch professional, they have a great wine list and everything we had to eat was very good... Pasta, starters with proscuitto, fish. If there are no tables available, sit up at the bar. It's dark and a bit noisy and efficient yet friendly. Highly recommend experiencing this place for dinner.

We've eaten here about 5 or 6 times over the last 15 years for special occasions and always loved it. For my wife's birthday we made a reservation for Saturday night. Great service, as usual. We shared an excellent Cesar Salad. We also shared the Pasta with White Clam Sauce and Lasagna for dinner. The Pasta was terrific but I was a bit surprised to find it was a bit on the spicy side. Not terribly, but enough heat to taste and it did overwhelm the flavor a bit. The Lasagna came with a link of sausage that was actually too spicy for either of us to eat. It was a huge portion and we only had a little as we're not big eaters. It too had a bit of hot spice to it, that again was more noticeable than I would have preferred. My wife had Lemon Cheesecake for dessert. It was really good and although I only had a taste, we both enjoyed it. There was more than enough Lasagna for us both to have it for dinner the next night and it was good, but I've never eaten any Italian Cuisine before (except for a Fra Diavlo dish) that was so spicy. The spicyness didn't bother my wife. The dinner was very good but to me it would have been a better if it wasn't quite as hot. As my wife, the Birthday Girl, was happy, the night was quite a success.

Welcome Home Daniel Brooks!! Host Juan Huerta and staff serve the very best consistently delicious food in ATX!! Our very favorite

if you are in the mood for good Italian, this is definitely one of the best places in Austin. The atmosphere is nice and lively, its good both for a romantic night or late dinner with friends. The service was superb! We enjoyed the white anchovies for starter, followed by delicious cioppino and halibut risotto. Will definitely be back!

Bartenders Tom and Joshua and Chef Ryan all deserve 5 stars. The owner gets zero stars. My wife had an encounter with a male staff member in the ladies restroom and the owner not only defended the staff member, but was rude and dismissive to me. Additionally he got aggressive when I tried to bring this to his attention. Good job Vespaio, you've just lost a pair of local patrons that have been frequent diners for well more than a decade. There are plenty of other Italian restaurants that take a patron's safety seriously. North Italia is our new home spot I guess.

You definitely wouldn't know it given the extent to which Austin's grown since it opened, but Vespaio was one of THE hottest tickets in town for a solid decade (and it's been open over 25 years now). They originally didn't take reservations except for tables before 5:30pm, and even on an average weeknight it could be a 45-minute wait for a table (or more like 90 minutes on weekends). OTOH as an Austin native who's more than a bit sick of how bougie S. Congress has gotten – not to mention the near-Manhattan-level difficulty of getting a reservation at the latest eight-seat omakase sushi place – Vespaio has aged so gracefully that you'd never know it's older than nearly any other retail business or *any* kind within viewing distance. And while its founding chef has moved on, most of his original recipes are still used today. Vespaio definitely isn't the hippest Italian place nowadays; Sammie's on West Sixth is the main draw for Austin's new celebrity / tech millionaire set. Their prices are similar, too. But Sammie's is only a couple of years old and was rather obviously designed with "Instagramability" in mind: it's part of a "hospitality group" that has very, VERY specific design for food & interiors alike. (Meanwhile, Vespaio predated social media *and* high-speed internet!) And Sammie's simply isn't as good. I occasionally get a subpar dish at Vespaio – more than in the past – but at this point in its life it's matured into a smooth groove. If someone not familiar with Austin restaurants asks me what I'd recommend for a last-minute booking at a place that *doesn't* have bad food, Vespaio has been my main go-to ever since they *finally* added OpenTable for bookings in advance.

I'm not much on a Italian foodie but this place was excellent. It is actually two restaurants but have different names so Uber drivers get a little confused on where to pick you up. Enoteca Vespaio is right next door and just the more casual of the two restaurants with a smaller menu. Vespaio is the more formal of the two but not stuffy. We were dressed nice but not overdressed and did not feel uncomfortable. they serve beer, wine and have a full service bar which is a plus for us! I have to say the Carpaccio is probably the best we have ever had and the portion was huge. Definitely could accommodate 4 and was plenty for the two of us. They are known for their Lasagna but I did not have any since they mentioned it is a large portion and we were staying across the street at the South Congress Hotel and didn't to tote around leftovers. It was recommended by a local person and was a great recommendation. We had no issues getting in and I am not sure if they take reservations but you may want to call ahead.

Staff that go out of their way to serve and help, simple food with fabulous flavours, and decent pricing. Every dish we had was tasty including the kids meals, which where real food made with as much care as those for the adults. Love this place and would certainly go back for more

I really enjoyed this restaurant, Jeffery our waiter was great, guided us through the menu and wine list to ensure we got the most out of our evening. Food was delicious, this is a buzzy type of place, dont go if you want a quiet dinner. Lots of fun, perfect for a group

Food was not good. Calamari was tough and not fresh, Mussels were OK. Satimbocca was terrible. They used spinach instead of Escarole. Which made the dish bitter. The prosciutto was terrible with the dish. Very Stringy. It was cheap. And they charged enough to make it great, but is sucked. The location is not special and the room is not special, so why so expensive. Sometime people this high $$$ makes it good not in this case.

Tonight we had dinner at Enoteca Vespaio in Congress Street. Loved the ambience, the service is amazing, the waitress was really super nice. We tasted 4 wines before deciding which bottle to order, all good! Dinner was very good, we were all happy with what we ordered. Two of us shared a Caprese Salad (very nice) and a prosciutto pizza (I found it tasty but a bit oily). Tip, when I asked how big was the pizza the answer was 6 slices, honestly, slices were big, to me there were 12 slices! I would’ve loved to try the tiramisu, next time!!!

House made paster, sausage and cheese make this a very unique Italian restaurant. The atmosphere is very romantic. The only problem is that they do not take reservations. I go early so I do not have to wait.

We almost didn't go here because of the reservation policy. We don't like to stand in line for a table. But on Sundays you can get a reservation at 6:30 or before. Since it rained, there were a lot of no-shows anyway (jerks that didn't bother to call), so seating was easy. I don't know what to say bad about this place, since there isn't anything. Server was great, food divine. Everything in Austin is on the pricey side, so that's not an issue. But this place has no rip off prices on wine. And everything (fish, steak) was perfect. You might want a four wheel drive to negotiate the drive into the parking lot.

Were told by many people to hit this place up for authentic family owned Italian. Went during the week so not a long wait, sat at the tiniest table I've ever seen. It was barely the size of a plate, 2 little tiny chairs to match and right by the kitchen door. Which would make you think our food would be extra hot when it came out.....nope, it was tepid. I had the saltimbocca which is pictured above. It should have been tender and cut like butter (veal) but it was not. It was a bit over floured (you could taste the flour) or maybe the cooking was rushed. It had very little flavor except the lemon I squeezed on it myself and pepper flakes I added to get some kind of taste from it. Again we were starving so I wasn't sending it back. My daughter had a pizza and it was delicious, light crust cooked perfectly with wonderful pancetta chunks and light sauce. It was just perfect. Ordered a tiramisu and it was lackluster. No coffee flavor or liqueur - tasted like pudding and dry cake, very disappointing.

My wife and I were lucky enough to get a table for our last night of a TX vacation. We chose the restaurant based on others reviews and could not have been more pleased with our choice. The service from Sam was outstanding and the food absolutely delicious! We had the Wagyu beef carpaccio which was melt in your mouth fantastic. For dinner we had the tagliatelle con funghi and the carbonara. The menu changes frequently with all items being freshly made in house. We appreciated Richard checking with us at towards the end of the meal to ensure our experience was great. If you are fortunate enough to go to this restaurant you will love it!

Start with the bar--great service--excellent drinks. My rye Manhattan was perfect. Wait staff are friendly, knowledgeable and professional. Then the food--perfectly prepared & served. Great overall experience. They only take reservations for the first seating so you may have to wait--I grabbed a seat at the bar until a table was open.

Stopped in for supper before a gig and ordered bucatini con vongole. Tasty but it was not bucatini (thick pasta with a little hole through it). It was spaghetti. No big deal but I was in the mood for bucatini. Oh well. Waitress was nice and service was prompt.

Party of six. We had the pizza. The gazpacho, lasagna, pasta dishes, fish specials, and salads. Everything was wonderful.

Beginning with the upscale casual setting and atmosphere through the exquisite dinner and superb service, our experience at Vespaio ranked at the top for Austin eateries. The décor was rustic Italian, lovely table settings, casual, energetic but quite easy to converse without raising your voice. Our server was most patient, allowing 3 old friends to catch up before asking for orders. The calamari was slightly spicy and the best I believe I've ever had. Cheeses, button mushrooms, sweet peppers. Linguine Con Vongole was delicious with very fresh clams. The scampi and the Melanzane exceptional. So full that we skipped desert but did take a look at all the fresh-for-the-day samples. Excellent overall with quality service and delicious food!!

Vespaio is one of Austin’s best. It’s been around for 20 years now and has consistently served wonderful meals in a fun and cozy atmosphere. Their extensive wine list will not disappoint and their in-house homemade pasta is some of the best I’ve had. I usually always try to get one of the chef’s specials of the evening and they are creative and delightful. I highly recommend a visit here, you will not be disappointed.

This was recommended to us by an art dealer and we cannot thank her enough. The food is great. While it is Italian you will find a bit of Texas spice in some dishes. I had the lasagna with three types of meat in the sauce with spinach noodles-to die for. Best meal we had in Austin.

Walked down South Congress until we were hot and thirsty and ducked into Vespaio for Happy Hour (4-6). I had a Hopadillo IPA. But my wife lived her Bluebonnet Margarita which was terrific. The fresh mozzarella and avocado was exceptional as well.

Vespaio has been around for many years. It's still a wonderful restaurant. The food was excellent and the service was even better! There were three of us for dinner. Our server suggested that we might want to order family style - some small plates to share, in addition to our entrees. This enabled us to taste more dishes, all of which were thoroughly enjoyable! Since Vespaio in on South Congress, the parking can be a problem. There is, however, a small parking lot directly behind the restaurant which has a valet to take care of your car. The valet service is free, but it's definitely worth a nice tip to be so close to the restaurant!

Our son’s family lives nearby Vespaio so we often order take-out dinner from there and we love it. First of all, parking for dinner on South Congress Ave is always a challenge but Vespaio is one of the few restaurants with a parking lot. But even then, it is often full. But if you are doing take-out, the attendant will let you double park if you ask. So, if the lot is full then so is the restaurant. And like any great restaurant in Rome, it will be noisy. And the food is wonderful. Calamari fritti is our favorite starter and we usually get the Caesar salad but the tricolore is also great. My wife swears by the Margherita pizza but the all-time best is prosciutto wrapped jumbo shrimp. Hope you go and have a wonderful time.

I have always loved Vespaio. It has been an easy go-to with Italian comfort food and new and exciting things to try. I also enjoy their wine selection. I had not visited the restaurant in a while, and I went on a date there the other night. The usual comforts were on the main menu, but we decided to additionally share an option from a separate menu. I saw so many things I wanted to eat, paired with things I either could not or do not typically eat. I was a little disappointed at first, but then I decided to get a recommendation from the wait staff and take the leap and try something different. We went for a seafood mixed grill along with the butternut squash half moon pasta. We also finished off the meal with a chocolate torte with caramel, and I honestly don't recall the other details, but the flavors came together beautifully. Vespaio has impressed me for several years, and I was happy to go back and surprise my palate with things I did not fathom I would enjoy. That was a memorable meal and night, and the service was excellent too!

Small and intimate dining room and bar. A little loud because it’s busy. Cuisine was straight out of Tuscany and the chef owner was behind the line directing the staff like a maestro. Great wine list and server was awesome. It’s on South Congress Street with plenty to see and do after dinner. A winner all around!

Service was good but the food was just ok, and I LOVE italian cuisine, so I'm easy to please. Agree with a reviewer that says calamari was dry and meh... Wine list by the glass offered many excellent options, more and better than most restaurants. And for dessert we had a really delicious chocolate hazelnut cake and a good tiramisú, not memorable, but good (try the cake if you only pick one dessert).

This place gets excellent reviews, food is good but not outstanding, service is adequate. Location is nice with good parking for customers.

Great place for a good Italian meal. Service was great. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Food was delicious. For sure a place to come back to when in Austin.

Quaint, charming, popular, great service & yummy food...... what more could a hungry diner want ??? This totally authentic Italian Restaurant provides home-made pastas, brick oven-fired pizzas and many delicious Italian delights ! They have an amazing exposed ( part of their decor) wine cellar with excellent pairings for their entres. affordably priced,no reservations , can take small to large tables, on trendy South Congress ( 1610 ) .....good place to go !!!

Three of us had lunch on September 3. Our book dealer was visiting from LA and requested Italian for lunch. He had the Aragosta and said that it was very good. I started with the soup of the day, a wonderful mushroom. My date for the day and I spit the manicotti. It is highly recommended and better than all the restaurants that we have visited in several trips to Italy. Our Wine was a better than average pino noir. Restaurant is highly recommended and we will return again. One of the best Italian. Very good parking

I took a friend here to celebrate her new job and what a treat it was for both of us! From start to finish, a flawless experience. The service was the best I've had in an American restaurant in YEARS, so special kudos to Ben, our server. The atmosphere was very European, the food was out of this world, and the wine perfectly matched the meal. We shared the fried calamari to start, which was heavenly, and then I had the orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe, a Puglian favourite, and it was truly delicious. The dessert, a chocolate and hazelnut cake, was orgasmic. Highly recommended, would definitely return the next time I'm in town.

We had a small family wedding after dinner and the event could not have gone more smoothly. The service was again exceptional. The food was delicious and plentiful. This remains one of our favorite spots to include in our visits to Austin.

Hands down. Excellent italian food and great desserts too. Nice place for a date night! Stellar wine selection, and wait staff that knows what they are offering!

Vespaio still uses the tactic that 'your table will be ready shortly' as it shunts you into the bar to make you wait before seating you, despite the fact that the place can be 70% empty. I guess some people order a drink. I just sit there and fume and swear I'll never go back. I do like their food, but now with a number of new Italian places in Austin, this one is no longer attractive. They could solve this problem if they chose to. I wish they would because the location is convenient to me, but I'll drive farther to find a place that respects my time.

South Congress is one of the nicest neighberhoods of Austin. You'll find lots of nice shops, galeries, street art and restaurants. Vespaio is one of the best, and at least a big surprise! The food was very good and the service perfect. Please try the lasagne, their specialty!

Good not great was how we described the fish special and salad and waitress service here. Looks like the pizza might have been the way to go. We did appreciate the management who was very present. This was certainly not an excellent or memorable Italian meal.

Walked into the restaurant and saw case with variety of olives and other delicious looking items. Five of us went there for dinner and we were happy we did. Quantities were large, food was awesome, and service was spot on. I'd highly recommend this if you get a chance. Our server was knowledgeable about the wines, and provided pairings for each diner's selection (although I didn't have wine that evening). Although it was not on the menu, I asked for a selection of those olives instead of a salad. No problem! My Red Snapper was done perfectly, tender and flaky with nice presentation and sides. Everyone was pleased, although some could not finish their portions. I'll definitely try to go back next time I'm visiting Austin.

Ate here today, 1/17/17, very nice lunch, great service, Italian panini was outstanding, my wife's spinach salad was a full meal. Prices were moderate. A very good lunch.

Excellent service food wine staff atmosphere...what more should I say. Great food good portions and nice prices. Would come back

Enoteca is open for lunch, unlike Vespaio, which is open only for dinner during the week. Was in town for business and needed a chill place for lunch, so decided to try it out. It was busy, but I was able to get a table pretty quickly. Decided to eat lightly, so tried two appetizers: roasted beet and fennel salad and meatballs. The salad was great: light and not overly dressed. The addition of caraway seed was unique and tasty. The meatballs were sublime: light and tender. The small amount of red sauce was just right. Great place.

I hosted a large dinner party at Vespaio - the manager came into great us - all the staff / service were excellent. The restaurant is not very big, and you may have to wait during busy times. The lasagna is excellent, as is the carbonara - both VERY good. The wood fired pizzas were really the show stopper - highly recommend them. Generally speaking - this is no brainer on the 'what should I get front' - its all good - enjoy!

This place was recommended by the Omni SouthPark but en route the cabbie said it was so-so. Evidently he had not enjoyed a meal here!. The food , atmosphere and wait-staff are #1 !! There were a group of us attending a conference and wanted something different than the hotel offerings, WE had a vote and Italian won out, so we asked the Concierge/Bellman for a suggestion. (I gave him a big tip when I left) What a great place !!!!! Family recipes, authentic Italian and a great wine list. The anti-pasta choices are not your typical fare and they are full of perfectly matched flavors, every Entree we ordered was great and you could taste the fresh ingredients. They had no problem with our large group Italian in Austin ...This is a THE place.

I'm not really sure how to rate this restaurant. On the one hand, the menu and prices are completely off-putting and more than a tad inflated. However, even though the menu is stuffy and pretentious, the environment and staff are not! Everyone we dealt with were super friendly and really made us feel comfortable. Even so, the menu left us scratching our heads.... Not really my cup of tea and I've certainly paid far less for much better Italian food, but we didn't leave hungry, either. See what I mean? It's really hard to say... ;)

This is one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten at, Italian or any other type. The restaurant is conveniently located on S Congress. There is some free parking in the back. Our server Chris was one of the best I've ever had. He shared his detailed knowledge of the menu with opinions thereof and was correct on everything. He spent just the right amount of time with us. He recommended the lasagna which was incredible, the best I have ever eaten. The margherita pizza and linguine with clams were also excellent. The fresh made bread was beyond compare. I highly recommend Vespaio as one of the best restaurants in Austin or anywhere.

Note that this place isn’t owned by Italians and the chef isn’t Italian so the recipes aren’t traditional BUT they are tasty. The carpaccio is a sizeable plate. The beef looks fresh, simple greens are abundant, and the seasoning including shaved cheese and some capers isn’t over-powering. Pappardelle with bolognese ragout was soupy and the pasta was way too broad but the ingredients were manageable, properly cooked, and savory. Bread accompaniment (focaccia and ciabatta) was fresh and good. Apparently pasta and breads are prepared in house. There is a selection of typical Italian reds (and other wines not sampled) from good vineyards that were well matched with the food. An Italian style cheese cake with espresso did not disappoint. Is this place over-priced, as others have written? I don’t think so for what it offers in Austin (which is becoming a surprisingly expensive town).

An Italian restaurant on Congress Avenue is always busy. Reservations in advance are necessary. The food is excellent, balanced flavors and people with a stomach reduction are also taken into account.

Great food incredible atmosphere!!! We got small salads and split a panini. My husband raves for hours about the panini!!! Great service too

I highly recommend Vespaio. I have dined here for 6 years and the food has remained consistently great! The menu offers a wide variety of Italian dishes, salads, pastas and meats. And their deserts are fantastic, all in a great S. Congress setting, so there are lots of great bars and shops next door too.

We enjoyed a long evening here, barely catching breath as we caught up with friends we had not seen for years. The restaurant is small, and the service unobtrusive but most attentive. We had some excellent valpolicello ripasso, and enjoyed a selection of antipasti to share first. That included some superb home made mozzarella. My main was the risotto of the day. It turned out to be the rice equivalent of Mac n cheese. It tasted divine but the portion was huge, it was so rich I would have preferred something less than half the size as I really could not manage much of it. But overall really enjoyed it.

Great service. Close to my hotel. Wine list was stellar and the Lasagna was amazing. This restaurant had great food, great service and great ambiance. Highly recommended.

we discovered this restaurant about a year ago and told our friends that were moving to Austin about it. We visited them this week and brought them there last night. We bragged about this place to them and Vespaio didn't disappoint. Superb service by Morgan, great atmosphere and of course fantastic food. Saltimbocca and Scallops were great !

Avoid unless you want to get SICK and be treated poorly! Decided to give this place a try on 8/25 and my bf and I got bad FOOD POISONING the next morning that lasted all day, and we had to cancel our evening plans. We shared a lasagna and pizza so not sure which got us sick, but this is the only meal we ate in common all week. We called and the manager apologized and said we’d get a refund but they had to investigate more and that the GM would call us. Never got a call. A week later I called back and after being placed on hold for 10 minutes and calling back 4 more times (the calls would go to VM so we called back on my bf’s number and they picked up the phone and the girl said “ohh yeaaa sorry about that”) we finally got ahold of the GM and he told us that the chef owner said he wouldn’t honor the refund we were promised because there should have been more people calling in but we were the only ones, basically saying “we don’t believe you”. A batch of food doesn’t have to be contaminated in order to get you sick…it was likely due to the way our meals were prepared. We were also asked by both a manager and GM if we saw a doctor or not. We did not see a doctor. We just toughed it out, but why does that matter? We were promised to get a call back on 9/4 from the other co-owner and even told “he’s really good about calling people back” but yet again, no call back. At this point, I’m baffled at their lack of accountability. Never have I ever experienced a restaurant with such a lack of integrity or regard for customers, and this is the only restaurant we’ve gotten food poisoning in our 3 years in Austin. Keep in mind our bill was only for 2 entrees, and they are risking their reputation over saving a small amount of money. On top of all that, we only ate less than half our meal and took most of it to go, and those leftovers had to be tossed. It’s been over 2 weeks now, still waiting on a call back. This has been so frustrating and they need to be called out.

Food and Service was superb. A good time was had by all!! Was meeting with friends from other parts of country who were there for our Fall Juice Plus Conference.

Delicious Italian food in hot spot in Austin! Outstanding butternut squash ravioli, tasty Spagetti Pompadora, and delicious Campanella with truffles.

Vespaio's location in Austin's famously quirky South Congress Avenue district might lead you to think it's a quirky restaurant. Nothing could be farther from the truth. With red velvet drapes and curved walls of wine bottles, this dark place looks more like a New York steak house than a southwestern Italian restaurant. Vespaio's high prices fit well in a neighborhood that looks funky on the outside, but is replete with over-the-top fashion and furniture emporiums. Even on a Wednesday night, this place was hopping. Staff never "walked" anywhere; they were moving briskly to deliver food, beverages and otherwise attend to their tables. The food is outstanding. Perfectly prepared, exquisitely presented and superlatively delivered by servers who have been trained well to cater to customers' special interests and every detail at the table. (How often in a restaurant have you been asked whether you'd prefer the fresh cracked pepper on your salad to be "coarse" or "finely" ground?) Silverware is carefully placed - and replaced between courses. And when our server returned to check on our meals after a few bites, it was clear she really wanted to know if we'd like more dressing for our salad, or some additional condiments for our mains. Our tricolore salad ($13) was delicious and enough to share, but not enormous. Our pasta-with-eggplant (a pretty standard Italian dish) ($26) was nicely presented, generously portioned and excellent. One of the daily "specials," our risotto with a small salmon slab and two prawns ($36), looked dramatic with the seafood embedded in a "sea" of squid-ink risotto completely covering our plate. It, too, tasted wonderful; the salmon was flaky inside but pleasantly crispy on top. Gelato for dessert ($4.50 for a generous scoop) was likewise delicious. Several varieties of bread served with an herb-and-bean pate made a nice accompaniment. There's a free parking lot adjacent to the restaurant, and Vespaio's does accept reservations (though not on Open Table). Immediately next door, the "cafe" version of the same name offers lower prices for more standard/less exotic entrees and a lighter environment.

Have dined here a dozen times. Finally getting around to penning a well-deserved 5-Star Review. Customers are usually greeted and seated by the owner/manager. A waiter or waitress appears almost instantly — armed with knowledgeable recommendations about the night’s specials or the regular excellent stand-bys on the menu. Nice wine list and good recommendations always. My personal favorite is their lasagna — each portion made individually only after your order has been placed. Truly one of the two best lasagnas anywhere in my entire foodie experience. My date loves their veal dishes — any and all! Caesar salad always a good accompaniment. Soups as well. And desserts to die for! Mmmmmm! Already planning a return right after New Year’s!

We had just checked into the Colton House in Austin (awesome hotel btw) and went to the cafe for a late lunch where we heard a debate between the waiters/bartenders about the best place to go for dinner. One debated place (Wespaiao) caught our ear so we made a reservation. Upon arriving, the place did not (even for a second) disappoint! Our waiter Daniel provided the best waite service we have experienced in our 40 years of dining out (ie we’ve had many friendly and competent waiters but unique for us this time was that Daniel provided the full package with entre/drink choice expertise and was always close enough during the dinner to catch our attention if we needed anything!) … this was interesting because when we made the reservation, the receptionist gave us a “McDonald’s-type” sigh and was barely helpful so we expected much less but fortunately Daniel was there to save the evening and the entrees were outstanding! Thank you Vespiao for providing an experience of epic food quality and hospitable - definitely 5-star food and service

Our first visit was absolutely delightful! Interesting menu, delicious food, and a friendly and engaging staff: hostess, dining room staff, waiters, etc. Vespasio was an amazing find. However, I refrain from posting a review/opinion of restaurants until I confirming my findings after at least 2 visits. So, back we went – the very next night. And visit #2 – with a different wait staff and trying different menu offerings – was just as delightful. My guess is that the clientele is primarily locals because this spot is a bit off the trodden way. Nevertheless, it is close enough to downtown to qualify for serious consideration by out-of-towners like us. Overall: Try It – You’ll Love It!

I have enjoyed several lovely dinners at Vespaio but it had been several years since my last experience. Wow, my latest dining experience was wonderful and better than ever! (don't get me wrong, Vespaio has always been excellent). The service; perfect, I think Matt was our waiter; the location; great, SoCo is always fun; BUT the food, AWESOME. I had scallops with carrots and potatoes that was so delicious, so different, so unique. I really felt like this restaurant was not just 'resting on it's reputation' but still pushing the culinary envelope and still a very relevant part of the Austin food scene. Can' wait to go back.

Love this place. Been going here since 2004. MInimal Turn over in staff all that time. Or at least key players carry on the tradition of excellent service and just straight up congeniality. Love it. Full bar. Wood. Brass. Dimmed lighting. Excellent wine selection. Standard dishes and specials all to please. Good for groups, singles, dates, whatever, conspiracies, plots, schemes, visions, or simple contemplation. But, whatever, you are doing, order some Tuna Tartar or carpaccio or maybe some mussels. Get a big fat Bottle of Red. Try their pizza with over easy egg on it. Try that seafood stew. Get some chocolate. Go home and sit on the couch and take it easy.

The menu is very interesting, lots of choices. Excellent pizza, average fettuccine bolognese, over priced risotto. Large selection of wines, definitely could make wine spectator ranking. However, the prices, the amount of food was just good. Do not get the bruschetta, the worst bruschetta I’ve ever eaten at an Italian restaurant in the US. I cannot understand why restaurants in America continue to OVER charge for wines. The dollar is very strong now, the idea of charging you 60 dollars for a bottle of Lambrusco is crazy 🤪 The lime panna cotta was amazing

We had the stuffed mozzarella appetizer and it was delicious. Homemade breads were very good. The LASAGNE ALLA BOLOGNESE with the spinach pasta was some of the best I've ever had and plenty to share between the two of us. As good as the food was, the service by Carlos was even better. We would highly recommend this dining experience and look forward to dining here again when we return to Austin.

Nextdoor to the restaurant, they serve antipasti and coffee. I wasn't hungry, just wanted a strong black coffee, not from Starbucks. They wrote "italian coffee" on the outside, so I tried it and it was excellent, you can see it's strong by it's color. Perfect for my afternoon. Anyway, my friend told me the restaurant is really good, maybe in my next visit I'll try it.

Took my girlfriend (who is Italian and picky on Italian food) for dinner. She had cioppino and I had lasagna. The lasagna was the best I have had (she loved it also) and the cioppino was outstanding. The tiramisu finished the meal perfectly. The food was outstanding, the service excellent, the atmosphere extremely comfortable. I don't know how I would have improved it.

This restaurant has been around quite a while, which for Austin, that is saying something, as the culinary competition can put anyone out of business easily. Vespaio was on the best restaurants list years ago and I recently took my family there for a birthday celebration and we had a fantastic experience. We had the pappardelle bolognese, the octopus and ravioli, the slow roasted beef with risotto, and the lasagna and all were fantastic. Also some of the best calamari as well as burrata I've ever had. They even made a pizza for my 9 year old that was a big hit ("best ever"). Great service, great atmosphere and location (there is parking in the back!) and great food. Highly recommend!

Location is gr8 , service was 100%, the food was delicious we had buratta yummmy, pizza thin from the wood oven crust and pasta , I will go again

Things started off nicely with a very nice wine by the glass menu having a very tasty Amorone for $20. Next the bread came out which again was a great sign of what was to come. To our surprise that's where it ended. Salad were just so so. The Burata was O.K and all of our main dishes were over cooked pasta and risotto. I had the risotto special with pork that just didn't go well with the over cooked rice in the risotto. It was like soup. My wife had the eggplant pasta and the pasta was over cooked again and created a ball of dough. I also had a side of bolognese that was a lump of pasta with a not so good meat sauce. The pumpkin ravioli was also a mess.

Used to go there for lunch with friends all the time, and I still remember their prosciutto panini - and drool lol. Good good good food. We also used to get chocolate mousse for desert. A bit pricey but is worth it, in my opinion.

I was pleasantly surprised by Vespaio! I’m staying at the Hotel San José and wanted to check out a spot for dinner close by. There were no reservations available for one but I walked in, the bar is large and there was room available at 5:15pm. By the time I left at 6:30 is was pretty crowded. I had a green salad which was fine but wow the lasagna was amazing - it was rich but somehow felt light at the same time. Highly recommend this dish for carnivores! Also really appreciated the many wines by the glass. Service was attentive. I would definitely come back and want to try the Enoteca Austin (Vespaio) next door!

Vespaio is a lovely, cozy restaurant with great servers and food! We did not have a reservation, but they were able to squeeze us in for a quick dinner. I would definitely recommend making reservations. There were 4 of us and we each LOVED our meals!

We stopped on the sidewalk to review the menu and happened to strike a conversation with the owner. He told us about how all meals are prepared by hand, and even the meats are filleted in the kitchen and pastas are prepared on site everyday. He mentioned that the lasagne would be the best we ever had, so we challenged his claim. Sure enough, the lasagne was the best flavor and freshest layers I have ever tasted. The owner, chef and servers seem to love what they do. The aesthetic's cozy, wine choices are excellent, the salads could not have been fresher, and the service was professional. One very happy visit to SoCo!

Nice atmosphere. Really good wine list and menu. Loved that they offer half plates of pasta so our group could try more of the many things that looked (and were) so good! The marinara sauce serrved on the side with one of our appetizers was so yummy we wouldnt let them take it away...good for bread dipping. Waitstaff gave good thoughtful recommendations. Highly recommend. Will come back next time I am in Austin

Service was very friendly and efficient. My companion had the scampi, which looked delicious, with large full-bodied shrimp and she loved it (I had no doubt, owing to the restaurant's reputation. I had the spaghetti carbonara (a rare dish here in TX, and probably the U.S.), and it was a disappointment. The pasta was not al dente, and the taste was pedestrian at best. I guess my meals in Italy have made me expect too much. I suggest you try their other dishes - their reputation has been too good for too long, and my friend has good taste.

Mike was our waiter and gave the best recommendations off the special menu. Through pleased with the atmosphere and quality of the food. Get the caesar salad with extra anchovies. The quail special was amazing!

Yes, their entire Italian cuisine is far and above other spots in Austin. The menu standard butternut squash ravioli is transcendent. But when you want the best pizza in town, make your way here. A giant brick oven roars in the kitchen and pizzas come out crisp and savory every time. A raw egg is cracked on top and allowed to cook as the pie is delivered to your table. Just like in the Mother Land! Víva Italia! FREE valet parking behind the building sets this place apart. We prefer to eat in the bar rather than wait for a table. The bartenders are the most knowledgeable we ever encounter in Austin. Feel daring? Sit at the bar and put yourself in the bartenders’ hands completely! Let them decide what you will eat and drink. You will not leave disappointed. They know the special items that won’t be found on the menu. Eat like a local!

We just happened to stumble across this restaurant while walking on S. Congress Ave and took a peek inside their menu. The place looked inviting enough so we decided to give it a try. Wow! We were certainly not disappointed. Most of us ordered the Lasagna and it was very good. The atmosphere was very quiet so all of us at the table were easily able to carry on a conversation. I'm not a wine person so I cannot comment directly on the wine selection but the wine list looked very extensive. The room we were in had hundreds of bottles of wine nicly displayed on multiple shelves. If I am every back in the Austin area again, I would definitely make sure I had at least one dinner at this restaurant.

WOW. Food incredible. Especially the donuts with chocolate sauce paired with gelato. Staff incredibly knowledgeable and welcoming. 20 years in business I know why now. Not to be missed if you’re in the hood

This is where the hip SoCo people do Italian and it lives up to the hype. We had tried to come in the past, and the wait was often over two hours long. On this particular night, we had an early evening event downtown, and got in with no reservation after only a 10 minute wait (after being warned it could be 30). The pasta was as good as any we've had in Italy, the caprese was creative with buffalo that melted in our mouths, and the Cantina Andriano Pinot Nero was a drink of heaven. Service was very professional, and a lot of pretty people were eating all around us. The bar was jumping, with many groups of younger diners obviously opting to eat on the smaller tables there rather than the quieter main restaurant. Great place for a date provided you can score a table...and then perhaps you will do so afterwards as well!

Absolutely make a reservation because the location is in a busy section of South Congress and the food is fabulous. The shrimp scampi is outstanding with very large shrimp and cream sauce pasta. Excellent wine list. This restaurant is very lively.

We were not impressed with our meals. I ordered the lasagna bolognese and my WiFi the Papardella bolognese. Both had way too much meat and hardly any pasta. It was like eating meat loaf. The Caesar salad was just okay. The service was excellent and the choices of wine very extensive. Price was reasonable but I would not return.

We had called an uber to bring us downtown for some Italian food. The driver asked why we had picked the restaurant where we wanted to go and we told him it got pretty good reviews on Yelp. He suggested to bring us to a much better Italian restaurant which was also closer so we ended up at Vespaio. Well we are very grateful for our driver because everything about Vespaio was fantastic. The atmosphere, the wine, the calamari, the mixed seafood grill and on top of that world class service by our waiter Ben. A solid 5 star establishment all the way around !!!

Had to be the 1 of the best Bolognese I've ever had! Great atmosphere. Great service. We will definitely be back next time we're in Austin!

NOTE: Vespaio is only open for dinner, but its companion, connected, lunch-time restaurant is Enoteca. Many of the same menu items are served, and they share a kitchen! We have been here numerous times for Happy Hour in the bar side, and once for dinner. The HH here is tops in Austin, IMO. HH specialties include (for me) the Caesar salad. It's served with white anchovies, and is excellent. Follow it with the prosciutto pizza (fontina cheese, layered with arugula, and lots of prosciutto, topped with two sunny-side-up, oven-baked eggs, brushed with truffle oil) and your meal is mostly done. I don't often eat dessert but, when I do, it's the chocolate mousse here. They have an extensive wine list, and the bartenders are highly knowledgeable as to pairings.

Visited here with friends in August on recommendation of colleague. We had the lasagne and cacao e pepe and it was amazing. Pasta was fresh, restaurant has nice wine selection from 30 to 150 per bottle. Highly recommend to try.

One of our favorites! Whether for. Special occasion or just a dinner to feel special. The staff is friendly, personable and always helpful. The food deliscioso!

Good wine, good cherry pepper appetizer and dinner. Perfect. Excellent staff and customer service. At home atmosphere.

Had lunch here mainly because we found a parking space in their lot. This was our lucky day. We had the best pizza ever with a very thin homemade crust. The toppings included homemade sausage, arugula, and cheese. It was the special of the day and every bite was delicious. We also had a very nice glass of wine from a quite extensive list. I would recommend this place.

We arrived for a late dinner about 8:30 pm. They seated us promptly. Excellent staff. Very knowledgeable and helpful. The only complaint is the low lighting in the restaurant made it hard to read the menu. No worries though the waitress was happy to answer any questions we had. The food was flavorful and hot. We will definitely visit again. Parking was a little tight in the back but available.

We Ubered over from downtown which takes a bit of time from 5:15-6:30 so please allow time. We were offered any table in the house at 6:30 after initially being shown a busy traffic 4 top in front of the kitchen. My carpaccio was nice enough. My friends shrimp scampi was outstanding in terms of of the sauce, shrimp cook time and homemade looking pasta. The cioppino was liked by another person at the table. The other meal had a mix up on the description and actual delivery so it took another 15 minutes to be served an alternative. The server and manager were very attentive. It became very loud. I like Red Ash better for the carpaccio, ambiance and noise level which is lower at the chef’s table. This is nice enough.

We went there for a Sunday dinner. The experience was OK, but below our expectations. The portion of Cacio e Pepe was far from what it should taste like (at least how I expected it to be in a good Italian restaurant), perhaps a Southern adaptation of the original recipe? The place was noisy (we also had a large party of six next to us). Overall, the place is Ok, although a bit too expensive for what it has to offer.

Great Italian place with a nice ambiance and fabulous food and service! We had lobster ravioli in a creamy tomato sauce, pork cutlet saltimboca and fantastic mussels! Limoncellos were $10 which is a bit expensive but other than that I highly recommend this place!

I've been here a few times over the years, and most recently in May, 2019. My date and I got a pizza, a salad, and the most amazing appetizer that can best be described as a bufalata. It was on a special menu for the evening so I can't get the real title. Everything was amazing and the wait staff is very attentive. I can't imagine anything being less that perfect if you try this place- and if it is, they'll make it right for you. They brought us the wrong pizza, then went back and made the right one and let us have both- and we didn't even bring it to their attention!

Checking out this restaurant online, I thought that an intimate dinner could be had here because of the prices and the menu. This is definitely not the case. Be prepared to shout to your dinner partner. While perusing the menu, our waiter brought out some delicious bread and what we thought was a flavored butter. Neither of us liked it and asked for olive oil. Turns out it was not butter but mashed white beans. Is this a Mexican restaurant? We ordered the baked oysters which were tasty, especially with the arugula. We then had the mushroom filled pasta and the lasagna. I would recommend the lasagna for anyone who loves meat. The sauce was also very good. We ended With tiramisu for dessert. Nothing special but ended the meal on a sweet note. I don’t think that we will return because of the atmosphere and the prices. The waitstaff was very attentive either.

Walking into this restaurant for the first time I was amazed at the walls of wine! Surely I was going to have a great meal. I was there with four friends. None of us are wine snobs but all are seasoned world travelers and we don't drink Ripple. The carpaccio and oyster appetizers were superb, so was my entree, the linguine with clams. Probably the best ever for me on that one. Where they fall flat is with a waiter guessing about the wines. We made the mistake of letting him choose for us, giving him the criteria that we wanted something similar to a Syrah or heavy cab. What we got was lightweight Pinot Noir, nearly pink, bereft of flavor. We sent a second choice back, it was even worse. The third bottle was still a very light red wine. We gave up. When you have a restaurant full of wine a person knowledgeable in wine should be present. The waiter had no clue. Some time in the future I may return but before I do I will educate myself on what wines they may have. I don't need another disappointing experience.

We were there on a Sunday night and at 7:30 PM , were seated right away. Then it got fully packed. Service was professional and efficient. This is authentic Italian and so there are no frills. Just go for the great tasting food. On pasta dishes, they have a small portion and a large portion. Everyone in our party had the best experience. They have excellent wines too. A memorable dinner!

I always invite friends, family and business colleagues to this amazing treasure on South Congress. You feel as thought you are in Italy with superb food and attention to your every need. There is nothing I would not recommend!

Went there for my birthday and sister and husband's anniversay. Staff a was very friendly and made great suggestions from the menu. Great appetizers were had, and the entrees were not skimpy. Atmosphere was great and service excellent. Would not hesitate to go back. Had as great experience there.

We went for the first time tonight to celebrate my birthday and it was easily the best meal we’ve had in a long time. Our servers Ricky and Rosemary were knowledgeable about the menu and helped us make great selections. The wagyu main was out of this world, and the caccio e pepe was the best we’ve ever had. Will definitely be back!!

As an Austin local I've never considered reviewing a restaurant in my own city until now. Vespaio is hands down the best Italian restaurant in Austin. We celebrated a birthday dinner there last night. As always the service, food and ambience were all top notch. Vespaio is an Austin must for locals and visitors alike! The freshest food and best wine selection make it a place we will frequent for a long time to come. Help keep these local businesses alive and well along South Congress and eat, shop and enjoy while in Austin!

Mid size Italian restaurant with most everything handmade in house per the waiter. Mozzarella pulled for each order. Homemade pasta. Large wine list. The special risotto othe day usually takes 30 min. The cioppino was excellent with a rich flavorful sauce and lots of seafood. Risotta of day was creamy, rich and the perfect texture covered with shaved pork saddle.The pansoti di zucca was rich pasta filled with butternut squash, brown butter, amaretti which was creamy sweet and delicious. Variety of breads with rich creamy garlic hummus spread. Large wine list and many specialty cocktails. Desserts were standard Italian. Tortoni was so so. Service very good. Nice ambiance. Relatively quiet even though crowded. Street parking or nearby garage. Reservations taken only from 5:30 -6:30, then first come first serve, We arrived about 7P on a Sunday and were told 30 min. Actually was about 15 min. Nice bar area to wait and have a drink.

Small place but not too loud. Excellent service and prices were reasonable. There is also a courtyard on the side of the building for outdoor dining. That all said, go there and order the veal meatballs stuffed with Fontina cheese dish (SPAGHETTINI CON POLPETTE DI VITELLO) a glass of Chianti and you will be in heaven.

The wood fired pizze was amazing. My fiancé and I ate here the night before his Ironman triathlon and we loved it. He got a spaghetti dish and I got the pizza but we shared. The calamari was lit and we had the small Italian donut spheres (I forget what they’re called so I renamed them) and they were phenomenal. Service was great. It was a pretty busy Saturday night and we only waited about 30 minutes to get in. We sat at a table that was near the kitchen so I was able to watch the dough-slayer make pies and put them in the wood fire oven all evening. It was wonderful!

Vespaio is one those places that when you finally go and experience for yourself, completes you. Everything here is perfect in every way, and I want to marry their mussels just so I can be in the family. Go here right now!!

Our last night's dinner in Austin was this quaint authentic Italian restaurant and we were not disappointed after a week of chowing down Mexican food, this was a very pleasant change.All six in our party enjoyed their respective entries. Both the house bread and shared calamari were exceptionally above average. Hard to imagine someone being disappointed with a meal here.

Perhaps my expectations where high. The antipastas were flavorful, and recommended and the tiramisu was wonderfully delicate, however, my bistecca was cooked poorly, one end of it was medium well done and the inside was just short of bloody, and it was tough to chew. At $30 a plate, you're paying for the ambiance, not the quality of their meats.

Had a lovely dinner with wonderful ambience, great service and fabulous good. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful. He suggested a great bottle of red wine. I also could not believe that Lasagna could cost $25 but it is actually worth it. Its a huge portion so 2 could share or eat some and take the rest home. This lasagna is made with a meat sauce that is made with veal and pork sausage so it is really yummy! We also had a wonderful appetizer and soup. So it was a 3 course meal with a nice bottle of wine! I would definitely recommend this restaurant --especially for a romantic dinner date or celebration. I hope to come again one day if we visit Austin again!

On a recent Sunday evening my older daughter and her family and my younger step-daughter and her husband celebrated a family birthday at Vespaio, the favorite Austin restaurant of the birthday lady. We had a table for seven in the "wine room", a quieter room of the restaurant, where it would be easier to talk and enjoy the evening. After settling, in we were greeted by our server for the night, Josefina, a very patient and attentive young lady who, with some of her co-workers, did a great job of taking care of us efficiently, professionally, and without hovering; unfortunately a not too common combination in many of my Austin dining experiences. She helped us select appetizers and starters, gave us time to enjoy our cremant and cocktails, timed and staged the delivery of our main courses, brought Juan, the manager/wine steward to our table to help with our red wine selection (a delicious 2010 amarone), all while ensuring the small, but important details like keeping our wine and water glasses full, cleaning the table (several times), and clearing unneeded dishes, were attended to. Our starters, including calamari fritti, steamed P.E.I. mussels with red sauce, buratta, and mussel chowder, were all well enjoyed. Out of the many delicious sounding main dishes, some from the menu of the day and some from the regular menu, our orders included mussels steamed in white wine, a margherita pizza, a butternut squash filled pasta dish for our vegetarian, and conchiglie with lump crab meat in a thick, creamy sauce. Everything was beautifully presented, served hot, and tasty. Plus, our Sancerre white and Amarone Valpolicella red wines paired well with our food. The only feedback is that, although the crab pasta was delicious and definitely crab flavored, there were no actual lumps of crab meat found in either of the plates ordered. So, maybe the menu description should be edited or the crab meat lumps should be more evident; still very tasty. Finally, after delivering the requested bill, Josefina actually came back to the table to retrieve the bill and my credit card in less than a minute; way less than what seems to be the Austin norm where your server inexplicably disappears for a 10-15 minute waiting period, thereby making sure your dinner ends on a sour note, which ours definitely didn't. Once again Vespaio has excelled in helping us enjoy another family celebration. Thank you and keep up the good work and the attention to detail.

I visited Vespaio about a year ago and since I was in Austin this week, I decided to come back to see if it was still as good. To my surprise (not), Vespaio is still as good and maybe even better than before. The food was excellent (I had the cacio e pepe of course) as was the wine and service. Congratulations. The only thing I would recommend to the manager - invite in the young lady that was playing the violin outside on Monday and let her earn some tips, while giving your patrons some very nice music.

Being from the Northeast and experiencing the best of all worlds I can tell you this is not true Italian food. Even the most basic Italian dishes for very short. For some reason the restaurant smells like smoke constantly. Parking is a nightmare in my opinion it’s not worth the high prices or the hassle. I’ve been here at least five times over the last three years and nothing has changed.

From the moment my wife and I walked into the place at 5:45, we knew it was a winner. We were seated promptly, and there were, all around us, a buzz of conversation and a feeling of celebration, in no small part the result of the highly interactive servers, ours in particular. There was a joke in the air, and we all felt we were part of it. That it was happy hour and the Mt. Etna red we ordered came at half price for the bottle did nothing to undermine the good feeling, the joke, the party. Dinner was delicious, but that was almost an after-thought; the fun was being among people who knew how to have a good time and were in fact having a good time. We've been in lots of Italian restaurants, many in Italy and Sicily, but this is the best example I know of what an Italian restaurant should be. Grazie!

Supppppper loud for dinner can't even hear yourself.... After 20 min waiting on food you go crazy with how loud the place is Not even the waiter can hear u talk The food is good but look at the bill for 6 dishes whow

I ate here just last night, and it was fabulous. Whilst we were surprised to have to wait for a table for around 40 minutes on a Sunday night, it was well worth the wait. The food was excellent.

From Memphis, and have to say this was some of the best Italian anywhere I have traveled. The atmosphere, decor, staff, and menu was superb. We sampled three types of salad including homemade mozzarella. Waiter was extremely knowledgeable of wine, pairings, menu. Definitely recommend on your next visit to Auston.

We were tired or eating starchy American food and wanted a good Italian and thankfully this was it. There are no reservations taken on Saturday so first come, first served. We waited no longer than 30 mins and I was worried that we have have a hurried dinner as it was getting close to closing time but this wasn't the case. We both had pasta dishes which were exceptional and the wine (although pricey) good. I would have rated the restaurant top markers but felt our waitress was a little condescending. Aside from that a great meal.

Ok. So you pay $12 for a meatball sandwich. The sandwich is half the size of what you get in other higher end Italian restaurants. And it does not come with any sides. I think it's fine to charge more for better quality food but this is ridiculous. The owners should take a trip to Cafe Milano, Carmelo's, Frank and Angie's and then ask themselves if their prices make sense.

This was my third or fourth trip to Vespaio and it keeps getting better. Everything on the menu at Vespaio's is excellent. The Cacio e Pepe, a difficult dish to make, is the best this side of the Atlantic and possibly the other side too. The Lasagna is famous and the owner will challenge you to say its not the best you've eaten or you don't pay for it. My partners in crime tried the Quail and found it fantastic. Beside the food, the wine selection and ambiance are also the best in Austin. If you live in or visit Austin, you must try Vespaio and tell me that I am full of rubbish. Thanks, Ana, and the rest of the staff. We will be back again.

This one is as easy as it gets. Hands down my favorite & the best restaurant in Austin. Nothing else compares when it comes to Italian. Best risotto since Italy....anywhere...everything we have had has been absolutely incredible. Great service that really almost feels more like family. They care about your experience. They are excellent when it comes to pairing food and wine for each course. Beautiful setting and ambiance. Time proven and seems to get better each time. Cannot say enough about how hands on the owners and the manager Jeb are. Jeb is so personal and so into seeing each and every dinner guest that sits down in the restaurant to eat. You truly leave time and worries at the f ont door and step back into feeling like you are in Europe. It's a joy to sit and eat in this gem. How lucky are we Austin!

I think we have tried every good Mexican restaurant in Austin. Takes a few years. This time we tried Vespaio. Our first time was at a peak time and we were a party of five, no reservations first come or wait list called. It was worth a considerable wait Portions are huge, consider splitting or taking half home. Bread is made there and is fabulous Caesar salad is perfect as is the Cioppino. Huge wine list but I don't drink so check it out.

Vespaio has an amazing atmosphere and excellent customer service. If you have a larger party, their wine room is beautiful and welcoming. For smaller parties, you'll be able to sit within view of the fire pizza oven and part of the kitchen. They treated my wife like a queen last night for her birthday, and the food was to die for!

First visit and boy was it worth it!! I'm going back Feb 28th on my next trip to Austin. I sat at the bar and the staff took great care of me and recommended each item I enjoyed. The Lamb Chop over risotto was the nightly special... To die for! Also, the mussels to start with were the best I've ever had. Finished it off with Tiramisu for desert. Great experience and we will be back soon. I wish they had a place this authentic in Houston. No place like this where I live. Brian Crow Houston, TX

This use to be the best Italian in Austin but based on this visit I don't think it gets my vote as that anymore. We visited for a celebration dinner for an RN who had just passed her Board exam and we were mostly disappointed. Service with P----r P was great, but the food was, well me too. I had the Bolognese and while the dish was plentiful, it was flavorless. 68 Degree Kitchen puts out a much better Bolognese. At $34 is was a poor value. The Pomodoro Entree got an 8 out of 10 rating. The Rigatoni got a 7 out of 10 for being too salty. The Carbonara got a 10. At $31, $35 and $34 in order all were poor values. The Calamri appetizer was delicious and at $19 was an okay value. The Pecan Salad (Misticanza) also was very nice and at $13 a fair value. The Lemon Panna Cotta, Chocolate Mouse, and Tiramisu deserts were all delicious as well. At $10, $10 and $13 all were an okay value.

Stopped for lunch and ordered meat balls and a four cheese pizza. Service was very slow to begin with as they were massively busy but did improve. Pizza wasn't great, very greasy and there was too much buttery goats cheese compared to the other cheeses which spoilt it a bit. Meatballs (well, one massive meatball!) was good though and so was the wine! Expensive meal for what we had but then you're on a busy, tourist attraction street so it's kind of what you'd expect.

the people who work there are very friendly . the veal saltomboca is second to none as is their pizza homemade pasta and creamy polenta. You haave to try their baked oysters with parmeshan and sipach. they also have a seafood and meat combonation you will not find anywhere else. the bar is great and old fasion. Take reservations for tables before 6:30 otherwise it is first come first serve. ther can be a long wait so cla but no worries wait in the bar and drink great wine or other cocktails. If your in austin and you like clssy italian food do not miss Vaspaio

Everything was excellent. From the service to the comfortable table/decor; where else do you get 5-star fresh-made Italian food while wearing a t-shirt and jeans, and still feel welcome and comfortable? Light + tasty Calamari, fresh homemade moz in Caprese salad, fresh homemade Risotto with pork shoulder, finished off with hot cinnamon donut holes and some . Wow! Yes, you should go.

This could so much have been a 4-5 star restaurant, spoiled by (I guess) its success. Plenty of people come here, and obviously are willing to throw their money to the owner, but I’m quite sure I will not be one of them: $80/person is way too much!! Fortunately the service is excellent, and the place is cozy and well suited both for romantic couple time or for a friendly come-together. The food is excellent, that is true. I had a (daily special) lamb shoulder, that at first was strange because the lamb was nowhere to be seen, It was there, simply there was not a lot of it... But it was super tasty and cooked to perfection. And the wine and appetizers we got were also great. So,unfortunate that they price it like a Morton’s.

OK food, but really not amazing, especially given the prices are relatively on the high end. Furthermore, the acoustics are pretty bad - making conversations tougher.

I like this casual downtown Italian bistro but have been disappointed in the food lately. Staff is friendly. Laid back neighborhood vibe. Outdoor patio. I ordered a spinach dinner salad and the flounder special. The spinach leaves were borderline, the salad was underdressed and the marinated peppers were soggy and unpleasant. The candied pecans were stuck together. I think that perhaps they don't sell a lot of spinach salad and that the ingredients were less than fresh. The Cesar salads at the table next to me looked great, so that might be a better choice. Lovely panko crust on the fish but sadly, the filet was mushy and tasteless. Perfectly cooked pasta with a black truffle butter sauce which was tasty but overly salty. Service was attentive for the most part, except that my waiter did not offer any bread for the table, but I observed another server bringing bread to her tables upon customer seating and without them having to request it. Although my last two meals at Vespaio were disappointing, in the past the food was very good. Perhaps they have just had a few off nights, or possibly a change of kitchen staff. I'm not ready to give up on them yet, but one more substandard meal and we will have to part ways. If you dine here I would recommend sticking with the pasta or pizza and avoiding the protein entree special of the day. Also be prepared to wait in line for the restroom. They only have 2 single unisex restrooms and it is a busy bar and restaurant. There are actually several chairs along the wall by the restrooms for customers to sit on while they wait to use the facilities as the line is so long. They do have a pretty good take out deli at the front of the house with cold cuts, various salads, and desserts if you want a light meal to take back to your hotel.

Traditional Italian menu plus a Texas flare added - with a wood fired grill, lots of grilled meats & veggies added to traditional Italian dishes. I had a great risotto with grilled tri-tip - it was amazing ! There is also a wood fired pizza oven - I didn't get one but we had a good view from our table & the pizzas looked great - hand tossed crusts going in. The wine list is focused on Italy, which I love in a good Italian restaurant. All the main major regions & varietals are represented , with choices at a variety of price points , from inexpensive to very expensive - something for every budget & something to pair with every dish. The setting is cozy & a great place to take a date or have a small group of friends. Also on South Congress & there is lots of other stuff going on there as well - o a good part of town to be hanging out. They didn't take reservations, at least when we went (on a Friday) - something to consider on your timing if going.

Had dinner here on August 15. It was a great experience. The drinks came right away and the drink/wine prices are reasonable. Started with a Caesar salad and some calamari. The calamari was particularly well done, lightly fried and very tender. Some of the best I have had. The Caesar was fine, about what one would expect. Our entrees were really good. The short rib in the risotto was a little bit less tender than I would like, but it was still, very good. As was the shrimp and pasta dish my wife had. The waiter was very friendly and attentive. We had a very nice meal.

My wife and I have eaten here on many occasions and it is one our favorites in Austin as the waiters are always exceptional and the food is classic. Small and noisy, but like the restaurants in Italy, well worth it, a very good dining experience.

We came to this place because of the reviews. First, this place is NOT for kids. If you have kids do not come here. They put us in the very back (dark) room althought there were many tables in the middle of the restaurant. Second, it is ridiculously expensive. $23 for a pizza? I have paid more for one but.... and here is the third point, the pizza was not good at all. I don't mind paying for quality and have paid lots more for quality food. But as you can see from the picture, this one was burned. Also, it was very salty. Simply not good. Cannot recommend and will definitely not be back.

We ate at Vespaio last weekend to celebrate a birthday. I knew it would be good because two people had recommended it, but it was even better than expected. Our waiter Jeff fell into an elite category of waiters. He knew the menu front and back and the ingredients like he cooked it himself. His recommendations for beer and wine were superb. The food was incredible, some of the best, creative Italian food I have ever had (and I am married to an italian!). I would highly recommend Vespaio. I am still dreaming about the proscuitto pizza I ate.

There's NO waiting for bar seating, is one of many assets of enjoying great Italian food solo! The bartenders were personable, service conscientious, savvy on menu recommendations, and service levels were spot on.

The best italian in Austin? Maybe, for sure not in my opinion. Restaurant has amazing reputation and its always crowdy. But...its too noisy, cant even speak with other person at same table. Food its not that faboulous. Few appetizers are quite good, the rest of courses really not worth money you spend. And its not cheap at all.

Authentic fresh Italian in a great setting with very attentive service. It was a family affair and even the kids enjoyed the fine dining experience. Nice Italian wine list also.

We went to Italy for our anniversary this past year and since then we have been persistently seeking a restaurant that made us feel like we were immersed in that culture again. Vespaio did just that! The ambiance and the food were as close to Italy as we could get stateside! We had the manicotti and the lobster ravioli and both dishes were perfect! The hint of lemon in the manicotti was the cherry on top for the manicotti. Can’t wait to go back!